Before leaving home for Nicaragua, I had completed my Associates of Science degree and was searching where to go from there. I enrolled at a tech school and began pursuing a degree in nursing. In June 2013, The Lord led to me to Adventures in Missions’ Passport trip to Nicaragua. By this point I had only a few more courses remaining before applying for acceptance into the Nursing Program. In pursuance for an answer, I continued to pray about what my next steps should be and questioned if nursing was really the direction that God wanted for me.
On January 21, 2014, I left with an open mind and an heart to receive whatever The Lord would have for me as I embarked on an adventure of self-discovery and service to His people. I had no clue what that actually meant. Upon arrival at Vision Nicaragua, my new home, I learned that my team and I would be doing many different types of ministry – one in particular struck me. Vision Nicaragua has a medical clinic on base with a local doctor in the clinic Monday thru Thursday mornings. When I first heard about the clinic I was super excited to know that the locals here had a way to obtain the medical attention and medicine that they needed. Little did I know that I would have a part in this ministry!
My first day in the clinic a few of my teammates and I sorted medicine, filled prescriptions, cleaned, and visited with the patients. We met sweet Conny, a local who has volunteered to help in the clinic as a nurse. Conny has no degree or schooling, yet she is one of the best nurses I’ve ever known. Conny desired to be a nurse as a young woman but never got the opportunity to attend nursing school. However, The Lord knew what her gifts were and He knew how He wanted to use them. Around the time Conny had started looking into schools, a war broke out. She was asked to step in at the local hospitals to assist with the over abundance of patients. Conny learned the practice of nursing the way The Lord wanted her to; which was even better than the plans she had for herself.
In a similar light, The Lord has shaken things up for me. I came to Nicaragua with no clear decisions about my future. I was not confident in what I wanted to do because I couldn’t decide how to best use the gifts The Lord has graciously blessed me with. When I met Conny and began working in the clinic, these fuzzy ideas about what I should do with my life became more clear.
In the clinic on day one, after my teammates and I were instructed on how to sort medicine and how to fill the prescriptions, word got out that I had some experience taking blood pressure and Conny sought me out. I told her that the last time I practiced was in high school (somewhere between 4-8 years ago), but Conny didn’t care. She reviewed the process with me and after a few minutes I was off on my own. I was so amazed at how quickly it all came rushing back! So cool! Then, just as I was getting back into my groove, Conny handed me a needle, 2 different solutions and pointed to a nebulizer. Before I could think to react, she instructed a woman who was holding her 5-month old child to come sit on the bench near me. Conny taught me how to use the machine and explained that the baby had some respiratory congestion along with other various symptoms. After running through the procedure once, Conny left me to it!
At the end of my first official day, Conny told me that she was overwhelmed by the presence of Holy Spirit in and around me. She said that The Lord kept telling her over and over that this is where I need to be and what I needed to do. She told me that watching me care for His people made her heart overwhelmed with joy! Conny had NO idea that I had been seeking answer from The Lord about what His plans were for me. I love how He has such intentional, loyal ways of responding to our prayers.
I goto the clinic pretty much every opportunity that I get! I am totally in my element and I am convinced that THIS is what The Lord wants me to do! I am eagerly looking forward to more confirmations from Him about what my next steps should be. Shout out to my team – I am so thankful to have had the support of you guys when I was put into these positions of immediate surrender. Your support in these moments is such an encouragement. Also, I am so blessed to be able to work with Ms. Conny, she is such a blessing to these people. I love watching her work as she loves on the families that need her the most. Her testimony is a true witness that when you trust in The Lord, he will not only answer you, but He will do so in the most loving way possible.
