Written November 7th, 2012:
It has already been one full week since I first arrived to Nicaragua. That in itself is hard to believe. Our new contact met us at our end of the month debrief and traveled with us to our ministry site for the month.
Our team's schedule last next month was very relaxed and flexible, which is quite a contrast to what I had heard about this month. My team leader, Brant, told us before we left Honduras that he had already been given a detailed schedule of exactly what we would be doing each day for the entire month. We even had a designated "shower time." I enjoy having a plan, but have gotten more relaxed about that these past few months in particular (although I still have my agenda–don't worry 🙂 I've mainly used it to write down what I've been doing to help me keep track of the days).
After our 3.5 hour bus ride, we were told we had a 20 minute walk. I was more than fine with walking the 20 minutes instead of waiting for who knows how long for another bus, even though we had to carry all of our stuff. For me that includes a full 65 liter pack with an average size backpack and a small purse with my water bottle attached.
Our contact, a local pastor in Palacaguina, was helping carry a few things and chatting with us along the way. He was making me laugh quite a bit, like when it began to rain and he said it had been over a month since it last rained and that it was a special welcome for us. It was so refreshing to understand everything he was saying and be able to respond in English!
After walking for about 20 minutes he pointed far off into the distance to a radio tower and said "that's us!" I laughed again, but after another 20 minutes of walking realized he was being serious. It took us a full 50 minutes, not including the 5 minute break we took to rest and gather as a group again. It was a long walk as I carried probably 65+ pounds of stuff. I was kind of regretting having an extra 4 pounds of water to carry, as I had filled both of my water bottles before leaving, as you never know how long it might be before getting purified water in a new location. But I made it–eventually. :)))
I walked into the church where our 2 teams will be living this month and was very impressed. I was told prior to our arrival that we had a shower, but no electricity. I walked into a nice big room with tile floors, where I was so excited to set done my things. Plus I discovered that we have two bathrooms!! I ran back to help out the couple girls behind me. I felt like I could have run a marathon at that point (and kind of wanted to :)). I felt so light! It was amazing, not only for how instantly energized I felt, but to see the delight on my teammates faces when we returned for them. After setting down my 65 pounds of stuff, taking on my teammate's backpack felt like it was stuffed with a single pillow.
I am excited for the work that the Lord has in store for this month and for the variety of ways that we will get to serve this community. We will be doing everything from construction & physical labor to lots of prayer, fasting & evangelism.
Please pray for my team as we adjust to the new area. Pray that the Lord grows our heart for the community exponentially. Pray that He would use us to love the people of Palacaguina well. Pray that the Lord would deeply bond and unify our 2 teams here and that I would sacrificially love the other 11 people I'm doing life with.
Thanks for your thoughts, prayers and continued support! Just an update as far as finances goes, I need another $900 by the end of the month in order to stay on the race and continue on to the Philippines! [and another $4,500 by the end of February to be at full support!]
Would you consider partnering with me by giving $100 or some other amount before the end of the month?
If you are interested in supporting me financially, please send a check made out to "Adventures in Missions" with "Rachel Lamb" on the memo line to Adventures In Missions, PO Box 534470, Atlanta, GA, 30353-4470 [preferably as soon as possible since it can take up to 2 weeks to process]
OR you can donate online at my blog: rachellamb.theworldrace.org. Just click the “Support Me” link in the upper left side of the page and complete your donation as instructed. 🙂 [that only takes a few days to process, but subtracts a 3-5% processing fee from your donation].
Thank you so much for giving financially, as well as with your time in prayer!!
