Our Stories

Missionaries come from all walks of life. 

Dana Eddings, Team Leader,  Veterinarian

 

People, who walk miles, wait for hours in the heat holding children are an indelible image I can never forget.  Always some child grabs your heart with her sweetness and affection.  Today Yolishbeth drew me a picture and said it was of me and told me to “guarde lo” (guard it).  Pure affection from this child, an image and emotion I will guard in my heart forever.  This is only one example of the daily blessing I received.  I pray I gave to them in some small measure in exchange for this blessing.
Leslie Weston, Student

This has been an awesome experience that I would not have changed … except for one thing… the language.  Our mission team saw and worked with over 1500 people and 1490 only spoke Spanish.  Many of us could not speak the language. At one clinic, we saw over 600 people and there were times when things got a little hectic and maybe even chaotic.  At these times every translator and semi-translator was occupied with patients.  Well, I don’t speak Spanish past “Hola” (Hello) and “Adious” (Good by).  For some reason the Nicaraguan people loved to ask me questions: A: that I could not understand B: that I probably did not know the answer to anyway.  At this clinic there were men from another center down the street that could speak English and Spanish.  One of them saw me struggling with a lady, trying my best to understand, and he came over and asked if he could help translate for me.  Talk about relief!  I felt grateful to him and didn’t want to bother him again.  The next time someone came up and asked questions I stubbornly struggled through what little Spanish I did know until he saw me and came over again to help.  After that, I called to him every time I needed help with translation. this guy showed me that no matter how much we think we can bare by ourselves, we always need help carrying the load.  God knows when we need help the most and sends a blessing to us in our time of need.  Now my only question is: Why can’t everyone speak English like normal people?  It would make my life a lot easier, but them maybe it’s the challenges that keep us going.  In Christ’s love
Tom Banks, Minister,  First Christian Church, Greenville, NC

To First Christian Church Members, Greenville, NC

Thank you for sharing in the Nicaragua medical mission trip!  You supplied one tenth of the $9000 medication budget, and I was also grateful for the prayers you offered for the patients, the team, and for me.

Sixteen of us, including two doctors and members of four churches, went to Managua to work with Iglesia Todo Aquel (literally - Church for Everyone) and Iglesia de enovación (Renewal or Renovation Church).  We saw patients with ailments ranging from an untreated broken collarbone, a child’s congenital heart defect, low weight in a 16-month-old child, and worms (which compete for blood supply and affect children’s brain development.)  Over 1,600 people came for treatment, and almost 1,000 on one day.

The medical mission was an evangelism effort for the two churches. People in the community there, as here, are not sure about church and are hesitant to enter into a relationship with it.  The medical mission showed their respective neighborhoods that the church cares about people.

In addition to the medical work, we worked with the children and youth of parents waiting in line to be seen.  We helped the children draw outlines of their hands, and wrote within them “Jesus me ama”, which means, “Jesus loves me.”  The children colored their handprints, and drew other pictures of their houses, pets, flowers, and soccer.  Some drew pictures of Jesus and wrote thank you notes to the team.  The children loved the compliments we gave for every picture, which amounted to emotional blessings for the children in addition to the medical ones.

I had the privilege of preaching to two congregations while I was there, my first experience with an interpreter.  The first Sunday afternoon of our stay, the team helped to lead a children’s program for the neighborhood.  Two hundred and fifty children showed up and stayed for two hours!

Your donations, including a number of little girls’ dresses and a Spanish Bible, and your cards and your phone calls of support all helped to fulfill this mission, which was part of our larger mission as First Christian Church.  “Encourage people to love God as revealed in Jesus Christ and seek to win people to faith in him.”  That mission is also being fulfilled through Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Christian Men’s and Women’s Fellowship, choir, and all of the other ministries of our church.

Our mission is “other serving” rather than “self serving”, which is often the reverse of the way of thinking more prevalent in daily life. So why do we do it?  Why should we care about people who live in Nicaragua?  One member of the mission team put it well.  We do it out of gratitude for what God has done for us.  God didn’t have to come out of heaven to earth through Jesus.  There was no self-serving benefit for God in doing so, but we cherish the love for us revealed in that act. So we go to people, expressing the love of God in Jesus Christ, whether they be near or far.

Again, thank you for the privilege of serving on your behalf in Managua. I believe you were a significant part of making an impact on the people we served there.

 
Lenora Perry, Computer Instructor

It is always the children that touch your heart the most.  Sometimes when I think about mission trips I ask myself, “Can I really make a difference?”  I speak very little Spanish, I am not a doctor or nurse, and I certainly and not much good at carrying heavy supplies. Why should I participate?  There is always a way to use whatever gifts you may have to serve others because the real gift is what is not what is given but what is received.  This trip provided me an opportunity to help the young mothers in Managua.  Many of the young ladies were only 14-16 years old.  I remember one mother age 20 with four very young children and a nursing infant.  It was not unusual for mothers to have to wait several hours to see the doctor and pick up the prescriptions.  Because we had plenty of people working the pharmacy, I had the opportunity as the mothers received instructions on the prescriptions to take care of the youngest child who was most often an infant.  This freed the mother to pay close attention to the instructions and to hold the next youngest child.  Although I felt good about being able to help the young mothers, it was a blessing to me to share this special time with the babies.  The mothers were appreciative and I told each and every one how “bonito” their baby was and “gracias” for letting me hold their child for a short time.  Language was not a barrier for me because I discovered a smile and a hug are universal.