Leaving Nicaragua was hard. I left a piece of my heart. The women in the program and my hosts Steven and Kenia have made a huge impact on my life. Going into this month I didn’t know what to expect and I definitely didn’t think it was going to be as hard to leave as it was.
Our last day we wanted to do something special for the women. We wanted to show them how much they are loved and they are worthy. Jourdan and Rachel led a Bible study on Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and how he did it out of love and to show them they are worthy. We washed the women’s feet and while we were washing them we prayed over them. I prayed for cleansing and that God would make them whole. I prayed that they would know how important they are and that they would know they are worth so much more than they think they are. A woman was hesitant to let us wash her feet. She said, “I am not worthy to let American missionaries wash my feet. I am a sinner.” We quickly responded with, “We are all sinners! But Jesus has made us clean by dying on the cross for us and making us new. We are worthy because of Jesus.” She was touched and let us wash her feet! It was an incredible, unforgettable moment washing the feet of these women who were once prostitutes, but now on the road to becoming daughters of God. Beautiful!
After washing their feet we played games with them. We laughed, were silly all together. We are friends, family, sisters.
We provided lunch for them like we did everyday, but this time we set the table with flowers in the center and gave them napkins that read “Eres Hermosa” (you are beautiful), and gifted them with individual card that we had made and wrote in Spanish. They were so touched and so happy! There were tears of joy and tears of sadness because this was our last day all together.
Four of them wanted to bless us. They gifted each of us with a ring. They told us it was something small, but came with a lot of love! How special is that!?! One of them said, “We may not see each other again on earth, but we will see each other in heaven!” These are my sisters in Christ!
We spent the rest of the day laughing and smiling, taking pictures with one another and telling each other how much we would miss each other. This day was so full of LOVE! AGAPE!
We had to leave this family behind. Some of them I have no way of contacting, but like they said…I will see them again in Heaven.
