Ten Thousand People

Every morning at 5:00, the "Jinotega zoo" opens right outside our window. It is not really a zoo, but that is the closest thing that I can compare it to. Right across the stree from the mission is the bus station, where approximately ten thousand people come and go every day...starting at 5:00 in the morning. Buses honking, speaker systems yelling, dogs barking, people talking, music blaring. Noises of the hustle and bustle of Jinotega fill the streets. People buy and sell goods, load and unload buses, travel to and fro, and carry out all sorts of business. We can watch all the excitement in the streets from a large window in the mission, which we call our "TV."

One of the first days that we (the interns) were here, we all stood watching this "TV." We observed the activities with fascination and contemplation. After a long silence, Jacob said, "Ten thousand people....We ought to be able to do something for these ten thousand people."

We pondered this idea for several minutes. We thought about passing out water or picking up trash, but none of our ideas seemed to really spark enough interest for us to actually carry it out. We needed something that would really mean something, something that would really make a difference.

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This week, a medical team from Olive Branch Ministries has been here to help with medical clinics in various regions of Nicaragua. Yesterday, we drove two hours in the middle of no where only to get stuck in the mud on a big hill. Since it was impossible to make it uphill, we turned around and drove another two hours back to Jinotega. At first, we were all very discouraged and disappointed, but the Lord always interrupts our plans for a very good reason.

Because we had no where else to go, we set up our mobile medical clinic right next door to the mission, which is also right in the middle of the "Jintotega zoo." We set up a speaker system and called out to the people in the market. For four and a half hours, we offered free medical, dental, and eye care to the thousands of people in the Jinotega bus station. Men, women, young, old, children, salesmen, police officers, and all sorts of people came to the clinic. People just walking down the road would stop, see us, and then turn our way and walk through the door. As I watched hundreds of people come in and out of the clinic, my mind flashed back to that moment several weeks before when Jacob whispered, "Ten thousand people..." 

I am thankful for the mud, and I am thankful that our bus got stuck. I am thankful for the four hour detour, and I am thankful that God interrupted our plans. If He had not, we never would have been able to reach the people in the bus station like we did. Thank you, God, for allowing us to be able to do something for several hundred of the the ten thousand people in the bus station. Thank you for remembering our prayer and helping us to accomplish what you wanted. Thank you for interrupting.