Nicaragua Fall 2011 Day Two
I woke up this morning to a rather unique alarm clock. It sounded as if a pack of dogs were fighting several roosters! Ahh… the wonderful sounds of everyday life in Nicaragua. Once again I treated myself to a couple of cups of Nicaraguan coffee as I prepared my materials for the first day of class. I was rather anxious, mainly due to the fact I wasn’t quite sure how well I would speak having to allow time for a translator. For those of you who don’t know me as well, I tend to get “into the zone” as I teach. The result is a lot of information at a high rate of speed. This is usually okay when the audience speaks the same language, however here I feared this would be an issue. Come to find out, it wasn’t bad at all.
Erick picked me up about ten till 8:00, and we drove across town to the school. Upon our arrival I was personally greeted by each of the 32 students currently enrolled. It was a wonderful start to what became a day I will never forget. Our morning focused around two main topics. 1) Why do we minister in the first place? 2) Why is ministering to youth so important? I had originally prepared a third lesson, however, due to the interaction of the students we were only able to get through these two. I have personally never taught a group of individuals so passionate and involved in a class. These young preachers have zeal unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Honestly, the idea of teaching eight hours a day seemed like it would make for a long day. However, it seemed as though the morning was over in the blink of an eye. It was as if I couldn’t “feed” them fast enough!
As I sit here tonight reflection back on the day, I am realizing how much time I spent today thanking God for this opportunity. I feel so blessed to be here with these students. I realize that I am technically their teacher for the week, but I feel as though their example is teaching me. My soul is feeding off their energy, and the truth of the matter is I don’t even have the words to describe the feelings I am left with tonight. Perhaps it is all summed up in one simple statement, “God is good!”
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10 NIV).
It sounds like an awesome, rewarding experience.