Alsea teens make way to Nicaragua
Adults and children share their experiences and wait in line for their turn in the dentist chair during dental clinics held in the southern region of Nicaragua and sponsored by Worldwide Crusades.
BY JOHN BUTTERWORTH
Nick and Nate Woods got their first set of passport stamps when they were 16 – a trip to be part of a national youth conference held in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Now a year later, they both added another set of stamps.
In February they joined Bill Smith on a journey to Nicaragua where they became part of a team of dentists holding clinics throughout the southwest region of Nicaragua before gathering with a crowd of teens for another youth conference.
One thing they both agree on, they’ll go back if they get the opportunity.
“I enjoy being out of the country and getting away from everything up here,” says Nick. “It’s doing stuff that really matters.”
He said that it can be quite an adjustment from traveling in foreign lands and helping people and then returning to the classroom at school.
“I enjoy traveling and seeing tons of new places. It’s a whole different world out there. I just like being out there better than being in school,” said Nate. “I like doing it all, it was fun.”
For the most part, the teens spent their time hanging out with the dental team and band from Honduras, people they had met when in Honduras last year. They didn’t help that much with the dental clinics, they agreed, but when it came time to start moving equipment and supplies, they went to work.
Language barriers kept them from getting to know many of the people in Nicaragua, and they found that more people in Honduras seemed to know some basic English than those they encountered in Nicaragua. But being in charge of filming and photography for the dental clinics and the youth conference kept both of them busy, they said.
“The youth conference was a lot of fun. There was a lot of energy,” said Nate. “I just went around filming.”
Despite their perception that they didn’t help that much on the outreach to Nicaragua, Bill Smith sees it differently.
“The boys were absolutely a delight to travel with and I enjoyed being with them very much,” he said. “They took everything in stride, were quick to make friend even without the language, and they didn’t flirt with the girls. I tell them this that I would take them anywhere anytime.”
This was the first time for him to be part of a youth conference in there, Smith explained, but then again, it was the first time for such a youth conference in Nicaragua. Holding it in the southernmost region allowed the opportunity for many youth from Costa Rica to make the trip and be part of the conference.
“The youth conference itself was pretty well attended – about 3,000 young people were there,” he said. “I think the most memorable part of it was the little boy that was miraculously healed in a Rivas crusade two years ago. He couldn’t walk at all before God healed him. They carried him into that crusade. At the youth conference he gave me a big hug. His family is blessed beyond measure. His teenage sister is a very enthusiastic solid gal who really loves the Lord.”
Smith also considers the dental outreach a success. Medical help in Nicaragua is fairly inexpensive, but very few can afford dental work.
“Dental care is very scarce and expensive, and they can’t afford it,” he says. “We felt there was a great need in that area for dental clinics, and we were using this as a tool to help people.”
Holding a clinic in the town of Cardenas not only allowed the Worldwide Crusades team to reach out with dental help, but it allowed Smith to visit the church built last year with the help of a WWC team of builders.
“It was good to see Cardenas. The clinic we held there was very well attended and all the poor people who came and requested help were taken care of,” Smith said.
Overall, this turned out to be a different sort of outreach for the Worldwide Crusades team, but Smith is impressed with how it turned out.
“I think it was a good thing,” he said. “I enjoyed the trip. We had a great climate, and the people were very good to us.”
Despite experiencing eating different foods such as snake, lizard and armadillo, Nick Woods still has good memories of the food in Nicaragua.
“The food was good, a lot more nourishing,” he concluded. “You feel good. You actually feel healthy.”