A Missionary Moment: Speaking Life, Speaking Transformation

By Jesse Miller

Jesse and Lisa Miller are Christ For the City International missionaries to Nicaragua. Though God has been ministering through them in a number of ways, this is a beautiful testimony of one night in which God chose to use the fact that they were different and out of place to speak life and hope.

I  was gathering images to create materials for print and web, so I decided to hang out in back while the (teaching) session took place to take some photos. It didn’t take long for a few of the kids to find me, and to come see what I was up to. 

I love talking to children here in Nicaragua. They don’t care about my funny accent, and they’ll say anything. 

I spent the 2nd half of the session with these kids, just outside the main doors of the church, as they asked me questions about my hair color and why I look so red. 

All the while, there was one boy; 10 or 11 years old, that remained quiet. He simply stood there, hands tucked into his black hoodie, observing. I could tell that something important was on his mind and he wanted to say something. I asked him what he was thinking about.

“Are you Nicaraguan?” he asked.

“No, I’m from the USA," I answered, "But I live here."

“But you speak Spanish..." he said, "You are the first chele that has talked to me.” 

I was thinking to myself, This can’t be. Teams have been here, guest speakers, etc. Then it hit me: none of them had known Spanish. They had used translators. 

“Did you speak Spanish in the USA?” he asked.

“No," I replied, "I came to your area of the world to learn.”

He asked me how long it takes to learn. I said that I’m still learning, but I’ve been learning for more than a year. His face changed instantly. His eyes opened wide and he smiled, “You mean I can learn how to speak English if I want?” 

I almost cried right then and there but kept my composure. All I could do was kneel down and tell him that he had the capacity to learn and do whatever he wants. This young man has always thought that he was beneath me and those like me, and that broke my heart. 

When I got home I cried as I told Lisa, thinking of that little boy walking through life with that image of himself. Luckily, a CFCI missionary knows his family well, which means I have the honor of reminding him that he is brilliant, capable, strong, and special. God made him that way.

Like Jesse and Lisa Miller's Facebook page, Millers on a Mission, to get updates about the amazing things God is doing in and through them in Nicaragua. 

Edited by: John Michael Den Hartog