Andy's take on things...

This series has been a process for me. This whole experience has been a process for me. Traveling to Nicaragua in September was never meant to be a once-and-done event for me - I knew that going in. What I didn't expect was the deep mark that it would leave. I have been on mission trips before. I would consider myself passionate about reaching "the least of these". But none of my previous trips or experiences, have left the deep impression that this experience has.

What I experienced by way of the hospitality, generosity of spirit and true joy among the folks in Nicaragua was in stark contrast to the backdrop of what I saw: poor living conditions, infrastructure problems, and deep political issues. Their generosity and happiness showed me something profound.

While Chris, Doug and I were flying back, I spent both flights reviewing the hours of footage and hundreds of photos that we took. The pragmatist in me was trying to "use my time well" and get the clips separated and labeled to begin working on the Thirsty series videos and the trip promo video. What I didn't realize is that while I had just about 4 hours to review footage, I was also getting 4 hours of reflection. I sat in my seat, headphones on, silently reflecting on the footage and photos that we had taken the 3 days prior. I looked at the faces of the kids (and the adults) - smiles abounded. While I could see deeper worry in the eyes and faces of the adults, there was still happiness amid their circumstance. If gratitude and generosity had a single expression, this was it.



I learned a lot on this trip. I've learned more since I got back. A lot about myself and my selfishness. Mostly about God and His generosity and how I should respond to Him. I've learned that generosity and gratitude are tightly intertwined (and in many cases could be the same). Generosity, as I experienced it in Nicaragua, was born of gratitude. Perhaps that is how our response in the Church should be. Maybe we are to be generous with others (not only of dollars, but of spirit, of love, of time - this list here could go on and on) because we have been given so much. I (You) may have little to give (monetarily, time, whatever fits the present excuse), but I (you) still have something to give because I (you) am (are) connected to the One who gave it all. It was said to us that the people of Nicaragua haven't had a chance to "see the Gospel", but somehow they showed me a portion of it.