“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and
encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will
not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a
great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears
away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure
hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”
2 Timothy 4:2-5.
This Scripture jumped off the page and swelled in my heart as I was studying the Bible
one morning. I had asked the Lord if He wanted me to go on another mission’s trip to Nicaragua,
and I waited for Him to confirm whether I was to go. Days and weeks passed before I received
this word from the Lord. In the meantime, doubts crept into my mind as I considered serving the
Lord on a mission’s team. “What can I offer the people of Nicaragua?” and “How can God use
me?” were just a couple of the questions that popped into my head as I pondered serving God in
a foreign country. And still, I wanted to go back. I remember how blessed I was when I served
on a team the prior year. But that isn’t the reason to go on a mission’s trip! I reminded myself
that the reason to go is to serve and minister to those whom I meet. It is to lift the name of Jesus
and to bring Him glory by loving on His people and encouraging them. So, I asked God to make
it clear to me about what He wanted me to do. And that’s exactly what He did. As I spent time in
His word, He spoke to my heart and clearly showed me that I was to go to Nicaragua with the
International Women’s Ministry team.
My finite human mind may never understand God’s economy until I see Him face to
face. As I purposed in my heart to go to be a blessing to others, I walked away from this visit to
Nicaragua being filled to the brim with the goodness and love of God. Little did I know that God
would use the pain from my personal experiences to bring comfort to others. What joy and
encouragement this gave me! How does He fill my heart full of love for people I don’t know?
Trust me when I say that I am not capable of doing any of this in my own strength. It is only
through surrender to Jesus that He uses my weakness to bring Himself glory and to edify others.
That is the exact message that we took to share with the women and children of Nicaragua –
Sufficient Grace.
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s
power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9.
While there are many highlights from this trip, there are three that stand out as
noteworthy. First, I worked with a team to share the message of God’s sufficient grace to the
children. We met with these children while their mothers met with the rest of our team for
women’s conferences. Each member of the Kid’s Team prepared a message focused on
Sufficient Grace. Each member taught a lesson, and just as importantly, we all played with,
spoke to, and loved on these precious children. We met many new children, and we also saw
some familiar faces, like Joshua. Joshua and his mother are members at Pastor Lenin’s church.
Joshua’s mother, a widow with several children, has remained faithful to the Lord and has served
tirelessly at the church. Joshua also knows the Lord and has the Word hidden in his heart. What a blessing he is! Life is often difficult for this family, especially with Joshua battling a serious
illness. What an honor it was to pray blessings over Joshua and for his healing! God has grafted
this family, especially Joshua, to my heart, and I continue to pray for him.
Just as special as the children we served are the three young women on the Kids Team.
Alaura, Aubree, and Mya, all of whom are just approaching adulthood, served the Lord with joy,
grace, and commitment beyond their years. These young women crafted their own Bible lessons,
taught the lesson, and stepped up to help with anything, often without being asked. They shared
God’s love with all the children they encountered….and there were a lot of children….groups of
twenty, sixty, and even eighty children at a time! What a testament to His sufficient grace! I am
honored to have worked with Mya, Aubree, and Alaura. I expect God will continue to use His
daughters now and into the future!
Finally, I had the unique opportunity to speak at one of the women’s conferences and
share how God’s sufficient grace has sustained me through many of life’s trials. Before I uttered
a word to speak, I fell in love with this group of women. They were welcoming, and they love
Jesus! When the service began, the women sang with gusto! I don’t know what the words were,
but I knew they were singing to Jesus. During prayer, I witnessed every single woman in the
room call out to God. They didn’t sit back and wait patiently for their women’s ministry leader to
pray over them. Rather, the whole room was abuzz with women crying out to God. I got chills as
I listened and prayed with them. The presence of the Holy Spirit was tangible and thick. As I
shared my message of God’s sufficient grace, I realized something. There may be cultural and
language differences, but each woman in the room was not really all that different. As women,
we held the same concerns. As moms, we cried tears over similar situations. And, we all love the
King of Kings!
This experience has forever changed me. I have learned so much from these women. And
most importantly, I have experienced God’s sufficient grace in deeper ways than ever. Being
able to share some of the trials of my life and use God’s word to bring encouragement to these
