Austin Korean Presbyterian Church

I initially made the decision to go to Nicaragua in order to get to know God more.  I felt I was not truly living by faith.  Although I knew that going to Nicaragua wouldn’t solve this problem, I felt that this would be one step in the right direction.  When troubles would arise, I would confide in myself to find the solution; when those solutions didn’t work, I would maneuver my way around the situation to find peace of mind.  This was draining and emotionally frustrating for me.  I found myself encountering the same problems, having to overcome the same roadblocks, over and over again, without truly having satisfaction in my heart.

"one of my main responsibilities on this trip was to cut hair"

After we arrived in Nicaragua and visited the homeless shelter on Monday , one of my main responsibilities on this trip was to cut hair.  As I started sheepishly cutting the hairs of these people, almost petrified that I would mess up and the people would yell at me in Spanish, I found myself intrigued by a woman named Rosa who had been patiently waiting for a haircut since I had arrived that morning.  As I proceeded to give her some layers and bangs, I felt a stirring in my heart to pray for her, whomever she was.  After I finished her hair and attempted to speak to her in my broken Spanish, I felt a strong connection to her–even though we had just met.  As I heard her life’s story with the help of our translator Mauriel, Rosa had explained to me her life of living on the streets for the past three years, scrambling whatever she could find to eat to survive, finding whatever shelter she could for the night to avoid getting raped. I could only feel saddened that this was the life she was living, and I even felt angry at God that a human being as equal as you and I, could live under such circumstances. Continue reading Hope Nicaragua: Judy Song

"Physically, they have close to nothing, but spiritually they are full of God’s love."

First of all, I would like to thank God for this wonderful experience he has blessed me with. Also, I would like to thank everyone who supported our team through prayer and through finance. I am certain that without your support, we would not have been able to accomplish some of the things we did. The love and grace of God is an amazing concept that I don’t think any of us will ever fully be able to comprehend, but during this mission trip He showed us that His love radiates to every part of the Earth. The people at Nicaragua are all so beautiful and loving. They showed us a kind of love that can only come from the love of Jesus Christ. Physically, they have close to nothing, but spiritually they are full of God’s love. One thing Missionary Jun told us was that mission trips are not about what we can do for the people there, but about us as individuals getting closer to God. If we have that intimate relationship with God, He will use us for his glory in mission trips. Continue reading Hope Nicaragua: Sam Jeon

Pastor Thomas and nine of us, accompanied by Pastor Kyle’s team and Missionary Matthew, started our week by visiting the Homeless Center. When I first got out of the van to walk into the center, a lot of things went through my head…’how am I going to greet them, what should I talk about, are we going to be asked to do our body worship?’  Then, as soon as I first stepped my foot into the gate, I saw hands reaching out for mine, people coming up to say “hello” and giving me hugs with lots of smiles; I just didn’t have time to think any of the worries I had in my head a few seconds ago.

"After the third haircut I gave, I was working on this gentleman’s hair and he stopped me for a second and introduced himself to me and said “thank you”. His name was Antonio. Antonio made me realize how I was just carried away with manual service and how I wasted my chances of having one-on-one time with three people I just met."

At the homeless center, we spent a half of the day interacting with people, worshiping with them.  Later on that day, some of us washed and cut hair while others were serving food and doing crafts with kids.  I was on my feet for hours in the heat cutting people’s hair, and I felt rushed seeing numbers of people lined up, waiting for a haircut.  I started to get frustrated.  Usually, when I concentrate on something, I get lost in it and get frustrated if there’s any distraction.  So I didn’t even realize that I was doing the manual labor without any heart into it, like a machine.  After the third haircut I gave, I was working on this gentleman’s hair and he stopped me for a second and introduced himself to me and said “thank you”.  His name was Antonio.  Antonio made me realize how I was just carried away with manual service and how I wasted my chances of having one-on-one time with three people I just met. Continue reading Hope Nicaragua: Julie Kang