Today we had the privilege of experiencing church within the Nicaraguan culture. We attended the Iglesia de Verbo, which is a lively evangelical church in Managua. Worship took on a distinctly Latin flavour with a great worship band and dancing. It was a great blessing to experience the passion and love they have for God expressed in their worship and community. We were also fortunate that this church provides translation for English speaking members and visitors. We heard how we need to be ready to open the door when God knocks, preparing our hearts and minds and being ready to move, when God arrives.
After church we returned to the Nehemiah Center for an early lunch before heading to the local beach for a bit of relaxation. Many members enjoyed a swim in the warm ocean waters, while others enjoyed a stroll along the beach. It was a great time of recharging and connecting with our other group members. The afternoon was rounded off with an early dinner before heading back to the Nehemiah center and an evening of activities. The more braver souls ate one of the local delicatessens – boiled turtle eggs.
Back at the Nehemiah center we met with Lenon and Pablo. Lenon is a member of the EduDeo staff at the center and Pablo is the head of ACECEN, an organization which provides dialogue and training for Christian schools. Lenon provided us with a short history of the Nehemiah center and explained how it functions, after which Pablo explained a bit more about the creation and functioning of ACECEN. We were blessed to hear how the organizations at the Nehemiah center works together and how ACECEN has been helping equip teachers and provide them with the necessary training to use Biblically based curriculum in their schools.
We culminated the evening with the movie Reparando, which is a very touching documentary about Guatemala and some people providing hope in the everyday struggles of one of the slums communities. We all went away moved at the heart of these Christians within the devastation left after a 30 year civil war.
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