from Cindi O

Our experience in Nicaragua has been rich indeed. It has been truly a humbling experience to work with 53 teachers over the course of the last three days. As I have observed the work of my Canadian colleagues, and the response of the teachers to their efforts, I have been struck by how joyful the Nicaraguans are. Their participation has been unrelentingly enthusiastic and punctuated by laughter. The sheer joy of life that bubbles to the surface, even when discussing the myriad of challenges before them every day, has been inspiring. As usual, I am leaving with far more than what I "gave" to the conference attendees.

I must admit I arrived here with many fears and worries. This seemed a foolish leap of faith, bringing a team of Canadian teachers together who were largely new to one another, going to a foreign country to run a conference for educators with whom we could not communicate, and had only a vague idea what, exactly, their needs were. We did not even know if anyone would show up!

But as we prepare to wrap things up tomorrow, I see how useless all of my worrying was. I am reminded of how weakness is essential if anything of value is to be achieved. We are each, after all, only earthen vessels, and it is in our daily struggles that God is most free to work. I take great comfort in this truth that somehow, in the midst of my own imperfections and powerlessness, God is at work anyhow...in spite of me.

2 Corinthians 4:7-10 (cast down but not conquered) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed - always carrying about in the body the dying of Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our lives. Cindi