If the Lord’s Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise
Last weekend we loaded up two cars full of medicines and headed for Nancimi, a small town about 3 hours from Managua. The little church that we were working with had been praying for weeks that God would hold back the rains on Friday and Saturday so that we would be able to pass through the river at the entrance to Nancimi without a problem. They were concerned for the patients being able get to the clinic we were holding in their church.
Their prayers were answered! It rained all week, but stopped on Friday until late Saturday afternoon. The river was low when we passed through in on Friday…
Whew!
After a long, rainless day of seeing patients in the make-shift clinic on Saturday, it began to rain at about 4PM. It rained without ceasing until 6PM. We finished clinic and got ready to drive back to Managua. You know the old saying “If it’s the Lord’s will and the creek don’t rise”? Well, now I understand it much better…I’ve experienced it! We drove away only to return to the church 10 minutes later after consulting with the locals at the river’s wild edge. We listened to their advice and decided not to try to cross the river, it had risen too high and was too dangerous to cross.
The 7 of us split up into three different homes of church members and they took care of us for the night. We had the privilege of getting to know Dona Victoria, a 76 year old (sometimes 72 year old, it changed each time we asked). The pastor of the church chopped firewood for her before he left us at the house for the night. She then cooked us a delicious dinner over an open fire in her kitchen. She also had a really cool oven attached to her house (she also had access to it from inside the house).
I was reminded of Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
Although we really wanted to get back to Managua on Saturday night, the Lord had other plans in mind. He blessed us with more time with our Nicaraguan Christian brothers and sisters and used it as a reminder for me to always be prepared to entertain visitors in my home at a moment’s notice, just as our brothers did in Nancimi.
