If you have been reading this blog, and the daily updates throughout the crusade week, you have a read many stories of the encounters the people of Nicaragua have had with Jesus.
But there are many other encounters that take place that are not a direct result of someone receiving food or personal ministry.
In Matthew 5:16 Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” We have personally experienced the truth of this verse this week.
As we go along passing out food and stuffed animals, people in the villages see what we are doing. They watch and wonder who we are and why we are here. When we tell them that we have come to bless their country for Jesus, they really do praise God for our good work.
On Wednesday two of the executives from the Hilton joined us for our devotions. We were told that during the negotiations for securing the hotel for this trip, they began asking about what we do.
LOLI has been using Hilton hotels for several years now, so Stephen and the LOLI leadership has developed a relationship with the Hilton management.
When they were told about the distribution during the week, the two executives that joined us for devotions were there to also join us for distribution.
They have seen LOLI bless Honduras and now Nicaragua. They have been impressed by our dedication and love for the people of Central America. They saw our good works, and the Lord using it to open their eyes to His love.
Today we went high into the mountains to a small village. In this village a church has a school and feeding center for children. This is where we decided to have the people of the village gather together.
When we arrived, there were over 200 people including 100 plus children. When the call for salvation was given, about 50 children came forward. It was a very precious sight to see and hear all those children praying to Jesus.
After the message, the people lined up and were blessed with bags of food for their families. We also blessed the local ice cream vendor by buying all the ice cream in his cart and giving them away. It was an awesome time and many people experienced the Love of God.
After we had distributed the food and the ice cream we were able to spend some time with the people talking and ministering to them. One of our team members saw a man in the crowd who was staring at him. The team member went over to him and asked him if he knew Jesus, he said no.
The team member shared with him the message of the Gospel and the man received Jesus. When they opened their eyes, there was a line of people waiting for prayer. It was very obvious that God was working around us to draw them closer to Him.
As we arrived back at the hotel, we were excited to get ready for the big crusades tonight and Saturday night. But, there was also a sense of disappointment that this was our last day of distribution.
The people of Nicaragua are so precious, and each of us has been touched by them, and by the way the Lord has shown His love to them this week. But we know that the relationships we have made with the local churches will provide the people with continual blessing and the opportunity for discipleship.
So ends our week of distribution, now we get ready for two power packed nights where we will see God move in mighty ways. We will also call the nation to pray under the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14.
The crusade will be broadcast live across the country on both TV and radio. You can watch the crusade live online at the LOLI website.