As the pandemic continues, stay-at-home orders for several countries remain, and others begin to open back up, our work in each base is looking different every week. However, we are blessed to continue finding ways to serve God in the communities to bring light and hope. Today’s story comes from our staff in Nicaragua!

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

– Ephesians 6:18

Like most Latin American cultures, Nicaraguan culture thrives on relationships, meeting together, and greeting each other with a hug and a kiss. Still, throughout this time, we haven’t been able to do any of those things. How do we show the people of the communities how much we love and pray for them? How do we do that when we cannot meet together? We have been doing all we can to continue to show love and continue to run our sites as much as possible, but there are many here who have not left their homes in months for fear of getting sick. We also want to love our neighbors, which means keeping distance with those at high risk.

Rather than focusing on the things that we CAN’T do, we want to be creative in the things that we CAN do. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” We decided on renting a truck with a speaker and microphone. These are common around here for people collecting scrap metal, or selling vegetables, or announcing a special event.

We organized a prayer caravan, traveling throughout each one of the communities in which we work. We loaded up all of our staff in different vehicles and set out to visit all these areas. We were able to stop, get out of the vehicles, and pray for each community and the people there. In some communities, we prayed for specific members, calling them by name. In other areas, we prayed over the community as a whole. We were able to pray blessings over them, as well as pray for their health and protection. In many places, people came out to pray with us, while others looked out their windows to see what was going on. Our hope is that people know that they are important, cared for, and that we are praying blessings over their lives and families in the name of Jesus Christ.

We continue to seek creative ways to love our neighbors during these difficult times. What creative ways have you found to share the love of Jesus Christ with the people around you?