Visits to Nicaragua - WHY?

My parish here in Minnesota has been sponsoring delegations to visit a community in Teustepe, Nicaragua for over 25 years. And we sponsor their visits to us in the North. It's an interesting relationship. I have been down there 7 times in 6 years. Why do we do this? People ask me that all the time.

Is this a “mission” trip?  Is it a “project”?  What are you building?  What are you bringing for them?  I always say, “No, it’s different”.  I cannot grasp what a “mission” trip to a Latin American country would be about.  They are more Catholic or Christian than we are.  They are more religious, more committed – more everything in the realm of religion.  If there is a mission, it is what they do to our understanding of religion while we are there.  And, no, this is not a “project”.  A “project” is where we come in from the North and build something, or install something, or give them something.  We don’t do that.  Many of the things imposed by the North are useless.  And they change the relationship to one of donor and dependent recipient.  We don’t do that.

So, why do we go there?

1.  A new view on the world. After a week in Nicaragua, our eyes are focused a bit differently.  We have on new “glasses”, new “lenses”.  I have been there 7 times now, and have also traveled to several other foreign lands – and every visit gives me a new perspective.  This lens, this perspective changes my view of the rest of the planet.  There are billions of people who are living at or about this economic level, with a similar history, similar problems and hopes.  If I never see them, never hear them, then, I really cannot understand them, or love them.  This small group gives me a window on the others that I cannot get without actually going there and living with them.  It changes US, and hopefully that will help in the long run.
   
2. We Bless Them. We bless them, simply by coming and naming them.  They have our respect, and our love.  We build them up, we support them, and we bless them and call them by name.  We come as equals; we accept their gifts, their hospitality, their food, their hopes and dreams.  We affirm them. We help them process their ideas, to focus their energies, to be real people in this world where they are barely a blip on the world scene!  And they richly deserve our blessing.  Their faith, their hope, their efforts in the face of their problems, are simply incredible.
   
3. We Help Them. I am not clear exactly how this works, but I am convinced that we do help.  We do not bring large sums of cash, we do not put up walls, we do not teach, but we do help.  We fund a continuing education and facilitation program conducted by a local NGO.  This helps them to function as a group, and gives them access to other local resources.  And some of the help happens back home, as we confront our own problems, with theirs in mind.  Some of it affects our government, our foreign policy, all the things done in our name.  Some of it comes from the changes that happen in them, their ability to organize, to invoke change where they are.  We can help with other specifics, and we do, in many ways.  New opportunities appear on each visit.

This is a work in progress.  We help them grow and participate in their local politics and problems.  But, fundamentally, we are about creating friends.  That should be enough, I think.