Before You Go...

Going to another country can be a little bit scary, especially if you are going to a third world country, and you don’t plan on staying in the safe, touristy areas. With this blog, I hope to appeal to others who are going on a mission trip to Nicaragua for the first time. Through my personal narrative, I hope to calm those first time jitters that people are inclined to get before doing something outside of their comfort zone. It can help when you have an idea about what you are getting into, but there are some things that no one can understand until they have been there, and that’s okay.

Before you go, it is important to keep a few things in mind:

1.      Do not go out of the country if you are not willing to conform to the culture! If I went into Nicaragua and acted like an American the whole time, I would not have been able to build any relationships with the people there. Despite knowing very little English, I had to become a Nicaraguan for a week.

2.      You are not going to go over there and convert everyone, but that’s okay. It is better to build strong relationships with and encourage a few, then try to go around and talk to as many people as you can for a few minutes. That will get you nowhere.

3.      Listen to others who are more experienced; they really know what they are talking about.

4.      Don’t go anywhere alone, especially in a big city like Managua! If you’re American, you probably stand out. Nicaraguans know Americans have money. Always carry your passport on your person. I know someone who had his passport stolen while in Nicaragua, and it was an ordeal trying to get him back home.

5.      When you get back, it will probably be hard adjusting back to an American lifestyle. It affects people differently and at different times. It may take a month, but most people will get hit with a sense of guilt for what they have and others do not. When this guilt is gone, however, you realize you can use the things you have been given to help others.  

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”                - Romans 10: 14-15