The past ten days have been a time of great change in my life. From finishing exams for my third year of college to moving from my college home back to my parents’ house and from saying goodbyes with family and friends to packing a suitcase for three months in Central America, every day has brought an end to one thing and the beginning of the next step in life.
Tomorrow I fly to Managua, Nicaragua to begin a three month internship with Partners Worldwide (PW), a Christian organization committed to using business to transform lives and eradicate poverty. I will be staying with a Nicaraguan host family and working with PW’s partner organization, Red de Profesionales de Negocios (called Business to Business in English). In my work, I will be assisting small- to medium-sized businesses as they go through the application process to join the RPN network and receive training and other forms of assistance.
During these times of transition, I have felt God ministering to me through the people he has placed in my life to walk with me and provide guidance and assistance. Hebrews 12:1-2 begins with this concept, saying that “…since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders…and run with perseverance the race marked out for us….” While the witnesses referred to are the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, I also am reminded of the heroes of faith in my life today that run this race with me and encourage me along the way. Even as I switch locations geographically, I will still be surrounded by this cloud of Christian witnesses in Nicaragua. My first full day in the country will be spent in worship with Nicaraguan Christians who share this same faith. Borders can separate us physically, but the great cloud of God’s witnesses is united through the Spirit around the world. And so we join together, wherever we are, to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:2).
