Dear Nicaragua,
At first I hated you. You started with an instense spiritual attack, the next week you sprained my ankle and after that you gave me a mosquito virus. But for these things I am thankful because you grew me. You showed me that through it all God is sovereign and has a bigger plan: a plan beyond my comprehension. Congratulations Nicaragua, God worked in and through you to shape me into the woman I want to become. A woman after God’s own heart. Your brokenness and rawness broke my heart and I finally see your beauty. You showed me to let go of my anger; to pardon others; that prophecies are real; and that it’s okay to be a mess. And that it’s okay to not have a plan because plans are overrated. In the midst of the adventure that was this month you made me miss my family and cry so many tears but you knew that I would eventually come to love you. And here I am sayinging goodbye to you with tears in my eyes.
During our second week here my teammate Shelby asked me if I would ever come back here and I very adamantly answered, “No, of course not”. And now my heart has changed and my mind has been made up. On our travel day leaving our host family, I quietly told my team that I will honestly miss this place and that I could and will come back one day. I realized I would miss it during our last day here.
Our last day here was a day of rest, and full of joy. We went thrift shopping (where I found a super cute midi skirt), got banana splits from our favorite ice cream shop, and then came home to our favorite dinner being made. We had banana pancakes also known as manulitas to the locals. They are absolutely delicious! After we finished, our hosts Ruth and Moses, whom we have come to know well, sat at the table with us and talked for a bit. They told us how incredibly proud they are of each and every one of us and that we truly changed their lives. She even went so far as to call us angels sent from heaven to help their ministry. Ruth teared up saying goodbye and I did as well. She also gave me a pair of flip flops to remember Nicaragua and her by. The gesture was so sweet. After that we had one final thing to do. On one of our first days here we wrote our prayers on slips of paper and placed them in a basket. A basket that Noah now gets to take with him across the globe. We would frequently take them out and pray over them. Today we said one last prayer over them and then lit the slips of paper on fire using a match, lifting our prayers up to the Creator of the universe. In that moment it hit me that I would miss Ruth and Moses, and this place. I will miss Ruth’s song that she sang for us in Hebrew.
Nicaragua you have changed my heart for the better. This month was hard but you grew on me. Here inside our 4 room, all brick house with bars over the windows and a door that we placed a bar across to lock, you grew me; shaped me; and molded me. Your squatty potty and outdoor shower I will miss. This all brick house was filled with Jesus, laughter, music, dancing, face masks, and sharpie tattoos. Here we grew in our faith and grew as a team. The beautiful moments spent in this house make the hard times worth it.
And so I say goodbye. I can honestly say I will miss you. Nicaragua, I love you and one day I will see you again. And I thankyou. Thank you for revealing your beauty to me.
All my love,
Liz
XoXo
