Hey Missions Family, its been a couple weeks since the Fox River Students have been back from their trip to Nicaragua this summer. We have been missing our people and our place, but we have also had the time to really reflect and think about how God worked in us. We know that we were not there on accident, each and everyone of us had a purpose.
One of the most impactful parts of the trip was being able to share our stories with each other, and seeing how powerful sharing can be. That's what we want to do again here, to share with all of you how God worked in and through us during our time in Nicaragua. So we invite you to settle in and hear a story from the trip, and join us in praising God for all that he has done in Nicaragua through Fox River Missions.
Alyssa and a sweet little girl from the church in La Esmeralda.
Here is what Alyssa wants to share with you about the trip,
"If I had to describe our trip in one word it would have to be love. And that was probably my biggest takeaway from the whole week. I had never felt so loved, and it was surprising to me because I had this feeling of overwhelming love, from people I had just met. And this was a kind of love that comes from God and Christians. It was amazing because we had the opportunity to become friends with the kids, teens, and adults of all ages. And surprisingly(at least for me) the language barrier turned out to be a blessing. I only knew a little bit of Spanish so when I talked to the Nicas we had to make an effort and have patience to understand each other. So because of that, our relationships were more genuine and stronger since we both had to put in work in order to be friends!
When you think about it a smile, laugh, or playing a game doesn't even need a translation because love has no language! It was also awesome because we were able to hear the Nicas testimonies every night which made us able to connect with them even more and realize that we are similar. Even though we live far away from each other and are in different cultures/environments there was so many similarities I had in common with the other teens, which made my relationships even more special! Each person that we met was somehow involved in the church whether they were the pastor, worship leader, children leader, student etc. They all had a heart for God which really inspired me and made me realize that I am not sacrificing enough of my life for God as I should be. It was an honor to be on this trip because it was eye-opening and life-changing. I will never forget the people I have met and what they have taught me and I hope that I will only build on these relationships in the future."
What an amazing story of how God worked in Alyssa through the trip this summer. She truly sums up the trip very well. It is all about love; God's love bridges all barriers.