What is your Vision? - Nicaragua Internship Summer 2009

This past Wednesday, seven business owners met in the office of Business Professionals Network for a workshop on how to fill out a business plan. As they started going through the documents, one of the first questions posed was, "What is your vision? What is the vision you have for your business in the future?"

As I listened to the facilitator, I was asking myself, "What is my vision for my life?" While I think I have a good idea what it is, I find it helpful to take the time on occasion to pose this question not only in my personal life, but also in the things that surround me--work, church, relationships, and even hobbies.

Living in Nicaragua this summer, I'm also asking myself another question about vision--"What is a Christian vision of development in this country?" What I see and hear daily is a mixture of hope for the good work that is being done right along side of systems and situations that are unjust and unacceptable. The work I am doing is only having a small effect, but I hope it can play a role in moving toward the development in Nicaragua that I and many others can envision.

Sometimes, it seems too ambitious to imagine that the garbage on the streets could be gone, that the sick could receive the needed medical attention, that all children would be in school instead of selling water and candy on the streets. But that is when I turn back to the statement about vision in Habakkuk 2:2-3. God's vision of complete restoration may seem slow, but it is guaranteed. So too, the vision for restoration in developing countries may seem slow, but with God in our work, we should not lose heart.

And the LORD answered me:
"Write the vision;
make it plain upon tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
For still the vision awaits its time;
it hastens to the end -- it will not lie.
If it seem slow, wait for it;
it will surely come, it will not delay. (Hab 2:2-3 NIV)

A Day in Catarina - Nicaragua Internship Summer 2009

The natural beauty of Central America always takes my breath away. Coming from the slightly hilly Midwest, the mountains, valleys, volcanoes, and lagoons of Nicaragua dwarf any hill or sand dune I've ever climbed in Michigan. Yesterday I was once again amazed by the view from a mountainside overlooking a lagoon with a lake farther on that disappeared into the horizon. With binoculars we could see the contours of the forests on the surrounding hills, and between the lagoon and lake the roofs of a town were just distinguishable.

It is within these stunning surroundings that 5.5 million residents of Nicaragua live. However, what often draws my attention away from the natural beauty is the stark contrast between this beauty and the situations in which many residents of Managua live. Just today on the way to work we past the fruit and vegetable stands. I had always thought these shelters were used during the day by sellers and then abandoned at night as the people went home. Instead, a co-worker told me that the fruit vendors actually live in the back of those stands, with beds, televisions and all their possessions. I was shocked, but it was one more example of the daily survival of some sectors of Nicaraguan society.

A Great Cloud of Witnesses - Nicaragua Internship Summer 2009

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).