Towards the end of our time in Costa Rica, we were told that Nicaragua would be “ATL” month. That means that normally when we would be told specifically where we would live and what ministry we would work with, this month was all on us to figure out. Well, not really, ATL stands for , “Ask The Lord”. So this month has been all about leaving room for Him to lead. We prayed about where to work in Nicaragua and all had different ideas of what the Lord was telling us. Some words that floated around amongst our team were “women”, “sex trafficking”, “Managua”, and “children”. We had no idea where to go from there. 

One day, our Squad Leader, Abby, called. We have two squad leaders that switch off which teams they are with of the six. Abby called to say that she had been praying and kept thinking about our team. She said she couldn’t stop thinking about our team. A woman she had worked with back in the states heard she was in Nicaragua and told her about a ministry called House of Hope that desperately needed volunteers, if she knew anyone interested. Abby began praying again and continued to hear our team’s name. She brought the idea to us and we prayed on it. She also found out after that she would be with our team for ATL month. So that was cool.

Turns out, House of Hope is a shelter for women that have been pulled out of prostitution and their children in the city of Managua. It checked all of our boxes, so we decided to go for it. We slept in a back room on the floor and had bathrooms with no running water. Some of our friends were staying at fancy hostels or nice resort-like homes, but we didn’t mind. We knew that we were there for a reason, we just didn’t know what it was yet. No one spoke English, but we took it as an excuse to practice Spanish. It was a lot of choosing to see the good in all things. I started praying every morning that the Lord would show Himself in the small things, that we would find joy in every moment. And man, did He deliver. 

We got to play with the kids and press into the mothers all day long. These women that we were told had lied, cheated, stolen, and killed men, were braiding our hair and playing Red Rover with us and the kids. God is so good at redeeming stories. He chases down what feels too far gone. There is a butterfly on the logo and the woman who designed it told me that butterflies live so much of their lives ugly and dirty, crawling on the floor as caterpillars. They then experience a phenomenal change and turn into something beautiful, something new. That is the goal at House of Hope as well. The Lord brings women to House of Hope and orchestrates a change like this, butterfly from caterpillar, wonder from normalcy, beauty from ashes. 

Only God can do something like that. House of Hope has an on-site therapist, many classes on parenting and sexual assault, Bible studies, devotionals, and an incredible staff. Yet still, only God can do something like that. This ministry brought me so much joy. The little girls putting flowers in my hair while I sat in the grass, kids coloring family portraits that included all of the women at the shelter, sitting at a long table for lunch and laughing with the 14 women plus all of their kids as if we had known each other forever. It felt like one big family and every day was a holiday. The kids would get home from school and run into our arms. The moms would rush to serve us first at lunch. God’s love for us so clearly on display every day. It was just fun. It was just beautiful. 

Our impact was seen there. We didn’t change these women’s lives. We didn’t get these kids into school. We didn’t provide the food or the housing. God and the ministry did that. But when we showed up, there was a change. The atmosphere shifted. They hadn’t had a team in seven years. Nicaragua as a whole had felt forgotten. This ministry was no different. A lot of these women have lived at House of Hope for over 5 years. They either knew of or heard stories of teams in the past. It was so beautiful to help in this way. They didn’t need us, they were self-sufficient. But they wanted us, they wanted our joy. God didn’t need us, but He chose to use us. He chose to bring them joy through us. 

We spent two weeks at this ministry, getting to know moms and loving on the kids. We organized craft rooms, held a women’s conference, prayed over people, washed feet, but most importantly we loved them. With no agenda, no ulterior motives, nothing, we just loved them. Just for the sake of loving them. We showed them that they were so worth loving. 

Thank You, Lord, for showing us Your love for us in the little things these past two weeks. Thank You for meeting us where we are at and sometimes where we are at is just wanting to play. Thank You for showing us how You see us, not as who we were, not as our choices, not as our old lives, but as who You created us to be; as Your daughters, as Yours. 
-K