Smoking Volcanos and Good Soil - Nicaragua 2009 Short-Term Medical Trip Report

Evangelizing with Good Soil material.Looking across the lake at the perfectly cone shaped volcano, we saw a clear empty sky suddenly fill with a perfect smoke ring. Before that could disappear, more smoke came in a steady small stream. In Nicaragua, “The Land of Volcanoes And Lakes,” this kind of activity from the Momotombo volcano is common…so we learned. The rest of our time in the country, this same semi-active cone puffed on and off every day.

We visited the smoking lip of another volcano 50 miles southeast of the ABWE camp. Our bus drove to the parking lot at the top, and backed into a parking place. All the vehicles are required to park with the front pointed at the road out, for a quick exit if any rumblings occur. I asked the local grounds guard if the volcano does “rumble.” He said, “Oh, yes. About six times a year. But this year is different: in the past seven months it has already rumbled eight times.”

This side trip came during a mid-week break in our medical team ministry to Nicaragua. Thirteen of us met up with a team of missionaries and national believers for a medical evangelistic campaign in three churches. Resident ABWE missionaries are establishing Baptist churches, training national leaders through theological education by extension, and starting works among the youth of Nicaragua, where almost half of the population is under the age of fifteen. Over the previous months the missionaries and nationals were oriented to the new “Good Soil” evangelism and discipleship materials. In the clinics we are able to do one-on-one evangelism using this and other materials.

The team had a huge impact on the three churches where clinics were held: Principe de Paz, El Redentor, and Jerico. Of the 662 folks seen, almost 50% of the adults were believers from the local congregations, and 30% of the total were children. Statistically, 53% of the unsaved adults that came to the clinic, or 125 people, came to Christ. Fifteen of the older children and parents of patients also came to Christ. So a total of 140 are new believers. Praise the Lord. Please pray for the discipleship of each new believer, that not one will be lost to follow up. Moreover, pray that those who expressed interest in learning more about Christianity will attend the discipleship classes and also come to the Lord through that on-going ministry. The first follow-up discipleship at each church was within one or two days of our clinic. Another exciting part is that the ABWE camp can house a larger team of premed and nursing students next year, so we can hold a “boot-camp” in medical missions.

Jack Sorg, ABWE Trip Leader

Nicaragua, July 25-Aug 2, 2009