I’m Going To Nicaragua with Compassion International
I have such a story to share with you one of these days. About a young woman who had never been on an airplane, who sat at home all day begging God to give her a chance to show that she could be good at something – anything. Who went through years of depression and clawed her way out of that pit only to realize that the sun had been shining on her all along.
And then one day, after she had been put in this strange place where airplanes were a regular occurrence and people asked for her autograph on books and magazine she’d written, she had been traveling off and on for two months, hadn’t seen her family in a week, and became discouraged to the point of wondering what the purpose was in it all. On that very day a person sat beside her on an airplane and spent an entire flight building her up with encouraging words, directly addressing thoughts that had never been spoken aloud, and quoting scripture to her about her past, her present, and her future.
I’ve never told this story to you, and there is so much more to it. The beautiful thing is that an opportunity to share this and more is coming up.
In fact, it is only 15 days away.
Because on June 18th, I’m going to Nicaragua with Compassion International.
Just in case you don’t know much about Compassion, you’re in the right place because I’ll be learning, too. We have just signed up to sponsor our first child as a family, a fourteen year old boy in a village that I’ll be visiting. I’m going to actually go to his village, see his home, meet him and his family.
I’m going to go to other villages sponsored by Compassion as well and you’ll be with me as I learn how Compassion works, the impact they have in the lives of these children, and how easy it is for you and I to have this rich experience of changing the life of a child.
This will be my third mission trip. My third time to use my passport. In as many years. I hope to share with you why that is so significant while I’m on this trip and it all goes back to that plane ride I mentioned at the start of this post.
In the past, I have done my best to come back after a day of traveling and working in the villages and write a summary of my day. Sometimes that has been possible, other times I’ve walked into my hotel and dropped on the bed, not to wake up until morning.
On this trip, we have the day scheduled so that we will be out during the first half and the second half is reserved exclusively for writing, for sharing with you, for telling what we have seen and felt and learned. I’m so excited. You’ll be there with me each day as I share my heart and my photographs taken only hours before.
Follow my countdown here, on Instagram, and on Facebook to stay posted because I am going to show you how you can actually sponsor a child in one of the villages I’ll be visiting, too.
I’d also like to ask a favor of you. Please pray for this trip – and if I can be selfish, please pray for me. We can do all things through Him who gives me strength, but apart from him we can do nothing. There is something that happens on trips like this, on any trip, really, where you are called out from the familiar into a place that is unknown to you. These trips give us an opportunity to go alone or to reach out and take God’s hand and allow Him to lead us through the villages that are so familiar to Him, through the countryside, through the desert or jungle or wherever it is our feet land on soil that is infinitely foreign to us but that He knows so well. To show us what he wants us to see, to speak the importance of those sights seen to our hearts, to open another door to the mystery of this wonderful world he has created.
I sincerely hope I can share these things with you as I experience them throughout this trip.
I hope you’ll follow me each day so that I can pass on directly to you whatever it is that God shows me.
Gratefully,
Christy
Phil 1:12
To be able to read the daily posts of each blogger on this trip, you can click the image below to visit a page where they will all be posted, then linked back to our blogs. Also, be sure and follow me on SouthernPlate.com, Instagram, and Facebook, where I will be posting each day I am away – with the exception of travel days.
After each post, I’ll also put a link below to make them easier to find:
Links to come
If you would like to sponsor a child in Nicaragua through Compassion, see the graphic below for a special offer from me and Compassion 🙂
My Disclaimer: I voluntarily write posts about Compassion International. I am not receiving compensation for my participation, but Compassion is sending me to Nicaragua in order to write and share this experience with each of you. Regardless of who you are, what your station or lot in life is, and your religious affiliation or lack thereof, I firmly believe that everyone CAN change the world for the better, and we should all try.
Have a safe trip. I have a dream of being able to go to Ecuador to meet my compassion child. Hopefully some day…………You take care on your trip.
Praying for God’s protection and for you to be His light on this trip
Christy,
I share your excitement and pray for a safe and meaningful trip. My son, Daniel, just got back from a Compassion International mission trip to the Dominican Republic. He was so moved by all the children that came to the centers where they were able to distribute gifts to them, and spend a little time. The look on their faces was amazing, and one small boy held on to the hem of his shirt as if he didn’t want to let him go. Daniel was forever changed by that experience, just to realize how other people live, and how much we are blessed to have plenty of food and clean water to drink. God bless you for being an inspiration to all of us. You are a shining light!!
I pray God will bless you richly while you are in Nicaragua, Christy, and through you He will bless all those you come into contact with.
Thank you for your thoughts today about how we need to start our day each day. In this world of turmoil in which we live, it is so important to turn our hearts and thoughts to God the first thing in the morning so He can guide us throughout the day. I have found that when I do this my day goes so much better.
God bless you!
My daughter will be leaving July 2 for Managua to study Spanish at the University for a month.
REMEMBER to check out the WEATHER as it say’s NIC AND HONDURAS will be having Hurricane Season the End of June !
Just popping in to say that I will be praying for you and for all of the team that will be going to Nicaragua. As a Compassion Advocate and Sponsor, I am looking forward to the stories and photos that you will share from your journey.