Over the summer, I had the opportunity to go to Nicaragua for a missions trip with Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE). I learned about the culture while I was creating a missions’ moment video, a video about the ministry of a missionary in their field. While we were in Nicaragua, we stayed at Centro ABEM. The subject of the video, Pablo Abel, was part of the summer camp staff there.
On the day I was supposed to interview Abel, he was unable to make it, so I went with another team member into Managua.
During my visit, I saw what poverty looks like. While getting footage, I was able to interact with some Nicaraguan children. The Nicaraguan children that I interacted with were playing a game, where they would throw a rock and see who threw the rock the furthest. I asked them if I could take a picture of them while they were playing the game. They wanted to see the picture after I took it, then they started smiling because they liked the picture. The Nicaraguan people were so nice, happy and content with what they had.
The videos that were created were used to raise support for the missionary and the subject of the story. Being that ray of light on the story of what is happening in Nicaragua helped me the rest of the summer. I was able to bring that same light into the lives of others in the days to follow.
After we got back to the United States, our team completed the final editing of our videos. The video I created started off with Nicaraguan children who had nothing, then went to a clip of Abel interacting with the children at camp and presenting a message from God’s Word. I also included a couple of interviews from the missionaries who worked with Abel. When I got home, I shared my video with my home church, as well as the ABWE agency.
The next part of my summer was spent working at Miracle Ranch, a Christian camp. We had staff training during the first couple of days. On the last night of staff training, we had a cross night also known as a prayer night and I prayed to God saying, “I am ready for a change. I am all in this summer.”
Recently I had been feeling empty. Even though I go to a Christian university, I fell away from Christ. But, this past summer I was ready to feel God’s presence in my life again. Since I recommitted my life to Christ, I have been surrounded by His presence.
I broke down because I was so hurt, and my group just prayed over me. The next night, we had another cross night with the Miracle Ranch staff. That night I recommitted my life to Christ. Before I left, I was re-baptized. Throughout the summer, I got to be a camp counselor to many girls. I felt called to be a mentor to them. Two of them were new Christians.