Youth Retreat Preview

   I don’t even know that I can put into words how excited I am to have Ashley and Jacob Willingham back in Nicaragua with us for the next two weeks! They were such an amazing part of our community last year and have continued to be incredible friends, encouragement, and prayer support for me here in Nicaragua.
   Last year at the end of April and beginning of May, the Willinghams, Lindsay, Diego, and I were able to host a youth retreat for our youth that were really getting serious about the Lord. It was an amazing time of worship, fellowship, and diving deeply into the Lord’s presence. I loved seeing how He spoke to each of my youth individually. If you haven’t read the account of last year’s retreat, you can read my blogs: Worshipping with Abandon & Experiencing God: Their Stories

   I stayed several days at Ashley and Jake’s apartment when I was in the States in December. While I was there, they told me that they were praying about coming back to visit and to host another retreat. We began to pray together about a retreat focused on purity.
   There is such a need in Candelaria to teach the youth to walk in purity, how to have godly relationships, and to wait for God’s best for them. I have been wanting to do some focused teaching on this topic for quite awhile. It breaks my heart to listen to the women in this community talk about their lives, relationships, and marriages. My heart just screams, “It doesn’t have to be THIS hard! If you wait for God’s best, it doesn’t have to be like this”. I’m not saying that relationships and marriages will ever be easy, but I want more for my youth than what I see in the lives of the majority of the women here.

Here are just a few of the things I have heard women in our church family say recently (picture does not match the stories; I wanted to maintain the privacy of these women):
     *”It’s better to be single. A husband causes you nothing but trouble. You love him and he just breaks your heart. It’s better to be single.”

     *”I went four months without receiving a penny from my husband. I know part of his money was going to pay off debts, but people kept telling me that he was spending the rest on another woman he was seeing. I had NO money. I didn’t know how my children and I were going to eat. I prayed and asked the Lord to provide. He provided food for me to feed my children, my husband, and myself. It was a difficult trial, but the Lord was with me. Everyone told me I should kick my husband out of the house, but I refused. He’s my husband. I am committed to him.”

     *”My “husband” left again. I don’t know when he will be back or even if he will be back. I know that I should just stop seeing him, but the truth is that I can’t. I love him. My daughter cries every night asking me when her dad will be home. I don’t know what to tell her.”

      *”As a wife sometimes you just have to endure a lot. My life with my husband was so hard. He was always drinking. When he came home drunk, he was really violent and he would beat me. I literally had to hide every night in different parts of my house so that he couldn’t find me and beat me. But I think it’s better to stay with one man rather than jump from man to man to man and all of my children have a different father. Yes, I think the right thing to do is to have one husband and to stay with him. A wife just has to endure a lot.”

   I listen to these stories (and so many more like them) and my heart breaks! I want more for my youth. I want to see them choosing God’s best for their lives. I want to see them walking in purity, practicing abstinence before marriage and then marrying men who will love them the way Christ loves the Church (Esphesians 5:25). I want to see them having relationships and families that reflect the Lord’s plan for their lives. I want to see a change in this future generation that will bring more wholeness to families in Candelaria!!

   We will be hosting another youth retreat next weekend,  March 25-27th. We are taking a group of 24 youth up to the mountains of Nicaragua to experience more of God’s presence and to learn how to walk in purity before Him. We will be having some time together as a group worshipping, teaching, and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation. We will also have time with the guys and girls separated for in-depth teachings of purity and how to walk with the Lord as a man or woman of God.
   I am so excited to see how our youth are growing and longing for more of the Lord! It’s unbelievable that last year we had only 9 youth that were hungry for more of the Lord’s presence and this year we have 24. I know that the Lord is transforming this generation! I cannot wait to see how He is going to move in this weekend and the effects of that on their lives and relationships.

Please be in prayer for us and for our youth during this retreat time. Pray for:
1. Safe travel
2. Open hearts
3. Honest, authentic sharing
4. Healing in the areas of sexuality, purity, and relationships
5. That the youth will make commitments to walk in purity before the Lord (in all aspects of their lives)

*Updates, stories, and pictures from the retreat will be posted when we return!