Unleash the power!

As we prepare to head to our annual Jenkins Restorations packing event and Christmas party next month, we thought it appropriate to share a post written by a Jenkins employee who traveled to Nicaragua this fall. Lyndee also writes that she has been inspired to work on learning Spanish now and has downloaded DuoLingo. She is so excited about understanding Spanish better, ”which will be fun when I go to Nicaragua again… I will be able to speak more with the people!”

I had the incredible privilege to travel to Nicaragua for a long weekend with several people from my company, Jenkins Restorations. We pack food every year in December with Servants With a Heart. This year, we got to actually see the very boxes we packed being given out to the people of Nicaragua and how this physical gift opens the door to their hearts and provides an opportunity for us to pray with them and for lives to be changed for eternity.

Back at home, I received an email from my work about an opportunity to go to Nicaragua. I very casually responded to the second email sent out thinking I might be interested. I didn't hear the voice of God saying I shouldn't go. So, hey, what the heck, let's fly to a third world country. My movement to sign up for this trip could not have felt more casual and less exciting. Instead of knowing God's voice and recognize this calling in my life, it felt like a whim that I may or may not follow through with.

Now, I contrast this casual decision to fly to Nicaragua with every decision that was made while I was in Nicaragua. When the plane touched down, it was “go time.” Suddenly, all the distractions in my life were gone. I didn't have email to check, shopping to do, cleaning, playing with my new Fitbit, going to the gym—everything from my normal life was removed. Now, the only thing on my agenda was to listen to God and do what he says. A casual whim turned into clear direction from God and his voice became distinct. When I am not distracted by the things of the world, the spiritual battle takes a front row and I remember that I am a warrior.

The first thing we did (after eating food—because that is what Americans do), was go to a dump. When we arrived, there was already a man there from our partner ministry, Samaritans International, singing worship songs with the people who lived in the dump. I could not sing along, since I don't know Spanish, but I could feel the Holy Spirit moving as I listened to the song. I was drawn to this one particular girl. She looked to be 12 or 13. She was raising her hands as she sang and I knew that she trusted in God. This girl lived her life digging through trash looking for things to sell. From a worldly view, she had nothing, but the truth is, she had the only thing that really matters. She had hope in God. My heart was filled with joy as I watched these people who had no earthly treasures raise their hands and worship God. They didn't have the distractions that I have at home. They knew that God was their only hope. They chose to rest in Him because they didn’t have anything else to rest in.

We went to several churches, a school, and into communities. We delivered a lot of food. Wherever we delivered food, we prayed for the people. We asked for specific prayer requests. We unashamedly went before the throne of God and asked Him to save their souls, heal their sicknesses, provide jobs, and bring joy. The spiritual warfare was so evident. At one church, our preacher's translator, Jackie, was physically attacked by a demon. She was pushed back and she almost tripped. It was telling her she was unworthy and that she should not be translating. The master of lies was attacking her. However, God is stronger than any devil. Jackie knew that these were lies and she kept on translating. She spoke God's truth to the people. At that very same church, as we prayed, God healed a woman's kidney pain and took it away. In Nicaragua, I remembered that we have access to the amazing power of God and when we pray in faith, we will see God do amazing things.

Now that I am back home, I am once again surrounded by many distractions. Many of these things are necessary—doing chores, checking email, going to work. These are things I am thankful I have, but I pray I will not allow them to distract me from the voice of God. I pray I will not forget the spiritual battle that is going on daily. I still have access to God's amazing power and all I need to do is pray in faith and God will do amazing things.

We have access to God's power, so let's unleash it.

Lyndee Fritzemeier, Jenkins Restorations