A letter from Leslie Clay in Nicaragua
November 26, 2012
Dear Friends,
Before my work as a mission co-worker and before my job as a church youth leader, I was a pastoral counselor. On Sunday mornings I taught a class of ninth graders at First Presbyterian Church of Charleston, West Virginia. Ten years later one of my ninth graders wrote me and asked me to officiate at his wedding. I was so touched by the invitation that I said YES right away, forgetting that I was 3,000 miles away in Nicaragua! I knew I would find a way to make it happen. After all, it was going to be my first official wedding as an ordained minister.
Now this youth, Chris Drescher, is using his gifts and abilities to serve others. He and his wife, Abby, just finished a visit to Nicaragua, sharing time together with our family and accompanying us in our work. Because Chris is a Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at the University of Mississippi we decided to set up a meeting in a community that is benefiting from CEPAD’s psychosocial program.
Leslie accompanied our friends Chris and Abby Drescher to visit participants of the psycho-social program in Cañas Blancas, Jinotepe.
CEPAD, which is the Council of Protestant Churches in Nicaragua, partners with poor rural communities to increase their capacity and resiliency in difficult situations. The psychosocial project is a part of CEPAD’s program for integral family development. The program trains women and youth to provide psychosocial support to community members who are suffering from domestic violence, alcoholism, and other trauma.
We met for three hours on a Wednesday morning in a schoolroom in Cañas Blancas, near Jinotepe. About 10 women and 15 youth were there to offer their experiences.
Chris had two questions that he wanted to focus on. First, What are your strengths?
The women identified their strengths as love of service, faith, and family unity. One of the trainers said that another psychologist had visited the community a few months before and recommended that the women in the community focus on self-care. Chris took a moment to reflect on this and offered that service to others is a form of self-care. As Mother Teresa said, “When you are feeling helpless, help someone.” I saw the relief and agreement on the women’s faces. This resonated with them. Service is at the core values of CEPAD’s mission, and for many in Nicaragua it is what gives their life meaning. Even the youth in the meeting identified their strength as their ability to help younger ones in the group.
Chris’ second question was, What is important to you?
Chris Drescher exchanged Spanish language pysycho-social resources with Ramona Lopez, Director of CEPAD’s program for Integral Family Development.
The No. 1 answer was family, but just behind that was community as the social extension of family. One woman shared a story about her daughter who was depressed. She was not eating or sleeping much at all. Her mother took her to the doctor, but he did not find anything physically wrong with the girl. The mother was able to alleviate the symptoms by cutting back on her work away from home and by sometimes taking her daughter to work.
Another women said that time by herself in the presence of God was important to her. She said that when she washed clothes in the river, she would often talk, pray, and even cry. Sometimes she would tremble, and sometimes she would dip her body in the river, and she imagined that people thought she was crazy. But actually it was very healing and cathartic.
Everyone in the group shared stories about what was important to them, and about their dreams for the future. Some want to be doctors, nurses, or baseball players. Others want to learn how to sew or how to set up a bakery. Many would like to learn English and know how to drive a car.
The meeting ended with prayer, and with many community members smiling, laughing, and feeling like their load was a little lighter that day. They got to share their stories, and they were offered thoughtful counsel. You can imagine how proud I was to have my Sunday school alum step up and offer help!
I think about all the ways that God works in our connections, in the interdependence of our lives. I am so grateful to the mentors in my life, and I am grateful for the chance to be a mentor to others. We will never know all the ways that we have touched other people’s lives, but once in a while we get the gift of seeing our efforts shine through.
Peace,
Rev. Leslie Clay
The 2012 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 11
The 2013 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 22
Read more about Carl Agsten and Leslie Clay's ministry
