Nicaragua Extreme Mission Trip
- Chris Dowd
- Mar 18, 2008
I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls... (2 Cor. 12:15)
Bedrock has taken its first mission trip and it was the most physically challenging task that I have ever done. Five men from the team spent three days hiking through the mountains of Northern Nicaragua with nothing but our backpacks, a water purifier, and some instant noodles. The days were long, the hikes were completely vertical at times, the temperature stayed around 100 degrees but the vistas and the people were beautiful. There is something about being on a mountaintop and man connecting with God. All throughout Scripture men met with God on mountains and that would prove to be true for the five of us that accepted the challenge to go to the extreme and take the mountains for Jesus.
It was a radical idea and an amazing adventure but God taught us something very valuable while we were up there. The "radical" became very simple for us. Even though we were outside of our comfort zones and ministering to people who could not speak our language, we were able to bring provisions of rice and beans to them, we were able to pray for them in their homes, and we were able to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in every village that we went. This radical, extreme, backpacking trip became very elementary. We simply did what Jesus did. We went from town to town and we:
Fed the hungry
Prayed over the sick
Preached the Gospel
The radical part of this ministry was that we did it all day, every day. And every day I got weaker and weaker. By the end of the three days in the wilderness I was completely exhausted and that is when 2 Corinthians 12:15 came to life for me, "I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls..." Even though I had no energy left, we had seen hundreds fed and numbers of people come to receive Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives during that time. It cost me to be a part of that mission team. It cost me time, energy, money, and emotions but every step in the journey was worth it for the glory of God. Doing what Jesus did...a radical ministry for a radical change.
I want my life to end the same way as that journey. I want to be able to come to the end of my life just as exhausted for the sake of the Gospel as I was that day in San Pedro leaning up against a church building with a wet handkerchief over my head. I think this is what Paul meant when he said, For I am already being poured out as a drink offering..." (2 Tim. 4:6)
We did it everyday in Nicaragua...but I didn't do it today. I will lay my head on my pillow tonight and I may be tired but it will be for many reasons other than feeding the hungry, praying over the sick, and preaching the Gospel all day. I find myself exhausted almost every day but not for the sake of the Gospel and I am tired of being tired for any other reason. What about you? Follow Jesus today and then do something radical... do it again tomorrow.