Nicaragua is an amazingly beautiful country in Central America. Over this month we have been staying in Granada— a city filled with bright colors and Spanish architecture. A quick glimpse of this city would leave you feeling excited and ready to explore; however, once you spend a little more time there you begin to sense the darkness and their need for God.
My team spent our first week on the island Zapatera, the largest island in Lake Nicaragua, where we got to help build a church. It was certainly a challenging experience for all of us. We were in the first group to go so we had no idea what to expect. There were 2 lightbulbs in the little house where we stayed but no other electricity. There was no running water; our toilet was a hole in the ground. We were swarmed by so many bugs we began to think it was a plague. We spent every day doing manual labor in the hot sun— carrying large bags of sand and rocks on our backs, building structures to reinforce concrete, doing whatever task they needed us to do. It was difficult, but it was beautiful. After a long day of work we would get to jump in the lake and watch as the sky changed from blue to pink and gold. We relished the time we got to spend with the locals and their kids. It was hard, but it was good.
Our month 2 was all squad month, which meant we were living in close quarters with all of our squad instead of being spread throughout the country as we were in Costa Rica. We got to stay in a wonderful church called El Puente and our teams rotated between 5 or so awesome ministries in Granada. After getting back from the island, our team spent a week at REAP. Their ministry is newer but it is growing. They are providing jobs for the community and will eventually have a sustainable farm and a business park which will help the impoverished community greatly. At REAP we got to dig up huge tree-like weeds, plant mango trees, and farm by prayer. Our favorite part of REAP was getting to work, play, and learn alongside the awesome men that work there. At the end of everyday they allowed us to participate in their Bible studies where we got to learn more about their testimonies as well as share our own.
The rest of the month we worked with a bunch of different ministries. We spent some time leveling a dirt pile where they are planning to expand a Christian school. We visited the nursing home and met some wonderful people. We played with children at a feeding program. We got to use machetes to clear a field that will be used for more ministry work. My team even created our own little ministry this month. During team time one night we made little care packages for the homeless and spent the next few days handing them out and talking to anyone who would allow us.
I had such a wonderful time in Nicaragua. God is definitely working there and I am praying I will get to return one day to see everything he has done!
Prayer Requests:
-Please pray for my squad and my team as we are in Honduras now. Honduras is a dangerous country and there is a lot of darkness. We are going to need a lot of prayer this month
