POST by LIZ: The LOVE Shack!

Elizabeth with some of her boys

As I fumbled my way through my purse hunting for the $20 Radio Shack discount receipt, the cashier asked me typical questions we get when entering places with a mass of Nicaraguan lads in tow.

I explained why we were in the States and why we live in Nicaragua. 

“Wow!” he gasped, after my spill, and at that moment he ceased just being the professional Radio Shack cashier across the counter from me, and revealed his humanitarian heart.  “I really want to do something like that too – I want to make a difference – wow, I bet that must make you feel really good…” and he continued to lavish praise and admiration for the work that we do. 

His eyes were gentle and genuine, but the rest of his words were wasted on me.  I couldn’t get past his phrase ‘I bet that must make you feel really good…’ His words whirled around my head, I couldn’t shake them.

“Make me feel good!” if only he knew how it made me feel.  I wanted to tell him how it really made me feel.  The recent events flashed through my mind like a B rated horror movie from the sixties.

Situations flashing through my mind recalling all the rejecting statements, compulsive lies, and bad attitudes which had been thrown into our path, like ugly weeds growing in a rose bed.

Now to be fair, this particular day had been especially tough; I had started out the day dealing with tired teenagers wanting to get their own way - which of course clashed with my own agenda for them, and I was having a particularly tough season dealing with Yordy, who was slipping away into depression, Rene, who wanted to act like a porn star, and Beycker, who thought he was every girls’ dream come true. 

I wanted to scream out and release the pent up feelings I had harboured and allow those who had taken out their own hurts and rejections on me, to see that I was just human too. I wanted to pour out my bottled-up hurt from constantly being rejected, unloved and unappreciated. 

My captured feelings shocked me.  I didn’t realise that I held on to so much hurt.  Over the years, I had helped many people unlock their trapped hurts and had explained that hurt left untouched would morph into binding bitterness – yet here I was, standing on a polished floor with a beaming cashier believing in what we do, and seeing the mountain of bitterness I had allowed to build within.

Never-the-less, I snapped back into my reality, smiled at the kindhearted cashier man, and said, “Yep, it’s rewarding, but it sure is a rollercoaster ride at times,” 

We left the shop with shouts of well-wishing from all the staff, including the district manager, who was visiting the store and had also taken interest in our life.  The lads were high spirited, and left the shop in normal style; double twists and flips. Everyone whooping and cheering and laughing and totally unaware of the mountain I carried inside.

Later that night I checked my heart before the Lord.  “God, I didn’t realise I was so hurt and I can feel bitterness consuming me.  I want to ‘feel good about what I do’, but right now I just feel that no matter how much I pour myself out, I receive a stack load of rejection, fear and failure thrown in my face.”

“You know what your problem is, Liz?” God shot back at me. “You are doing things out of your own love for people.  Even Jesus didn’t do this!  You think Jesus died for you because he loves you – but this is not true!”

“WHAT?” I thought… “that goes against EVERYTHING I was raised with. ” 

“Well, read the scripture Liz, it doesn’t say, ‘for Jesus loved the world so much he gave his life,’ No! It says, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only son..’ you see Liz, Jesus died for you out of love and obedience for me! But YES, Jesus does love you – because of my love for you! And this is the way you need to operate too.  If you do things out of your own love for others then you will either only love those that are lovely, but Matthew says... where is the reward in that?! But if you love the unlovely out of your own love, then you will get burnt out, rejected, unloved, and unappreciated. 

Because those who are rejected will reject, those who are unloved will be unlovely, and those who don’t feel appreciated will be ungrateful.   But, if you do it only out of love and obedience for me, then you won’t even look for praise or acceptance from others.  If you do things out of love for me, then it doesn’t matter what the reaction is from the person, because you will only look to me to say ‘Well done good and faithful servant!  Then you will truly be living for an audience of one!  The best part is that your love for others will actually increase – Jesus does love you and did die for you because he sees you through my eyes.  This is how I want you to approach your ‘work’ for me. ”

So, I can’t say that I am fully there yet, but I can say that when I receive the rejecting words and actions, especially the ones so typical from teenagers, they don’t stab my heart like before, because I’m now doing things out of love and obedience for God.

If you would like to learn more about our ministry, please watch our latest update,CLICK HERE

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To learn more about our street theatre production, "CREATED", please visit our page,NICAVANGELISTS: "CREATED", North American Tour (2013)

If you would like to see a video of some of our Nica-Youths practicing, please CLICK HERE

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POST by YORDY: The Purpose Driven Search

Raffy, Yordy & Jonny

My time in the States was very exciting. We met a lot of people with good hearts. They talked to us about their pasts and the changes that God has made in their lives.

We too, were able to share the truth about how our lives were before we got to know Jesus. We had very hard lives when we were lost on the streets. We only did bad things, and so I thank God for placing Jed and Elizabeth Brien in my life.

They are a very good family who follow the foot prints of our God. They showed us how to live with Jesus in our hearts. We too have been able to help others make changes in their lives. We’ve been able to help people who really needed it, in the United States.

I have a lot of faith in God, that he will give us another opportunity to share the gift that he has given us.

I hope to see God move in a lot of lives on this next trip (to Minnesota and Wisconsin) and also hope that the people we visit will learn more about the purpose that God has for their lives.

Thanks for reading and God bless you.

If you would like to support this fellow on a monthly basis, please CLICK HERE

To learn more about our street theatre production, "CREATED", please visit our page,NICAVANGELISTS: "CREATED", North American Tour (2013)

If you would like to see a video of some of our Nica-Youths practicing, please CLICK HERE

We are not up to budget, and travelling with 14 people is very expensive. We need an investment from Christian people for our next evangelism tour to the Midwest. To support us or make a once off donation, please visit our page,ContemplatingSUPPORTINGsomething significant?

To learn more about our home Church in Australia, please CLICK HERE

This story was written by a Nicaraguan youth, and was voluntarily given to Capital on the Edge for publishing. The subject choice was his entirely. He has elected to write about his experiences for the glory of God and so that others may learn from his experiences. The translation of this work is performed voluntarily and not professionally, hence there may be some errors. Any decisive deviation from the text is in consultation with the author, and is done so to make clear the life events written about and to provide further information so that the story is more understandable. 

Mi experiencia en Estados Unidos fue muy emocionante conocimos muhas personas con un buen corzon, ellos nos ensenaron su pasado y el cambio que dios hizo en sus vidas, nosotros tanvien les demostramos la verdad de como era nuestra vida antes de conocer a jesus, teniamos una vida muy dura perdidos en las calles solo hacienda cosas malas pero le doy muchas Gracias a dios por poner a Elizabeth y a jed brien ellos son una familia muy buena que siguen los pasos de nuestro dios, ellos nos ensenaron a vivir con jesus en nuestro Corazon logramos muchos canvios a personas que lo necesitaban en los estados unidos, tengo mucha fe en dios que el nos dara otra vez la oportunidad de compartir lo que dios nos a dado esperamos lograr muchos cambios en las vidas de las personas en este viaje y tambien aprendan mas sobre los propositos que nuestro dios ha puesto en nuestras vidas Gracias por todo y que dios los bendiga.

POST by SEZ: Good Mooning

Sezni learning HOW to trick on the tramp

Aben was teaching me tricking. I was practicing a new trick called a half moon flip. A half moon flip is that your legs go two steps and your legs are turning to the side it’s like your doing a backhand spray, but very different. I practice a lot , but it was so hard. I’m practicing it for a month.

I’m a kid who’s only ten years old. And I practice tricking a lot. I’ve been practicing for one year.

I practice outside my house where the sawdust is. The sawdust is like a convfy pillow. I started to practice the moon flip on Monday and I practice tricking because my mom and dad want’s me to be a tricker kid.

I trick with other trick kids and  five trick teachers. Aben, Stivey, Beycker, Rene and Yordy are my teachers. We all trick together like a big team, but I have a bad arm and leg, because it feels like I’ve been practicing forever.