Love God, Love People, Serve the World. That’s what it’s all about. It’s Christianity, in its simplest form.
Everyone has their own place in this world, and sometimes it takes a while to find out where that is. For us - the Izzo family - we have been preparing for this next adventure for years.
Jeff and I have travelled on short term mission trips for almost 10 years. We have been to places like Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Belize, and New Orleans for Katrina relief. We find joy in serving others, especially those who have less. Whether it is painting shutters for a church or playing baseball with kids, we have found that the essence of our faith is at its purest when connecting with and serving others.
A few years ago, we decided it was time to bring the kids with us on a trip abroad. At the time, Sammy was 6, Nate was 9, and Julia was 11. Around that same time, we reconnected with some friends, Wyeth and Wendy Willard, who wanted the same thing for their family. With Wyeth’s family already having a ministry in place in Nicaragua, it seemed like our reconnection was more than just coincidence.
Shortly after that, we started planning a family mission trip to Campo Alegria in Nicaragua. It was amazing to see our kids hang out with kids from a different culture and language. A wise man told us that the language of kids is “fun.” That was certainly apparent when watching the boys, who don’t speak each other’s languages, collect rocks and build friendships. Who needs words?
We took a second trip a little over a year later, during Christmas break. We all put aside our American Christmas of shopping, decorations, and feasts to spend time with some families in Nicaragua who rarely get even a day off of work.
After the second trip people began asking: Where are you going next? Have you thought about going abroad for an extended period of time? The truth is, spending an extended period abroad has been a desire of ours since our first mission trip. It’s something that has always seemed like too much of a stretch from our established lives in the Maryland. But the more often we have served abroad, the more we’ve wanted to go for a longer period of time. After seeing how Julia, Nate, and Sam responded on their first couple of trips to Nicaragua, it seemed that the time was here to make a big decision.
And so it began. Often when we reach one goal, we look ahead to doing more, to extend ourselves. We learn and grow when we are pushed outside of our comfort zone. Sometimes, our comfort zone is further away, that’s why we have to keep extending ourselves. Over the past year and a half, we have had a lot of ups and downs. At times we were extremely confident in everything falling into place to make this move a reality, and other times it seemed like the bottom had dropped out, and it would have to wait for another time. But God seems to always have a way of testing and strengthening our faith in the way He lays plans for us.
So, for about a year now, we have been praying and planning with the Willards, and in July, we will be going to Nicaragua for the 2012 - 2013 school year. We love God and people, and we want to serve the world. Nicaragua is where we are called to be, and we are all so excited about this amazing adventure!!
Stayed tuned for more…
