Anways, Nicaragua…..We spent the “month” (aka 2.5 weeks) living at Cicrin Orphanage in Ometepe, Nicaragua doing construction. Leaving was not as hard for me as I thought it should be. Honestly, I was ready to move on to the next place. I actually felt bad that I didn’t feel that bad about leaving. I did grow to love some of the kids but connecting to the kids at the oprhanage was not something I did well this past month. I didn’t really feel any kind of connection with most of the kids until the last week or so. Most of the time in Nicaragua doing ministry was spent doing construstion and I think I just got it in my head that construstion was my ministry this month, not kids. The majority of the time we were mixing cement, shoveling dirt, moving rocks, and other fun things like that., and when we would finally see the kids at meal times I just didn’t have the energy or desire to talk to them. I know that sounds horrible but its how I felt until the last week/week and half that we were there. I finally realized that despite some language barrier, despite being tired and dirty, these kids were just as much my ministry as doing construction. We didn’t have any organized programs for them but that didn’t mean we couldn’t love on them and just be with them. Thats all they wanted from us. Talking to them in my horrible spanish, letting the little ones fall asleep on me, singing High School Musical with the teenage girls- all of that is still ministry. Just being with them and hanging out was all they wanted from us. I think one of the many things that God was teaching me last month was that ministry isn’t always this organized thing, its not a program that you have prepared; sometimes ministry is completey disorganized and unplanned. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or huge; it can be simple. Ministry can be mixing cement and it can be reading a paragraph in the second book of the Twilight series out loud in spanish to a couple of teenagers (yes, this is something that actually happened).
Hi friends and family! I sure do have alot of catching up to do in my blogs…..please give me grace as I post thoughts from the last couple of weeks these next couple of weeks…did that make sense?
Over two weeks ago we left Nicaragua. It’s difficult for me to write this blog because although its only been 2.5 weeks or so since Nicaragua so much has happened; rewinding my mind back to 2.5 weeks ago is not easily done. At least not for me right now. I apologize if this feels disjointed and all over the place. New lesson for me to learn this month- blog as its happening, not 2.5 weeks afterwards…….
What I find most interesting about this blog here is that when I went to write it I had something completely different planned. and all of sudden I found myself typing all that above. Once again God is showing me that my plans basically are pointless if they don’t match up with His plans…..
Please enjoy the video below of all us enjoying the kids at the orphanage and just hanging out with them!
