Isaiah 6:8<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Wow, what a week to have me blog for this chapter!\u00a0 I just came back from a life changing trip to Nicaragua.\u00a0 This wasn’t my first mission trip though, in fact, last year I went to Guatemala with all intentions of going back. God started working on me way before we left on August 11.\u00a0 I signed up to go to Guatemala then a Proverbs 31 She Speaks conference was scheduled in the same month – due to financial reasons I had to choose one or the other.\u00a0 I chose Proverbs 31 as I felt like God was working on me to expand my personal ministry and begin writing or speaking.\u00a0 So….I registered for the conference.\u00a0 A few weeks later at church I see where my own church is taking their first independent mission trip to Nicaragua! Immediately God let me know that I was supposed to be on that team\u00a0 – so I cancelled the conference registration and joined the missionary team.\u00a0\u00a0 My wonderful husband had given me the conference money which I now needed for the mission trip and I was able to raise the rest without issue. Yes, God was at work.\u00a0 When I almost raised all the money needed, the people at work asked me how much more I needed, I told them $125 – they raised $82 for me.\u00a0 I talked to our pastor taking us, his records had me only owing $80 and I had just received $82! \u00a0I preface this story telling you this so you understand how from the very beginning, when I was asking God to show me what ministry activity I was supposed to\u00a0participate in\u00a0– He was there – setting me up the entire time.<\/p>\n With that resolved, Like Priscilla in our story today, I now prayed for a broken heart – for the biggest, cracked, shattered, brokest broken heart because you just can’t heal one that is unbroken.\u00a0 I truly wanted to FEEL the pain, I wanted to understand, I didn’t just want to go through the motions.\u00a0 I needed to be broke.\u00a0 Does that make sense?<\/p>\n The first 5 days of our mission trip were spent in a village called\u00a0Salinas Grande.\u00a0 It is on the ocean and is built around a salt mine. It was about 8 miles of dirt roads, Many houses were lean-to’s wrapped in black plastic, some were block but were open to weather.\u00a0 People rode horses and yes, we saw many horses with make-shift wagons (piece of flat plywood) that they would ride multiple people or things on.\u00a0 Most had electricity with mostly 1 lightbulb hanging for light. However running water was not an everyday gift in most houses.\u00a0 People went with buckets and containers to get their water; sometimes on bikes, sometimes on horses, sometimes walking.\u00a0 \u00a0Oh yes, the heart was breaking already.\u00a0 Thank you Jesus.\u00a0 How can we have so much and they have so little?\u00a0 Why God?<\/p>\n We met a 90-year-old beautiful, precious woman at one of the feeding programs.\u00a0 She was manually hoisting\u00a0the water from a very deep well with a bucket and pulley.\u00a0 Our guys tried to lift the water to see how she managed, they could not lift it far!\u00a0 God, she’s 90 and happy, I said.\u00a0 This is life for her; but why? We all have clean running water into our homes – and this elderly sweet lady had to drop a bucket into a well for hers?\u00a0 More heart break….I gave this woman the biggest hug I could possibly give.\u00a0 There is no language barrier with a hug!\u00a0 And the GREATest news…..We had a person on our team who dealt with water pumps at work and we were able to give this\u00a0her running water at the flip of a switch.\u00a0 No more pulling her water up with a 10 gallon bucket!<\/p>\n The children were beautiful.\u00a0\u00a0 They would come to the feeding programs at lunch time and get a nice hot lunch. These are funded by missionary teams through Open Eyes Ministries. They would come up on bikes or walking with their empty bowls and spoons and for some, this might be the only full meal a day they get.\u00a0\u00a0 Can you feel my heart shattering…..being totally broken.\u00a0 And I prayed for this! I needed this!\u00a0 The ladies would cook over their fires, no stoves for them, preparing a big bowl of rice, a big bowl of beans, and a big bowl of some kind of meat and vegetables and we would serve these beautiful little people.\u00a0 We’d play with them – they loved to play ‘football’ (soccer), we had some doing the hokey pokey with us and a translator – All God’s people, but living a different kind of life.<\/p>\n We went into a pastor’s home for a sewing ministry – the young girls were learning how to sew and were making school uniforms to help furnish uniforms to the children at schools that didn’t have the money for them.\u00a0 Someone in ministry had gotten them Brother Sewing Machines to work with – they looked so out-of-place\u00a0in this pastors open house with chickens and little biddies\u00a0running through it – they even had a couple of green parakeets\u00a0 running around – but they were happy.\u00a0 It was HOT and there wasn’t much air running through the house, but here these girls sat learning a trade\u00a0\u00a0because someone cared.\u00a0 Amazing Grace! God is so good! The navy blue skirts they made had perfect pleats.\u00a0 I stood in awe.\u00a0 I had to donate to this ministry.\u00a0 They were working so hard to give back and they didn’t have enough themselves.\u00a0 —-crash, shatter—-bang…<\/p>\n I know this is getting long-winded, but I have to tell you about the final straw!\u00a0 We went into the schools to teach lessons to the children. We taught Honesty, Optimism, Integrity, and on the last day we took them the gospel.\u00a0 I had the opportunity for the first time to stand up in front of this class and teach them about taking Jesus into their hearts, asking for forgiveness of their sins, teaching them that their slate would wash clean, and they would be new.\u00a0 In my class, I had 22 students and a teacher pray the prayer of salvation!\u00a0 Oh be still my heart!\u00a0 Further shatter…..completely broken – emotionally exhausted.\u00a0 We had 94 total give their hearts in the school that day!<\/p>\n I will end by telling you that I left Nicaragua with a shattered, broken, destroyed heart.\u00a0 God made sure that it would never be the same again.\u00a0 Even as it healed, the remnants of the cracks would remain.\u00a0\u00a0 I now know that my heart is in ministry for the lost.\u00a0 For those that do not know Jesus Christ.\u00a0 I am on a life mission to be part of the groups that change things in the world for those are less fortunate, and many times lost.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I won’t ever be the same person after this trip.\u00a0 God used it to change me so I in turn could change the lives of others.\u00a0 I’m thankful to Jesus for shattering my heart. For showing me the way.\u00a0 I pray that if you have never had your heart spiritually broken, you pray for it.\u00a0 Pray that\u00a0God takes it and shatters\u00a0in it pieces. The beauty of what you feel afterwards will change your life as it did mine.<\/p>\n _________________________<\/p>\n Let’s Pray<\/p>\n Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for breaking my heart.\u00a0 Thank you for allowing me to share my broken heart with others; allowing me to be a vessel for you.\u00a0 Bless each one that reads this blog today and each one that doesn’t.\u00a0 I pray that you will work in our lives, in our hearts, and mold us and shape us to be missionaries to the world – starting right here in our own towns and cities.\u00a0 Thank you for the running water, the electricity, the way of life we have here in the USA.\u00a0 Work with us so that we can take some of our wealth, spiritually and otherwise, to other places in the world, blessing your children there as we are blessed.\u00a0 We ask these things in your name, Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n Your Assignment:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Perhaps you’ve been burned when trying to reach out too drastically, people have taken advantage of you or misunderstood your motives; but when you to go minister Christ’s love to another person, what is your real reason for going?\u00a0 What’s a better way to evaluate your success than with measurable, feel-good results alone?<\/em><\/p>\n After you have commented below, go back to our Online Bible Study Group on Facebook to see what our Daily FUN\u00a0Activity is. If you do not yet belong to our OBS Facebook group, and would like to, please send an email to:<\/p>\n GirlfriendsCoffeeHour@gmail.com<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n We’ll send you the details needed to get you into this group!<\/p>\n Don’t forget to stop by Craig’s blog to see what the guys are up to with The Resolution for Men.<\/p>\n www.adversusmundi.wordpress.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n With Big Hugs and a Big Heart,\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <3 Kelley<\/p>\n __________________________________<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n ___________________<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n ___________________<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/69.89.31.171\/~girlfrk8\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/nic11.jpg?w=150\" "\\"Nic11\\"")
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/69.89.31.171\/~girlfrk8\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/nic14.jpg?w=300\" "\\"Nic14\\"")
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