A tale of two lines

Two sides of the story...
We have been volunteering with Servants With a Heart for over five years now as a family. Packing meals with my family and friends is a fantastic way to serve and I think it brings my family closer together. As Christians, it gives us a chance to act out our faith. We help run events as a family but also get involved using our talents to assist in running the organization. It has really been a blessing for all of us. Delivering the food in Nicaragua provides a different perspective of the process.

Last month, I joined three other men for SWH’s first visit since unrest plagued the country one year ago. We wanted to participate in the delivery of food as well as determine if Nicaragua was calm enough to start taking groups down again.

The delivery process was different in each village we visited. Some of them have feeding centers where the food is distributed regularly, even daily. Other locations receive food as needed, rather than by strict schedule. The people are very friendly and grateful for the food. More than half of the people in Nicaragua who live in rural areas live in extreme poverty (less than $1.25/day, as we teach in our education curriculum), and the economy was decimated even more by the recent civil and political unrest. Our food is needed and appreciated

Our first village visit included a worship service and there was a lot of joyful singing. As a Christian, what struck me the most was the praying. This is not like a dinner-time prayer or routine occurrence at the end of a service. This prayer is a petition to God for needs. Real needs. The prayers I experienced during this trip meant the most to me and made me feel completely inadequate.

After the worship service the children got in a line for the food. I thought about how we pack the food on what we call “lines.” Two very different lines, yet so intertwined. And both have a great deal of significance to me and my family, and to all of us at SWH.

Tyler Reynolds