My favorite Sunday

Of all the days in my life thus far, March 4 may have been the best one yet.  Definitely a top five.  I woke up that morning and headed out with my buddy David in search of a Coke Light.  We went to the store across the street, but it wasn't opened yet, so we meandered through the streets and the market until we found a Nica version of Wal-Mart.  One Coke Light coming up; koozie brought from home.  Along our path, we met Ramon.  He was kind and gentle, an older man selling something on the street, and he was missing an arm from the elbow down.  We prayed for him and bid him our goodbyes.

Our team split up into two and went to two different churches.  The small church we went to treated us well -- we were ushered up front and handed bottles of water.  After the praise and worship, two of our group members shared their testimonies.  During that time, I prayed that the Lord would use Drew and Heidi to affect at least one person in the church on a very personal level.  Throughout the church service and later in the day, I found out they had.  So sweet.

I preached the sermon in the church...I don't say this to boast in myself, because I know it was the Lord in me and not me at all, but it was one of those moments in life where everything was right.  The Lord prepared me for that moment and standing up in a church sharing personal accounts, along with scripture, seemed like the most normal and right thing for me to be doing in all of the world.  It was crazy.  Afterwards, the pastor's wife shared with me, and then in front of the congregation, that she'd been wanting to preach on the Holy Spirit, but hadn't had a chance.  And it was unlikely that she would.  And that's what I preached on -- it encouraged her, as well as me!

Reflecting on our time at church: it was the best church service I'd attended, and it had nothing to do with us.  I loved that they welcomed us, people shared what God was doing in front of everyone, we spent time praying for people.  Someone came to know Jesus.  A man, Carlos, received a personal word from God that he'd been longing for.  It was worshipful and personal and all in all filled with the Spirit of God.

After church, we headed to Rossy and Osvaldo's for lunch.  Once again, a superb meal.  At some point, we had plantain empanadas with black beans on the inside.  My word!  Once we stuffed ourselves, we changed for beach and then took the one hour drive to the beach.  It was my first time in the Pacific Ocean and it was amazing.  This beach girl was so thrilled to be in the sun and sand for the first time this year.

We laughed and played on the beach.  Rode some waves.  Some of us, not me, played volleyball against our Nica friends and got creamed.  I was privileged to hear my friend Anelma's story.  A story of being heartbroken and disappointed when she was nineteen and pregnant -- the "perfect church girl" no longer seen as such.  She was abandoned by her church and members wouldn't speak to her when they passed her on the street.  Then her family met Osvaldo and Rossy and they were kind and full of love.  A story of redemption as she has a beautiful eight month old baby girl, a family that loves and supports her, brothers that act as fathers, a job, a church and mentors, and a strengthened relationship in the Lord Jesus Christ.  She taught herself English from TV and music.  She encouraged me time and time again on our trip.  I watched her share her story many times with others throughout the week and saw small glimpses of the Lord using her over and over again for His glory.

Driving back to Osvaldo's for dinner, I reflected on my favorite Sunday: a great day filled with worship, rest, friends, learning more about the Lord, and good food.

While I didn't take any pics in Nica, my friend Drew Miller took many.  Here are some of my favorites from the beach that day: