“They Are the Church” Missionary Kid Trip To Nicaragua
“I love seeing these teens grow in their faith. They aren’t the future of the church, they are the church,” wrote Sarah Schmitz, Global Partners missionary serving in Nicaragua.
This summer, Mary Beth Bagley, Global Partners (GP) missionary kid care specialist, traveled to Nicaragua with six teenage GP missionary kids (MKs) from all over the world. There, they joined and served alongside the Schmitz family (which added two more teenage missionary kids to the group).
With the goal of giving these MKs an opportunity to experience serving in an environment different from where they’ve grown up, they got to come alongside and support the work in Nicaragua and explore what the Lord might be calling them to in the future.
The group assisted with a children’s program at a Wesleyan village church, taught English to elementary students at a Wesleyan school and helped with a preschool class. Additionally, they took prayer walks, played sports with school and neighborhood kids and planted trees on the school grounds – which will provide fresh fruit to students and prevent ground erosion.
Mary Beth said that it didn’t take the MKs long to jump right in to serving and connecting with the kids.
“All of the children we taught and played with were thrilled that we would spend time with them and their smiles never faded,” Mary Beth said. “This also gave encouragement to the teachers as well, as a moment of rest while we took over their busy classes. It was clear that they felt loved and appreciated.”
On their prayer walks, Mary Beth said they met several individuals along the way who invited the group right into their homes, willing to have them pray over their needs. She said it was encouraging to hear different MKs pray for the people they met.
Other encouraging moments took place during the evenings at the group’s hostel. Mary Beth said they would debrief the day together, and then have unstructured free time. While it typically started out with playing games together, at some point, an MK – unprompted by the adults – would spontaneously announce “hang up and hang out,” prompting a collection of cell phones so that the group would be intentional in spending time together. 
Mary Beth said what followed was usually a combination of serious spiritual conversations and some goofy fun.
“I felt truly honored and amazed, both at their initiative and spiritual depth in creating this sacred space each night and in their invitation to want me to join them. It is a blessing to know these special young people and to see God at work in their lives both now and for the future,” Mary Beth said.
While there aren’t any specific plans yet, both Mary Beth and Sarah said they would love to continue offering similar opportunities for MKs in the future.
Please join us in praying for this group of teens, as they continue to process this experience.