Wendy Willard

It’s been just over a year since we took a group of families to Nicaragua to lead a summer camp for disadvantaged youth living in the Managua city dump. It was our first attempt at family missions, and was hugely successful. As I wrote after we returned:

“We were tested, stretched, molded, and generally made uncomfortable by various elements of the trip. But that was different for everyone. Some were most affected by the bugs and heat. For others it was the food and unsafe water. Or, just witnessing the poverty. And for some… it was the fear of the unknown. But everyone was taken outside his/her comfort zone and asked to rely on God’s provision. It’s impossible not to grow from that. And when you serve as a family, you also grow closer with each other.”

I’m so excited to now be planning our second family mission trip to Nicaragua. Our goal is to take 4-5 families to meet with and serve 4-6 Nicaraguan families at Campo Alegria. Whereas the previous trip saw us hanging out with kids for three days, this time around we will spend three days with whole families. We will invite them to “vacation” with us at the camp. While they are there, we will feed them, clothe them, listen to them, fellowship with them, entertain them, serve them, and love them. Somewhere along the way, we hope to share about our faith.

When will this happen? As this will be our third trip to Nicaragua, we wanted to stretch ourselves a bit more. Being at Campo Alegria is like a little oasis in the desert. It has running water, electricity, doors, windows, beds, tables, couches, internet access, and even a washer and dryer. And, it’s situated on a beautiful lake with wonderful swimming. (Yes, there are drawbacks – namely the bugs and heat – but overall it’s a far cry from what most missionaries encounter in developing countries.) In any case, we decided to select a certain time of year for the trip that would take us a bit more out of our comfort zones.

So… we are planning to be in Nicaragua over Christmas. In fact, we will hold our “vacation” for the Nicaraguan families December 24 – 26, 2010. While millions of kids will be tearing open present after present on Christmas Day back in the U.S., we will be serving breakfast to disadvantaged families in a developing country. How better to teach our kids about service?

My oldest daughter asked if we’d have a Christmas tree. Maybe we could decorate a palm tree? Who knows. We’ll get creative.

Plenty of people have expressed shock at us leaving our families over Christmas. But we see our families all the time – why do we have to share a meal together on Christmas? The holiday is Jesus’ birthday, after all, and He certainly taught us a lot about sacrifice. Here He was, all comfy and cozy up in Heaven as God, but He stepped outside of His comfort zone to come down to our “developing country” and hang out with us regular folk… Then, He went and died for us all.

We know this trip isn’t for everyone, but we are praying there might be a few families who would like to join us. We can’t promise you’ll have lots of “presents” under the palm tree, but we can promise your family will feel Christ’s “presence” as you serve others together. You might even grow and strengthen in ways that wouldn’t otherwise be possible if you were home following your normal Christmas routine.

We plan to hold an informal informational meeting at our home in late August. If you’re at all interested in joining us, please let us know. And even if you can’t join us, would you pray for our trip? Gracias!