Meet Maria, the woman God is using to bring my passions to His glory.
Maria is a beautiful woman from Granada, Nicaragua and a member of El Puente, the church we stayed in this month. I met Maria my first day at El Puente when I discovered that she worked with the Jicaro Project, a business based out of the church. She makes jewelry and the most beautiful ornaments I have ever seen. But the best part is that the Jicaro Project helps to support local mothers of Granada (including Maria) and the youth of Vida Joven (a Nicaraguan chapter of the ministry Young Life)!
If you have ever experienced my passion for making jewelry and supporting local artisans, you would understand that interacting with this type of business is a HUGE dream of mine. I have actually been praying for God to introduce me to a remote tribe of women making beautiful pieces of art while on the race..like no joke.
I am going to brag about my team for a moment. Throughout my time with them, many have come to understand my passions associated with everything the Jicaro Project works for. I so desired to dig deeper into that but felt so conflicted and guilty about letting my team down by staying back from other ministry assignments. When the leader of the church proposed the idea of me staying back to help with the development of the Jicaro Project, some of my teammates encouraged me through my feelings of guilt and even fought for me to stay. There is nothing like having someone fight for the opportunity for you to live out your passions.
My first day with Maria was interesting, to say the least. She knows zero English and the only Spanish I know is what I picked up from a language game on the plane and conversations in Costa Rica. Basically, I knew how to say fried chicken, good morning, and how are you. But let me tell you, God is greater than any language barrier. We talked all day about her experience with the Jicaro Project, her designs, and her family including lots of cute pictures of her kiddos.
I learned so much working behind the scenes for the Jicaro Project too! I was able to work alongside an incredible new friend, Ana, who is actually a missionary from the states. Her creativity and courage to step out in boldness to be in Nicaragua made for great conversations while we designed new pieces and worked on some marketing. I also learned so much from Sarah, the woman who has been with El Puente and the Jicaro Project from the very beginning. She has such a huge heart for the Lord and bringing him to the people of Nicaragua.
One of my favorite parts was getting to work with Maria and some of the youth from Vida Joven. Their job is to make all of the pieces for the jewelry and ornaments. Jicaro is actually a fruit that grows on a tree in the backyard of the church. Once they fall, they are dried in the sun and then sent through a whole process to sand them down and cut them into the necessary shapes. Here are some pictures of the Vida Joven youth and what that process looks like! It was a very long and sustainable process including some tired hands and sanded finger tips.
Any passion I had for jewelry and local artisans has been multiplied by a thousand after working with the Jicaro Project this month. I was always inspired and excited about different companies that worked to support local women and youth through jewelry. But your heart grows and becomes even more connected to these types of movements when you get to see faces to the “this piece was made by” names on the tag. Then it grows a little more and connects a little deeper when you get to meet the hearts to those faces and how this movement is supporting their lives, families, and dreams. Each piece becomes more than a cool souvenir or accessory. It is given a life. A life with a story, one written by God that is so worth hearing.
Working with the Jicaro Project was one of my favorite parts of being in Nicaragua. When your passions are connected with the glory of God, so much joy can be found.
