Travel day 1/30
4:50 am – wake up
5:30 am – leave legacy of hope foundation
6:00 am – bus leaves
Still not happy about the bus ride but at least I’m not anxious or afraid. I’m still processing the first month but here are some of the lessons I’ve learned this month.
1. Freedom from the Lord doesn’t have to be messy or some huge revelation. I came into this year pretty nervous about how messy and difficult I thought some lessons were going to be to learn. He is a good, good Father. He’s kind and gentle and He loves us so much. He doesn’t want us to suffer to be able to walk in the freedom that we have in Him! That’s just a preconceived notion I’ve given myself, that all lessons have to be difficult. Learning this truth month 1 has released me of those fears and worries for the rest of the year. I’m excited to learn more about who He is and how He wants to use me.
2. Being genuine and 100% authentic means you’re weird by most standards. I’ve always held back from being 100% me outside of my family and close friends because I feel like I have this other image I have to portray as an adult, manager, professional, leader, etc. This month I learned that this is an expectation that I put on myself and all it does is steal my joy. I’ve been weird this month, ya’ll, and I haven’t laughed so much in years.
3. I don’t have to have some huge revelation every day/week/month. The Lord is perfectly happy with me just sitting in His presence and being open to change. This month I felt like I was doing something wrong because every day was so amazing and I didn’t have any huge life lesson under my belt. I’m not sure why I would want to come on a mission trip and be miserable all year but it seems like that was my thought. This is going to be the most incredible year and I’m going to soak in every minute.
I was so close to sleeping on the bus and all of a sudden they start blasting Spanish rap music so loud that my heart was vibrating. The man in front of me kept passing gas also, so I spent a lot of time holding my breath!
1:00- We made it! Got to our rooms and spent some time resting.
We went to Chili’s for dinner with a small group and had a blast. American food was a nice treat but my stomach is still in protest. We went next door to the grocery store to get snacks for our 15-hour bus ride tomorrow and then to the mall where I got another pair of headphones and a pop socket (mine broke week one and I forgot how to hold a phone without one).
Travel Day 1/31
6:30- wake up
7:15- leave for the bus station
There was a beautiful parakeet at the bus station and I actually held him! FYI, birds freak me out so this was kind of a big deal!
9:30- bus leaves for Nicaragua!
No complaints about the bus, honestly it’s pretty bougie. I sat with Missy, we watched movies and had some pretty great jam sessions.
Got to experience using the bathroom on a moving bus and I’m 98% sure I washed my hands with the toilet bowl cleaner. Then I promptly ate lunch with my hands. My immune system is going to be solid when I come back to the states. (Mama, I could feel your disgust thousands of miles away!) It’s fine, I’m fine. Really.
We went through immigration and a lady tried to make us pay to use the public bathroom. Didn’t happen.
Crossed the border with no issues and then spent another 6 hours on the bus until we arrived in Managua! Then we switched buses for another 1.5-hour ride. We were wide awake and sang karaoke the whole way. The videos are pure gold. Let me know if you’d like to see them!
9:30- we arrived at our BEAUTIFUL hostel! A group of us went to a local restaurant for our first real meal of the day and then we passed out!
That’s all for my travel day diaries this month. We have spent the last 5 days at debrief resting, in sessions, listening to the Lord, and learning to trust each other. This week has been so incredible and I’m in the process of figuring out how to tell you what the Lord is doing in my life. We leave for our ministry site today and won’t have wi-fi except for Mondays so be on the lookout for posts and a blog next week!
Please continue to pray for our squad. I’m surrounded by some super special people and I can’t wait to see how God is going to use us for His Kingdom!
Loving the journey,
-H
