By Megan Herrera, President
May 12, 2022
When Mary Hudelson traveled to Nicaragua her first time in 2005, she could not have imagined how it would change her life. Nor could she imagine how many lives she would impact in the years to follow. She traveled her first trip alongside her husband Kenny, and they both fell in love with the people of Nicaragua. They also fell in love with the ministry of The Rainbow Network.
Mary traveled to Nicaragua eight times, each time taking new people with her. More than that, she led big efforts on the home front: raising funds for students, houses, general community operations, and a large shipment of goods. She knew that the people of Nicaragua could generate change for themselves with a little bit of help and that her job was to help create those opportunities.
Anytime someone asked if they should do something to support The Rainbow Network, she would say “well, yeahhhhh” (she was too polite to say, “duhhh”).
I am convinced Mary’s heart was the shape of Nicaragua, and she did all she could to help her extended family there. Her joy in spreading awareness, fundraising, and spending time with Rainbow Network in Nicaragua was contagious. She taught many of us in her wake how to love radically and unconditionally, just as Jesus calls us to do.
Mary has been gone a year and her love for Nicaragua still lives on.
One of Mary’s greatest desires was to share her passion for Nicaragua with each of her grandkids. Her grandson Sam, granddaughter Alexandra, and son-in-law Chris had the privilege of traveling with Mary. Though the rest of her family did not get to travel with her, they did not miss out on being affected by their grandmother’s love for Nicaragua.
Her grandson Tim has never traveled to Nicaragua but was impacted greatly by his grandmother’s stories and heart for missions. After Mary’s passing, Tim wanted to find a way to keep her memory with him. So, he decided to get a tattoo. In the shape of Nicaragua!
Tim says, “Of all the fond memories I have of my grandma, one thing that related to every story was her selflessness and her willingness to help. She also went out of her way to help the people around her no matter their situation. She went to Nicaragua on numerous occasions for the sole purpose of helping people she didn’t know. And she loved those people so much, she’d come back and tell us stories about the Nicaraguan kids that she saw the first time she traveled there. When she would go back, she would recognize the kids and hear about them going to college and hearing about their life in general. She remembered every one of them. When she found out she had cancer, of course she was heartbroken. We were all heartbroken. But she never showed it to any of us. Up until her last days she would’ve told you that she was doing good and then she would ask how you were doing. She never liked all of the attention to herself, she hated it in fact. The fact the people were going out of their way to make her dinner, bring her flowers, ask her about herself, was something she definitely had to just get used to saying yes to. And this tattoo exemplifies all of that for me. It’s a country I’ve never got the pleasure to visit, a country I may never go to. But one that will be with me forever. It reminds me of my grandma, it reminds me of how I need to not take mothering for granted and be grateful for everything I have in my life. When I look at it I think to myself that I just need to be a fraction of how strong my grandma was and I’ll be ok in this world.”
We can ‘hear’ Mary’s surprise and uncertainty about Tim’s tattoo, but we think it is incredible!
As if Tim’s story was not enough, his mother Angela (Mary’s daughter) has been impacted greatly as well. In the past few years of Mary’s life, Mary and Angela traveled to Waco, TX to spend time at Magnolia, which had become a special place for them. It was a way to relax and recover after Mary’s ongoing cancer treatments.
In memory of her mother, Angela upped her usual half-marathon goals to her first full marathon at this year’s Silo District Marathon. While high-fiving Chip Gaines and having quality time with her friends were exciting, she knew that her mother was with her.
Unbeknownst to Angela, one of her friends had alerted the folks at Magnolia about what the race meant to her. She was met at the finish line with a $1500 check in memory of her mother, which she dedicated to The Rainbow Network.
Angela shared, “When I was looking through pictures in preparation for my mom’s funeral, I was shocked. I know that my mother loved me and my brother, but the huge smiles and pure joy I saw on her face from her pictures in Nicaragua were smiles I never saw in person. It was obvious how much she loved that country and being with those people. I got to see her pour into my own kids, and now I get to watch them and their love for Nicaragua be shown. While I wouldn’t necessarily encourage my kids to get tattoos, the first thing they all say when talking about getting one is that they want one of Nicaragua and my mom’s favorite bible verse. My mom was one of the strongest people I know. She encouraged me during each race that I ran, so it was special to me to run in one of our favorite places, hoping to be a fraction as strong as she was”.
Mary Hudelson was one person that was used by God to love and care for His people. Her time on earth was not nearly long enough for those of us who knew her, but the legacy she created will last a very long time.
She was one woman from a small town in northeast Missouri, but her impact of showing God’s love spreads continents and generations. We believe we all have that potential! How can God use you to love and care for His beloved?