Read a post from our guest blogger, Katherine:

I’m sure most people have heard the common phrase “practice makes perfect.” This can be applied to learning a new language, mastering a theatrical production, or even ministering to people. All of these things may sound tricky if you have never experienced them, but with enough practice, you can become perfect at them (or at least better than you were before). I was able to get plenty of practice with all 3 of these things during my first missions trip to Nicaragua.

Before I began the missions trip I was told that most people in Nicaragua do not speak English. I perceived that this would be a bit of a challenge for me. I had learned Spanish in high school (many years ago) but since then had almost never used it. Needless to say, I had forgotten most of the language. The first few days of the missions trip I was a little nervous about talking to the people in Spanish. I was afraid that my American accent and lack of vocabulary would surely confuse them. However, I was quite surprised that the people actually understood what I was trying to say. This definitely boosted my confidence and each day I got better. By the end of the missions trip, I could easily carry on a decent conversation.

Another thing I was able to practice during my trip was drama. If you know anything about me, you would know that expression is not my specialty. I tend to be more of a reserved person, so embodying a completely different character and bringing that character to life was no easy task. I had to step outside of my comfort zone and be open-minded. At first, it was challenging because I was worried about doing all the steps correctly and about how I looked to the audience. But once I decided to just relax and have some fun with the dramas, it became a whole new experience. The more I did the dramas, the more I enjoyed doing them. I got better and better each day and by the second week of the trip, I would volunteer to do some of the roles. I can now say that now I am a pretty good performer.

Lastly, but most importantly, I learned how to minister to people. This has always been a challenging task for me because I worry that I won’t have all the answers to people’s questions, that I don’t know the Bible well enough to preach to others, and that even when I do minister to them, they may not accept God’s word. This missions trip definitely helped me in this area. During the trip I was able to partner with other Christians and minister to so many people. During the first few times I was a little nervous but having a partner there with me helped a lot. The more I ministered to people and prayed for them, the more excited I got about spreading the Gospel. I truly felt like one of the 12 disciples from the Bible. It was so amazing to see God heal people and radically change their lives. I knew that I was fulfilling the purpose that God has for me.

My trip to Nicaragua was nothing short of amazing. I learned so many things that really changed my life. I’m still not perfect at any of these things, so I will definitely continue to practice.