It has been a while since I have blogged but I just wanted to fill all you in on what I am doing in Nicaragua this month. So in my last blog I had said that this month my team and I will be on an island in Nicaragua working at an orphanage. Well that ended up changing last minute and instead we went to a town in northern Nicaragua were we are spending the month partnering with some of the pastors in the area.
We are moving around the town a lot this month and working in a variety of different areas but for the most part we have been doing construction and yard work (our team will be experts in this field with all the experience we have been getting), working with different children and youth programs with the different churches we are partnering with and doing some desk work for a program that one of the pastors is heavily involved with called Smiling School Kids. It is a program that is sponsored by an organization called 516 that was founded in the United States. 516 seeks to build holistic communities by providing for communities physical and spiritual needs. The smiling school program is a sponsorship program where for $60 a year individuals or groups can sponsor children so they can go to school. Schooling in Nicaragua is paid for by the government but it is strongly encouraged that children wear uniforms. Some people cannot afford uniforms and are too embarrassed to go to school without them so they end up not going to school at all.
We have been helping file and scan legal documents that are needed for the children to be a part of the program as well as designing a letter letting potential donors know about the program and making a video to promote the program. The desk work has provided a nice break from the manual labor and it has been really fun to be on the organization and documentation side of things and see how all that works.
The host families we have been with this month have been amazing. It is incredible to hear their stories of faithfulness in times of trouble and just how they have given up everything to pursue Gods calling for their life. The pastor we are currently with has two adorable children but they are quite the handful so they have really appreciated having six girls around who love to play with and entertain children to give them a break.
I am loving the laid back lifestyle of Central America. It is strange to think that if I were in Calgary right now I would be very busy with midterms and papers at school and here the pace is just entirely different. Most people here have a hour or two break in the afternoon (which I am a huge fan of obviously) and especially when doing manual labor Coca-Cola breaks happen at least once a day. One thing that is interesting that they do here is drinking pop from a bag (apparently it keeps the flavor better than cups) and is cheaper so that was a fun experience.
We have about two weeks left here in Nicargua and I have a feeling the time is just going to fly. It already feels like I have been on the race forever but also just got here. I am excited to be able to continue to build relationships with the pastors we are working with and also with the children and members of the church we are able to spend some time with and get to know.
Thank-you for all who have been praying for me and supporting me financially. My next deadline is December 1 of $11000 I still need about $2000 to reach that goal.
