August 20: Closing reflections from me to you on our trip

Words are not enough. They will never be able to do justice to all the emotions I experienced this summer as I spent two months in Nicaragua. Nicaragua is a country that I have heard of for as long as I can remember. As I grew up, my bedroom shelves became cluttered with wooden knick-knacks from the country, and plans for the next trip to Nicaragua were always in the air. Though I didn’t understand where Nicaragua was (for some time I equated Nicaragua with the state of New Mexico and thought it was just a day’s drive from Kansas), or why my grandparents continued to vacation there, it was always part of my life.

When I was 10 years old, I traveled to Nicaragua for the first time to help build a church; it was then that I realized Nicaragua was a little different than New Mexico. Seven years later I visited again. On that trip, I decided that I liked Nicaragua, but building the churches there was my grandpa’s mission, not mine. Of course, I would always be part of the work going on in Nicaragua, because it was a ‘family thing,’ but I wanted to do something different with my life. Remembering these feelings makes me laugh now, because God works in interesting ways. I just returned from a summer spent in Nicaragua, and I am now very attached to this ‘mission’ that I thought was only my grandfather’s calling in life.

This summer took me on a roller coaster of emotions that was comparable to the ups and downs and potholes we faced on the roads as we traveled through the mountains. The height of this roller coaster was Joy. Joy is one of my favorite emotions and I felt it to the extreme on a few occasions. There was one day in particular that comes to mind. We spent seven hours traveling through the mountains on roads so bad that we were the only vehicle attempting to maneuver them. We had already stopped and visited one church that day and had one more to go: the church at Los Limones. I was exhausted, sweaty, and didn’t feel prepared to speak to another church and hold more interviews with the congregation members While in the car on the last leg of the journey, Amber, my friend who traveled with me all summer, opened her Bible and read Isaiah 42 to me. That passage reminded me of how good and awesome God is. The Lord strengthened me in that time and gave me a renewed passion for my work at the precise moment I needed it. I realized that there was no way I would be able to make it through the next six weeks on my own strength; God would have to be my sole Source. The work I was doing was not about me and the way I was feeling, it was about what God had done in the churches we were visiting and giving Him the glory for that.

We finally arrived at the church and there was a group of people awaiting our arrival. The second we stepped out of the car, we were surrounded by people who wanted to greet us with hugs and kisses, as if we had known each other forever. Amber and I were pulled around to the back of the church by a group of children. When I got my first glance of the view that stretched out from behind the church, I stopped dead in my tracks. As we traveled up the mountain to the church, trees blocked my view of the surrounding hillside, but now, I could only stare in amazement at this beautiful creation. A valley opened up in front of us which rose into several mountain peaks crowned with thunder clouds. The sun had just fallen behind the peaks which sent a pink glow that highlighted the landscape. I felt as if God was giving us this once-in-a-lifetime viewing opportunity and I had the pleasure of enjoying it with a dozen beautiful children at my side.

After laughing and taking pictures with our new friends, we were called in for the church service. We walked in and found our seats as the mariachi praise music started. I could only understand a few words, but that was not important. The passion and love the congregation had for the Lord radiated and filled the entire building, a holy presence of the Lord was in that church, so great tears filled my eyes. I realized that God is not confined to a language or culture barrier; our hearts were praising the same God in that moment and language wasn’t a factor. My heart was pierced, my throat was knotted, my stomach was bubbling over, and my soul praised the Lord. That was joy.

We always have something to be joyous about, because we have a great Savior, but I didn’t always feel that joy. If I could describe the low point of my emotional roller coaster, it would be sorrow. There was no escaping the poverty or the needs of the people within the country. At every church, we would hear stories of struggles. The needs were great, ranging from parsonages to teaching material, from building repairs to pastoral aide. The members of the congregations have the desire to help their church financially, but most of the time, they barely have enough money to be able to feed their own families. I was deeply saddened by the injustice, by the great materialism and abundance I see everyday in the United States compared to the great financial needs that were inescapable in Nicaragua.

There is one woman that I remember vividly; she was the life of the church. She was mesmerizing to watch as her body language would tell her stories as much as her words. People would listen to her and rolling laughter followed most of her stories. Her name is Genara. She didn’t know how old she was and she never learned how to read or write. Her husband left her shortly after she had the youngest of her 19 children. They were evicted from their home during the war. She, alone, had to work to support her family and she spent many hours everyday doing physical labor to be able to feed her children. Eleven of her children died from different illnesses, because there was no opportunity to get medical attention. As she told her story, my stomach turned with acid; I was distraught by her suffering. I have never experienced pain close to what Genara has been through. And still, she serves the church with all she has and is determined to see it grow. Her passion and strength are not from this world. Almost every weekend as Amber and I traveled to different churches, we would have stories like this to tell. I wish I could tell you all of them, of how great our God truly is and how I saw Him work every church.

We visited 29 A.C.I.B.E.N. churches in seven weeks and I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with the pastor and the founders of each church. They opened their lives to me and shared their testimonies. They have suffered beyond what I can imagine, and they know what trials are. Nevertheless, they continue to focus on what is unseen, stand firm in their faith, find their joy in God’s promises, and sacrifice for the Labor of the Lord.

July 20: Amber talks of teaching

Sorry this is posted so late....the last couple weeks we were in Nicaragua made it difficult to post and since we have been back everything has been CRAZY! Here is an note Amber wrote a couple weeks before we left.

After a month, two weeks and four days, it is about time to wave goodbye to the beautiful faces in Nicaragua. As my heart will be shattering for the many needs these people have and precocious memories I have; I know that God is turning the page. To my wonderful family and amazing boyfriend I am looking forward to exchanging the stories and seeing how God has worked!

However, I know that God has a purpose for these next few days here. I had a wonderful time teaching grades first through six. I really enjoyed working with each of the sisters. God has a sense of humor. (Many of those close to me know my nun stories and now I have worked with them). I learned many things this summer, but the sisters have exemplified true servanthood. Their humbleness and willingness to help others radiates for all to see.

Thursday was my last and final day with every student and it will forever have an imprint on my heart. I received many special gifts. As I said my final goodbyes to the classes, tears began to stream. I grew very close to the fifth graders imparticular.

I taught each of the grades on different days, but had the opportunity to work with fifth graders everyday! Each of the kids had their own personalities and it was neat seeing the best of them. I have discovered that ! Hopefully the kids left knowing much more in English than when we began. I started working with the students at beginning levels and when I left the students were making sentences! Language is a long process. Over a month and a half I think I learned as much Spanish as my student’s learned English!

I am sorry that we haven’t had the opportunity to update more, but I am thinking and praying for everyone and have many exotic stories to tell! I can’t wait to show everyone the pictures of our neighbor’s pet monkey, the snake that was captured, and the flat tire experiences! God is So good and thank you for your prayers. Please continue to think and pray for us!

July 15, 2007

This is going to be in the newsletter at our church!

The medicine for the summer: a big dose of faith coated with prayer, taken with a gulp of God’s mercy. God has definitely been teaching up many lessons in trust and perseverance. As you might know, Amber High and I are spending the summer traveling around Nicaragua, a beautiful country in Central America. We have been here visiting a group of Baptist churches; the histories of these churches have never been written down and our mission is to tell their stories.
At every church we visit, we give a short presentation: I usually tell of the work I am doing and share a Bible verse that is on my heart and Amber does whatever the Holy Spirit leads her to do. She usually sings a song for the congregations, and sometimes does a bit of Bible teaching as well. Amber also works with the children while I conduct the interviews with the founders of the congregation. As I write this, we only have four of 30 churches left to visit, so we have the routine almost mastered. Nevertheless, there are always those moments that you just never can prepare for: pushing the truck up the mountain, losing the electricity at random times every day, and being attacked by an army of bugs.
Since we are able to be here for an extended period of time, we have had the opportunity to be part of everyday life. We are able to help around the house, run errands, and just experience life in another country. We travel every weekend visiting churches and during the week we stay in a small town with the wonderful family of Nohemy Alegria. Amber teaches English at a nearby school every morning to children between the ages of 6-12; her time at the school goes towards her degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at Ozark Christian College. She has enjoyed this experience thoroughly and will be sad to leave the children.
We have had quite the adventure so far this summer, and we want to be able to share all of our journeys with you when we return. We would like to invite you to gather with us on Sunday, August 12, at 7:00 pm, to tell you about our trip and show you the work that God has been doing in the churches here. The churches that we have visited here also send their greetings to all of you as well. There are great needs within some of the churches and we would like to ask that you pray that God will continue to take care of all their needs and prosper them. We appreciate your prayers and the support you have given us on our trip thus far. God has really blessed us and all of our travels.
In God’s Love,
Melissa Yarrow

July 4, a day without fireworks

I highly recommend celebrating the Forth of July in another country. There were no fireworks, there was no parade, there was (sadly) no cookout, there was not even electricity, and there was no celebration.
What exactly did we do on the Forth?
*Amber and I spent 1.5 hours walking through the town with Baby Carlitos in the stoller, shopping for two things: cinnamon and bananas. Apparently, every store in the town was out both ingredients…all at the same time.
*We read for a couple hours, during the 9 hours which we were without electricity.
*We made some water balloons to surprise Nanito and Hilda when they returned home from work.
*We helped cook dinner which was a mixing pot full of the leftovers (chicken, rice, beans, tomatoes, and a can of corn). It was actually our best concoction yet: the Nicaraguan.
*We curled up on the kingsize bed in Nohemi’s room and watched the movie, The Mask of Zorro, which might be on my Top 10 list now of favorites.
Amber and I talked for two weeks prior to the Forth with our family here about the huge party we were going to have with fireworks of our own and decorations They didn’t seem too interested, because they have become accustomed to going along with whatever crazy ideas we have for entertainment. When the day finally came however, half of the family was out of town working and our plans all went down the drain. We gave up on all of our original plans and just went through the day as if it were any other.
I had never thought much about the Forth of July and its purpose until I did not have a “Forth of July.” It was humbling to realize that people outside the United States don’t really care that much about what we’ve accomplished. It is a great day to remember how our country got to be where it is today and to honor those who gave their all for our country, but to me, it was a greater day when the traditions and the hurrah were stripped away.

A day in the life of....

I would like to invite you on one of our many expeditions. For this adventure, you must use your imagination to fully experience one day with Amber and me in Nicaragua. We’ll start on our voyage as we set off on our mission of visiting three churches for the day in the northern part of the country. The first church of the day is relatively close to our hotel, only about 20 kilometers from the town we are staying in. Our destination is San Lucas, a village which still has native Indian tribes practicing their original rituals. The road going to the town is one of the best we have driven on when traveling to the churches; it is made of gray bricks and reminds me of a cobblestone street that you would find in Philadelphia or Boston or any of the Colonial towns.

When we arrive at the church in San Lucas we are expecting, like the other churches, to be greeted by a church full of people praising the Lord. We approach the front door of the church and realize that it is locked and the only people in sight are children who peek at us from around the building and then whisper and snicker. We follow the children around the church to find the pastor’s wife and the rest of their children who are living in the two Sunday School classrooms attached to the sanctuary. Later they show us the ‘parsonage’ across the street which is in such deteriorated conditions it is unacceptable for anyone to live in. The pastor’s wife greets us with a hand shake and takes us into the church building through a side door where two other women await; her husband, the pastor, is out of town for the day. We smile and introduce ourselves, but they are hesitant to return the friendly greetings.

Since there is no church service, I dive right in and tell the three women what I am doing for the summer and they all obligingly smile and nod. As we get into the interview there is an aura of seriousness which later reveals itself as the burden of great distress which is the product of many trials. The building we are sitting in is one of the most beautiful we have visited thus far. Within the first 10 minutes of the interview, we find that the external beauty is not matched by internal strength, because the church slowly weakening. The constructor of the building did not support the walls with iron rods and subsequently the building had deep cracks all along the walls. The roof which is made of concrete, also has much damage allowing water to get into the sanctuary much of the time. The pastor’s wife goes on to tell us of the other major problem in the church right now: their family probably will not be able to stay with the congregation for financial reason. The couple has five kids, and they want to be able to put their children through college; however the minimal income the pastor receives in insufficient compared to the cost of the university.

The stories of the congregation continue to unfold, and my heart clenches a little tighter with each one. As I sit there in the front of the dark church with these three beautiful women, I wonder how I will be able to continue doing this job for the rest of the summer. Then, my faithful Father God reminds me that their pain is not my burden to bear—it is His. The spirits of the women are lifted as they move from sharing the burdens of the church to the testimony of the work God has done in their own lives. The first woman’s mother did not feed her dinner after she would attend church against her mother’s will. The second ran away from home, and her family, to get married because they disapproved of her marriage with a Catholic boy—he was later saved and is now the pastor of this church. The third had a young daughter who loved attending church services which lead the way to her own salvation.

As we bring the interview to a close, the women are easier to smile and talk positively about their future. “The purpose of our church is to continue no matter what happens. We give thanks because the Lord has been with us in all the good times and the bad. The little that we have done, the Lord has blessed us.” As we head out the door and get in the car, it hurts almost as much to leave as it did to hear of their trials. After listening to the women for more than two hours about their lives and about the church, I feel as if I am forever attached to them.
We head onwards up the mountain as another church awaits our arrival. The temperature rapidly drops as we slowly crawl up the mountain in the truck. The road is narrow and filled with crevasses and rocks. The truck bounces back and forth while Carlos tries to maneuver the road. At one point we come around a bend in the road which opens up to a lush valley which is the ‘green’ carpet leading to a family of majestic mountain peaks. For a second I feel as if I have been placed in the middle of a life-size painting, nothing around me is real. This feeling of unrealism is only heightened as we cross back into the forest. Massive trees, bumpy terrain, and foreign shrubbery transport us to a jungle safari ride at Universal Studios. Our trek comes to an end when we spot the town which is the home to our next church: Las Sabanas.

Las Sabanas is small and secluded. No other vehicles are in sight and our red truck stands out like a sore thumb stating that we are not from around here. We pull up to a church but encounter the same problem as the first: this church is locked and deserted. Instead of peeking children this time around, we have neighbors to question. The pastor waited on us at the church all morning, but left to go home shortly before our arrival. A man who attends the church immediately sets off to find the pastor and our group of four is left in the empty sanctuary to wait for the return of the pastor. Half an hour later, a joyous man comes bounding in the doorway to greet us, apologizing that he had not been there for our arrival. After talking to him for a few minutes, he informs us that the third church we plan to visit that day in El Encino is still in the ‘mission’ stage. This means there is a strong congregation meeting in the town, but there is no church building. The congregation has never had any visitors, if we are willing to travel the taxing trip to get there, we would be the first group to see the mission.

With only a slight hesitation, we decide to embark on the next leg of our journey. We are told that the trip will take about 1.5 hours by car because we have to drive around a mountain to get there, but if we had the opportunity to ride horses we could go over the mountain in about 1 hour. I thought we had already experienced the poorest roads in existence, but that notion dissipated within the first five minutes of the drive. A majority of the roads were far beyond anything you’ve seen on any off-road SUV commercial. If the road was not swelling with large rocks, it was overgrown with grasses, covered in mud, or underwater. The constantly changing scenery is enough entertainment to keep us occupied as we stare out the windows for the entire trip. The road makes a drastic incline upwards and the truck starts struggling with the road; our engine is pulsing and we lose traction. The incline is steeper than most paved roads, but we have 2 feet wide trenches and boulders to maneuver as well. The only solution to make it up the ascent is to help push. Carlos drives as Nohemi, the pastor, Amber and I help the truck up the hill. We all feel a burst of excitement with our success when the road levels off again, but the feeling doesn’t last for long. There are several more steep inclines similar or worse than the one we just conquered. We get out and push the vehicle up the truck up the mountain three more times feeling grateful we chose not to wear our skirts for the day. The last incline we face is the longest, most difficult challenge yet. We are close to the top, when we come to a standstill—our pushing is not enough for the four-wheel drive truck to make it up the mountain. We recruit the assistance of a teenage boy walking his bike up the mountain beside us and the extra force is just enough to make it to the top. We are weary and sweaty as the pastor informs us that there are at least two more inclines even worse than the one we just climbed. There is no way we would be able to climb the mountain from this point on with the truck, and so we are forced to turn around after our two hour effort to visit El Encino. The pastor, who usually walks to the mission over the mountain, ensures us that he will tell the congregation of our effort.

Our spirits slightly discouraged, we head back to Las Sabanas where the congregation is gathering and waiting for our return. This atmosphere at Las Sabanas is in stark contrast to the atmosphere earlier in the day at San Lucas. We are greeted by smiling faces and countless handshakes. The interview is very positive, focused on all the great things that God has done in their church, especially with the mission they are working with in El Encino. They have had many struggles of course, but they are hesitant to share of their trials. It is easy to listen to them tell stories and they even ask questions about our work and homes. I feel as if I have known these people all my life and that we are gathering to catch up on everything we’ve missed over the last few years.

We say goodbye to our new friends after a couple hours and head back to the hotel, exhausted from the day. I sit back in the car as the sky darkens with the setting of the sun and just reflect on the day. The churches are beautiful, no matter what stage they in. Even in the midst of suffering, all the work of the churches is for the work of the Lord. God is prospering each of the churches in a different way beyond what I can understand and my heart dwells on these verses from 2 Corinthians 4:15-18 which I would like to leave you with today:

All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

June 24: A quick update!

There isn´t much time, but I thought we should give you a few more details on exactly what we are up to. If you check it out below, we have included our Top 10 lists, which had to turn into Top 12 lists. There are just too many great things we want to share with you all! Right now we are in Hondurous! That´s right, we decided we wanted to get another stamp on the passport before returning to the U.S. We were very close to the border, so we jumped over for the night. Hondurous is similar to Nicaragua, but it is much more industrious. We visited four churches this weekend in our attempt at five. The fifth has never been visited by anyone outside the congregation before, and we soon found out the reason why. After traveling for about an hour, and getting out of the truck five times to push it up the mountain, we decided we would never be able to make the rest of the journey and we turned to go back to the nearest village. I am excited to write more about the trip, but will have to post that next weekend. We have plans to visit four more churches a little closer to home next weekend. Your notes and encouragment mean more than you can ever know! Thanks for your prayers our dear loved ones!

Amber´s Top 12 List:

Giving ‘hermano’ Orlando (17) dating tips of what is acceptable, let’s just say we have our own sign language: forhead, cheek, and hand…that pretty much covers it… “no besos, si!”

Laughing until my tummy hurts with Melicita and Hilidita while we are attempting to be Pilates pros.

Gazing at a cascade of mesmerizing skylight and wishing upon my favorite star from the Beholder’s hand.

Making a tent at 2:30 in the morning and let’s not forget, “Lions, Tigers, and Bears, oh my, we are in the jungle after all.”

Unveiling myself before the Maker’s throne with my teammate and amazing friend Melicita.

Telling someone they’re ‘soft’ when I meant to tell them they were ‘sweet’. I learned the right word for sweet real quick.

Getting so excited when a phone booth or internet café is within sight to say hello to my loved ones and hear the breathtaking voice of my most tender-hearted-God-honoring-love-of-my-life on the other end.

Cruising through the jungle in the good ole’ Nissan, let’s just say my prayer life has increased at least a hundred decibels…is that possible?

Hopping off to school to see the smiling faces that await me and be amazed at the joyous children He has granted…did I forget to mention I get to work with an amazing group of Sisters that live at the Abby….I’m the only non-single one in the bunch!!!!

Praising God for each new day He has granted and giving Him all the glory (Gloria A Dios…. “no Melissa, it is not Gloria Adios, it means “to give God the glory!)

Hearing Hilda’s heart and getting to help with little Carlitos’ nighttime routine.

Oh, we can’t forget, Melissa and I trying to sunbathe on the asphalt driveway at Nohemi’s house (it did not take long to find out that baby oil only attracts mosquitos, not the sun, and our efforts were meaningless as it began to pour five minutes into our attempt at a Nicaraguan tan)