A Life Worth Following

Sunday night, the Ambassadors loaded up and headed to Dallas.  We got a couple of hours of sleep and then headed to the airport for a 5:00am check in.  Things went smooth and at 7:00 we were off to Nicaragua.

Going through customs was very smooth and everybody was ready for some lunch.  We went to a popular chicken dive in Nicaragua and made a pretty good impact on the chicken supply in this country.  After lunch, we began the two hour trek to Leon. 

The drive was fairly smooth and we only had to change one flat tire.  It was an experience that created some great photo opportunities. After the tire was changed, we stopped by a small town called Old Leon to meet Mrs. Tooley and her neighbor.  They live right at the base of Volcano Momotombo.  This was an incredible experience for all of us.  As we were visiting with Mrs. Tooley, all of us began to understand the reality of Nicaragua being the second poorest country in the world. 

A few months ago, Mrs. Tooley lived in a home that was walled off by sheets of plastic.  She shared living space with hogs, cows and a few chickens and roosters.  The living conditions for this 65 year old grandmother was truly unbelievable.  When the leadership of ¨On Eagles Wings¨met this lady, they began to pray for resources to help Mrs. Tooley build a new home.  The resources came through a man from Virginia and a team built Mrs. Tooley a brand new 500 sqaure foot home for $4000.  She was so proud to show her new home to our baseball team. 

After we met Mrs. Tooley, we had the opportunity to pray for her neighbor.  She allowed us to have a tour of her home.  She lives in a place with her six children that is truly undescribable.  They are praying for a new home and all I can say is that she needs one.  I am still wondering how this structure is standing.  Our boys gathered around this family in their living area and prayed that the Lord would provide a new home for them.  I was proud of our guys as they laid hands on this family asking God to provide for their needs.  What an experience to see first hand the needs of a Nicaraguan family of six.  I guarantee you that you won´t be hearing any complaints about living conditions in the United States from any of our boys.

I wish that each one of you could have seen the compassion on the faces of our team as they prayed for this family.  Their eyes said so much.  After this experience, we made it to Leon by 6:00pm.  We had dinner and our orientation meeting.  By 8:30, we were all so tired, we went to bed.  That is right, we went to bed by 8:30.  You can tell you are on a good mission trip when the entire group wants to go to bed by 8:30.

Right now, we are about to head out for an incredible day.  At 10am this morning, we are meeting at the town square of Leon with for a ceremony with the Mayor.  There will be a band playing and a big public formal welcoming.  We are going to present the Mayor with an Ambassador jersey.  We are giving him a Sullivan 15 gift jersey.  At 2:00 we will conduct our first clinic in the city of Leon.  Then at 6pm tonight, we will play our first baseball game at the city field.  At 5:00, the local band will lead us in a procession to the ballpark.  They have put the Ambassadors on local TV and radio and it is really a big deal that we are in town.  It is all really amazing. 

Please pray for us today because the Lord is going to use us to share the gospel with thousands of people today.  We are understanding more and more what it means to live out 2 Corinthians 5:20.  God is allowing us all to be Ambassadors for Christ today.