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.
My kids are going to Nicaragua for a missions trip on Tuesday. Are you going for your cooking or ministry?
Just said a prayer for you and this trip. I will be following along and can’t wait to read of your adventures! May the Lord bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you.
Thank you!!
Such a blessing you are and will be going to Nicaragua. This “little” boy is going to be so blessed to have the Jordans for his new family. It is with great joy that I read your blog and new posts. As Christ followers we can share the passion of our heart. Know you will be in my prayers during your journey. Ann Voskamp is fixing to go to Uganda for Compassion from Canada for filming to see Katie Davis. I am so blessed to be able to follow 2 sisters as they go in the name of Jesus. May God keep you close.
Christy,
I will pray for you as you go. Thank you so much for sharing your sweet journey with all of us.
I have only recently “discovered” you and Southern Plate (I know, I know….I must’ve been living under a rock!). Within just a few minutes of browsing your blog, I felt an instant kinship with you. We have lots of “lifestyle” connections…..I’m a home economics major, love cooking/Southern food and being a Mom. I live in North Ga., very close to Chattanooga. But more than all that, we are sisters in Christ and could sense that even through your blog.
God bless you as you go,,,,
Anita
Chrisy — I too am going on my second mission trip to Nicaragua the first week of July. Last summer I fell in love with the people there and came to a new understanding what it meant to be part of God’s family. Even though I spoke no Spanish and many of the people there spoke no English, we recognized each other as family due to the shed blood of Jesus Christ. I look forward to once again seeing my extended family members.
I am so excited for you! As a fellow Southern girl, I can tell you that I love the South but I also love it when the Father lets me fly away for the sake of His little ones.
Praying for you right now, adding you to Instagram, and going to check out your fellow travelers.
My prayers are with you. Our world is so blessed to have someone like you. You are amazing. God bless you. Praying for your safety and God’s guideance while you are their.