Life Preserver
Imagine with me for a moment that you are standing deck-side on a boat, life preserver in hand, attempting your best throw to the human being overboard who’s paddling to save his/her life and they are screaming your name for help. As you quickly prepare to toss the life preserver to the helpless soul, you say a prayer asking God to direct your aim that it be good enough for the individual overboard to reach and save his/her life!
I had the same feeling as I watched a courageous young man named Oscar Corea in Nicaragua rescue thousands of children from empty stomachs. I wasn’t observing deck-side from a boat, or shoreline from a peer, I was observing first hand at the feeding centers of Sobre Las Alas Del Aguila.
I remember the second day of our trip as we approached the next feeding center our driver blew the horn alerting the children to our arrival. They appeared from the edges of the villages, overflowing into the bumpy dirt road. Hundreds of heads bopping up and down running as fast as their little legs could carry them toward our bus. Waving as they ran, you could see a glimmer of “hope” in their eyes. Hope of being rescued and the hope of a warm cooked meal…they knew we had Life Preservers on board and they weren’t going to miss it! We exited our bus and were greeted by the most precious smiles on the face of the earth. Every feeding center reflected a different scene, but one constant remained, there were hundreds of hungry children all needing our help. Their ages ranged from infants to teens and their smiles I shall never forget.
Our team came off the bus with the mission of “saving lives” on the forefront of our minds. Some were assigned to play with the children while others like myself, were given the privilege to bless the feeding center volunteers with a much-needed manicure and hand massage. On the opposite end, others from our team prepped the food, chopped vegetables, and gathered wood for the fire to prepare a nutritional meal for the hundreds who waited. Every day I was amazed how the single pot of rice and chicken would multiply, feeding every child in line. It reminded me of the story in Matthew when Jesus took the five loaves and two fishes and fed the multitudes. I am still amazed at what God can do with “just a little.”
Life Preservers – I saw them everywhere – in the form of new cooking pots, bowls, spoons, and utensils which better equipped centers to feed the community children. Life Preservers – in a hug, a mother to another. A Life Preserver – in the form of a warm bowl of chicken soup and rice, lovingly made, poured and given to everyone who came hungry. The language barrier could not and did not prevent the love of God’s children one for another. Saving lives, giving hope, filling empty stomachs – the mission was being fulfilled. Quickly I grabbed my sunglasses to hide my tears. I was overwhelmed by the realization of knowing we held the Life Preservers in our hands and we had the ability to save another life.
A few days later our trip came to an end and we had to leave Leon, Nicaragua, and the kids at the feeding centers, Oscar, Rosibel and their team. We boarded the bus headed to the airport and arrived back in the USA within a few hours. After talking with my teammates on the trip home, it’s accurate to say we left a part of our hearts in Nicaragua. There is no way to experience such a fulfilling moment and not carry that experience with you forever. I guess that’s what the Lord meant when He conveyed to His disciples that it was “more blessed to give than to receive.”
What a monumental task one man and one woman, feeding 8,000 children a day. A burden carried by a courageous warrior named Oscar and his sweet wife, Rosibel, who daily give of their lives to save others. Even with their vast efforts, still so many children in Nicaragua will go to bed tonight hungry, losing hope that anyone will hear their cry to be rescued. God help us to recognize we hold the Life Preservers in our hands. We have the ability to save lives, to feed empty stomachs and empty hearts. May we stop trying to protect our own lives by holding so tightly to our Life Preserver, and may we be willing to toss them overboard to save another.
This experience made me reflect on my own life and ministry. I must admit I have repented on numerous occasions since I’ve been back for my ungratefulness, my lack of compassion to the needs of others, my unwillingness to be concerned about the things the Lord is concerned about and most importantly, my idea that what I do for the kingdom is enough. My mere sacrifices are small in comparison to what Oscar and Rosibel give on a daily basis and only heaven will accurately reflect the cost. They truly are heroes in the Kingdom. I am motivated by their sacrifices, for what matters to God should matter most to me. Lord, I thank you for this experience, may I make it more about You and less about me.
Darryl and Jennifer Whittington
Short-term Missionaries
Project Number 065-0878
© 2011 Church of God World Missions
