All In Nicaragua

All In Nicaragua!

Alive Youth Ministries

Our Alive Youth Missions team from Family First recently came back from Nicaragua during a week in July to work alongside a ministry called King’s Castle (or Castillo del Rey). From the very first plane ride as we were beginning our journey, I knew the Holy Spirit had mighty plans and divine appointments for our team. I was reading and listening to music on the plane (because what else is there to do in the middle seat lol), when Lindy Conant’s song “Isaiah 6” came on my phone. I have heard this song multiple times before, but this time the lyrics really hit me! I heard it as a challenge and an opportunity to rise up to that which was right in front of me, and then I responded in surrender to the call of God.

There are roads that are still untouched
That have yet to receive Your love
And all creation is crying out
For the cross

There are hearts that have yet to see
The power of Christ that has set them free
For such a love you have sent Your Son
To save what's lost

So who will go?

Now your eyes run to and fro
To find the ones who will rise and go
To any distance far or wide
To take your heart

With burning hearts we will take this task
And give our lives for what you asked
The calls gone out and we must respond
To Your voice

Oh God, here am I, send me
Use me for Your glory
Oh God, Here am I, send me
Pick me up and write your story

And we will go till the whole world knows
That Jesus is alive
And we will run burning with Your love
With fire in our eyes

The people in Nicaragua were waiting for us, and the Holy Spirit had gone before us to pave the way for us to go. When we responded in obedience to His call, He opened doors and did miracles! Children, parents, churchgoers and more were reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ while we hosted 11 programs on the streets of Managua and Leon and served in 2 church services. It was incredible! Up to 615 people were reached with the Gospel, 197 made decisions to follow Christ, 97 were prayed for healings, and 113 were prayed for problems they were facing.

Throughout our time in Nicaragua, the Holy Spirit kept challenging our team (and me specifically) to do things we never thought we could do. I was asked to help lead worship at 2 church services, both of which were going to include songs in both English and in Spanish. There was only one problem; I don’t speak Spanish very well. This alone could have been my excuse to back away from the opportunity, but I took it as an adventure the Holy Spirit was leading me on. I had help from our translators, and I lead worship with songs in both English and Spanish! Something I had never done before! And you know what, when I was singing in Spanish I actually felt the weight of the anointing on my life that God was using to minister at that very moment. Never had I felt such a strong anointing then in that moment when I was singing in a new place, in a new language, to people I had never met. I felt the freedom to worship in this new language, and not just sing, but to actually worship the Lord and sing spontaneously in His presence. Now that was all God! I made myself available, and He used me in a new way that I never saw happening before that moment and that opportunity arose.

The beautiful thing about being one of the leaders on our trip to Nicaragua was that I got to see this growth happen in each and every person on our team. Michell (my hubby) preached at a church in Leon, with a translator speaking in Spanish. The church was packed with people from front to back with adults, young adults, youth, and anyone in between. He was greatly stretched in his faith, and God used him mightily to speak an on-time word for that congregation. We spent time in the altars with all of our team praying and laying hands on people, for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit, for freedom in physical and emotional ways, for healings, and more! I was amazed looking around and just watching all of our students walk in such faith to go up to strangers and pray for them, even when they didn’t speak the same language! Every person was stepping out, and God was meeting them right there.

The ministry of King’s Castle in Nicaragua is doing amazing things for the people of Nicaragua and for the Kingdom! It was truly an honor to work alongside their leaders, nationals, interns, and more. We were only there for a short time, but for some many of these leaders this is what they have dedicated their lives to! These people are led by the Spirit of God to witness to the people to the Nicaragua and to love on so many of these families in the name of Jesus. We also were able to partner with a team from Louisiana and work alongside them in ministry. The Holy Spirit truly knit our hearts together to minister with one heart and one mind. We were so blessed by the way God had orchestrated our time together, from the start to the finish.

Isaiah 55:5-7, “Behold you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you. Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”

Our God brings liberty to the captives, binds up the broken hearted, comforts those who mourn and more! (Isaiah 61) This is exactly what He is doing in the nation of Nicaragua and this is exactly what He wants to do all over the world! It’s not because of us, we are simply the vessels and the messengers; but when we surrender ourselves to Christ – He uses us for His glory! He makes a way for us to share His love to people who need to hear it!

Thanks for following our All In Hernando blog; God is doing great things all over the world, and that includes using the area of Hernando County to help influence the uttermost parts of the earth and people everywhere! Want to share a testimony with us? Email us at allin@familyfirstassembly.com. Thanks for reading!

- Meredith Hobbs