Working in the intersections in Managua is not easy work. It is hot as the sun beats down on the black concrete. It is dangerous as you weave in and out of cars trying to receive a coin or two. And it is full of rejection as people close their windows and pretend that you do not exist. I decided years ago that I would never say no to the window washers in the intersections. For the most part, they are young teenage boys or men who were once young boys who have grown up washing windows their whole lives. On a trip through the capital of Managua to my kid’s school, I might get my windows washed up to 8 times. It’s a privileged and an honor to engage these young men and give them a few coins and ask them their names and show them gratitude and compassion.
This week, my amazing team headed to one of the busiest intersections in Managua that sits right in front of the new Walmart. Yes, we actually have a Walmart in Nicaragua now! ?? In this intersection you will find young children all the way to elderly adults. The crippled are wheeled between the cars in makeshift wheel chairs as they beg for coins. People come to your windows selling everything from windshield wipers to fruit to mosquito zappers. The teenage boys hustle from car to car with squirt bottles and squeegees ready to clean your windshields. This week, my team packed some lunches to share and they drove to the intersection with plans to feed the boys, get to know them a bit and tell them about Jesus. As they gathered the boys beside the intersection and began talking to them, a young girl named Meyling, who also works in the intersection, came and threw herself down in the middle of everyone. She fell on her knees crying and asking for prayer. She said that she couldn’t stand being tormented anymore and she wanted to be free. Our team sat in the grass with Meyling as the cars sped by and people hustled about all around. They prayed for her and as they prayed, whatever spirit that was tormenting her left. They ministered to her and they said she completely changed as she experienced the Prince of Peace who set her free.
As I sit and let the beautiful reality of this testimony sink in, I begin to realize that most of the powerful testimonies that create our history with God in Nicaragua aren’t from big events. They don’t come from crusades that we organized or outreaches that we planned. Don’t get me wrong, we have seen amazing fruit from those events and outreaches. But the moments that have impacted our ministry the most and the memories that we cherish the most have all come from days that we showed up with hardly a plan, a little lunch to share and hearts ready to love. It’s in those moments where we stopped for the person in front of us and showed compassion. Sometimes we can get so busy or in our own heads that we lose sight of the bigger reality that is happening around us. That reality is Jesus and the Kingdom of heaven that is at hand. May this testimony be a reminder as well as a call to action for each of you who reads it - as it has been for me as I reflect on it. May we stop for the one in need everyday and steward a lifestyle of love and power that brings heaven to earth all around us. There is a Meyling waiting for you and for me to step into the reality of being sons and daughters of the Creator of heaven and earth. Perfect loves casts out all fear and how perfectly you are loved by your Daddy God! May we boldly and tenderly love each person God blesses us to see today. May they be set free and know they are His beloved.