Month 2 is over and I’m no longer in Nicaragua. I’ve only been gone a few days, but I miss it terribly, and I’m sure that spending time looking at pictures and videos or thinking about funny timess and stories doesn’t help much. Nicaragua has taught me so many lessons; from the challenging ministry days to the fun-loving children to the genuine community, trying to sum up my experiences from thiss past month has been difficult, to say the least. Thinking about leaving was an even more insurmountable task, but I undoubtedly know that I have left a better person than I was when I entered 30 days ago. I now have a greater appreciation for what life and love are really about. The concept of The Worle Race changing me more than I will change the world is slowly becoming an experienced truth. Thank You VISION NICARAGUA for opening my eyes and my heart to so much life.
Please enjoy the pictures from my month of ministry below!
We held a Vacation Bible School our last week in Nicaragua. This time was definitely blessed by the Lord as we were able to teach them bible stories, new songs, and memory verses. It was amazing to let them know that we are more than just a group of Gringos (lol, I never quite got used to that term) here to play ball with them. We were able to intentionally share the love of Christ through His word. The last picture shows 8 children who gave their hearts to Jesus!!!! WHAT AN AWESOME THING TO WITNESS!!
These people LOOOOVE their sports! This is us after a game of kickball! We played against a group of Nicaraguans on “sports day” and we lost!
We were blessed with the opportunity to minister to a group of men known as the “sick men”. These men used to work in local sugar cane fields and over time all of the workers got sick with a terminal illness due to the pesticides that were used in the field. This type of pesticide was banned in the United States. The Sick Men are one of the main groups of people that Vision Nicaragua supports with healthcare and financial support. Vision Nicaragua also continues supports the families of the men once they pass. These are some of the men who are still living with this illness, not sure when the Lord will call them home. We were able to spend some time with them ministering a message of hope, praying for them, having fun with food and games, and just enjoying their company. It was such an honor and something that I’ll never forget!
We worked with a ministry in Bethel that held weekly bible studies for young adults. This bible study ended with a wonderful, yummy bonfire!
The picture above is me, Sarai (one of the kids in Bethel), and Carly (my beautiful teammate).
The picture to the left is me with Jasmina and Massiel. They are two beautiful, wonderful, and inspiring young women who lead the young adult bible studies and ministry. I’m gonna miss them!
Antonia and Estella, our wonderful cooks. These lovely ladies made sure we were fed breakfast, lunch, & dinner everyday and the meals were SPECTACULAR! For people who have never been to the United States, they sure did know how to cook American meals that we all thoroughly enjoyed. They were such a joy and a blessing to all of us!
One thing that I was most impressed and humbled by was the young adults who were so focused and on fire for God. This is me with Ana. She is a 19 year old English major who loves poetry and absolutely loves God. She, along with many of the other youth, does door-to-door ministry and makes it look easy. She speaks with such passion and conviction when sharing the Gospel, regardless of who the audience is. I loved having the chance to get to know her and also learn from her. Can’t wait to see the amazing things that she will do for the Kingdom!
These kids just stole my heart! There is no other way to put it. I had so much fun with them and looked forward to seeing them every day. God blessed me so much through them and I 100% look forward to one day seeing them all again.
This is a picture of some of the World Race team with a group of other missionaries who work at New Song (Canto Nuevo) in Chichigalpa, Nicaragua. We visited their church a few times and sat in on a couple of powerful Saturday morning prayer & worship meetings. Two of the ladies in the middle, Cadence and Haille, were once short term missionaries with Adventures In Missions just like me. After the race, they felt called to move to Nicaragua and are now serving there until God tells them to leave. I was definitely inspired by them and their testimonies of passion, faith, and love. I hope to some day have a similar testimony!
In case you were wondering, I was never able to successfully say goodbye. These people were so fun and amazing that I know I’d love to see them all again. So instead, I left them with a simple Hasta Luego …
