FBC LaBelle, FL
Today is the first full day of my stay in Nicaragua. I am very humbled to be here. I was thinking before this trip how God chose me to be here. How in the world did I get chosen? A small town girl from a town that nobody has really heard of but I did. God chose me. He chose me to be His hands and feet in a country I’ve never thought twice about and yet here I am. It’s amazing at how much I am already falling for this place. Nicaragua is a beautiful place because the people are just easy to love. There is so much poverty here and the streets are dirty. The people are in need of so much but what they need most is Jesus Christ. They need to know there is hope. They need to know that they are loved and are worth being loved whether they are clean, dirty, rich or poor.
Our morning started with breakfast and then we headed to church. We went to church at Bethel III Iglesia Bautista. The pastor there is Rev. Pablo E. Garcia Morales. He has been the pastor there for twenty years and is still on fire for God. He preached on how God wants action from us and how many more people there are to baptize and win for the Lord. Church was such an amazing and overwhelming experience. The music was awesome and the guitars were rockin’ out. Everyone was getting into the worship from the old to the young. God’s presence was felt as soon as we stepped in. I was greeted with so much love. I was hugged by so many strangers but at the same time they didn’t feel like strangers. We were so welcomed there. Not long into the service the church members broke off into small groups to pray. As they were praying I started to pray and just felt the presence of God so strong in that moment that it brought me to tears. I have never experienced anything like this. Worshipping my God, their God, and our God in a different country with a different language and yet being just overwhelmed by His presence. God is everywhere and I have never believed that more than I did today.
After church we went to lunch. Most of us had either fried chicken or pizza. We then went to artisan market. This was a cool place. They had all kinds of stuff for sale from leather key chains to beautiful paintings. They had a lot of brightly colored purses and wooden items for sale. While at the market we were greeted by some little boys no older than ten trying to sell us different things made out of palm leaves. This is just one of the ways these kids try to make some money. They aren’t making it to buy a new playstation or i-pod. They are just trying to survive.
Today we also visited a volcano. We got there and all I thought was how beautiful this was. I was surprised by its beauty. Again, I became very humbled by God. I got to see a volcano created by the same God whose presence I felt earlier today in church. I just stood in awe looking around at volcano Masaya and thinking God brought me here. He brought me to this very spot and I am so grateful for this moment.
When we got back from the volcano I had the privilege of going back to church and watch my pastor preach. This was a great blessing from God to see my pastor preach in a different church with an interpreter. He talked about how we need to be the light in a world that is full of darkness.
I am so thankful for a God who is always faithful. He has been very faithful to me and has given me more than I deserve. I don’t deserve to be here but He chose me to be here and that’s very flattering.
Jennifer Ruble
Job 42:5 says “I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.” I am seeing God with my own eyes this week. He has given me a new perspective on my life but more importantly on who He is.
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