Hola from Costa Rica!
After 60 hours of travel from South Africa, we are officially in Latin America and in the last 5 months of the race. Its crazy to think that at this point we only have 4 months left! Finding time to upload this blog has been a struggle, so I am actually an entire month behind on blogs and am very sorry you haven’t heard from me in a while!
Month 7 in Nicaragua was a bit different from others. Originally we were told it was going to be all squad month, so it was an awesome surprise when we found out we actually would be splitting up throughout the country.
All squad months can be kinda hard because you seldom have a moment to yourself. It’s actually harder to get to know people and things just are never intimate. Believe it or not, but there are still people I have only had a few conversations with.
Thats why I was so excited when I found out we would be with Team Outliers! A lot of the girls on that team are people I’ve hardly gotten to know and I am so happy they are in my life now!
So, as I said, this month was a bit different. We spent the first two weeks of the month at Luz y Sal (Light and Salt) Ministries and the last half of the month at REAP Grenada where we will meet up with our parents for Parent Vision Trip. PVT is a 5 day time where parents can come and do ministry alongside their racer.
Want to know what I got up to during my two weeks at Luz y Sal Ministries? NO? I’m going to tell you anyways!
Luz y Sal is run by an amazing woman named Tara. Tara is from Canada and has a truly crazy story of how she got here. My friends, Stella and Sydney, out together a promotional video for the ministry so if you want to watch that and learn more about Tara and her mission and vision click here.
Team Steve and Team Outliers have been living in two different houses and have been switching houses and ministries each week.
The first week we were here, Team Steve stayed at Tara’s house where we tented in her yard. It was so beautiful because each morning, all I had to do was open my eyes and say hello to the sunrise.
Tara is a long term missionary so she is CONSTANTLY busy. Things like yard work and housework are almost always left on the back burner. The reality of only spending two weeks at a ministry is, you aren’t always going to make a huge impact on the ministry itself. But you CAN come alongside the ministry hosts and support them in what they need to run their actual lives. And our first week here, what Tara needed to run her actual life was yard work. So that’s what we did! And it was so rewarding seeing all of our hard work pay off! Take a look at this before and after picture of her back yard!
The second week, Team Steve switched houses with Outliers and moved to the Center that houses Luz y Sal Ministries. This center is where boys from the community come and get bible and English classes as well as a time for sports! I was able to be a lead a couple of bible lessons, but I was right in the middle of a painting project at Tara’s so the rest of my teammates headed up all the classes with the boys. They had so much fun with them and they were always so sweet whenever I was around.
One of the most fun days here was when we got to do a community outreach day. We got to go into a village, encourage people, pray for them, and get to know them. We went house to house and afterwards invited all 300 village residents to a party where we served a delicious meal, and even had a piñata. My friend, Ashley, shared a message and it was so encouraging! I came across a woman who had her hands full with tons of kids, so I held on to this little cutie for a little bit so she could have a break.
Altogether, it was such a wonderful two weeks. Tara and her 9 year old daughter, Molly, were so good to us and are like family now! I will definitely it!
The last two weeks of the month we spent at REAP Granada! We have been able to do prayer walks, farming, and go to the dump where Nicaraguans dig through to find recyclables for $2 a day. This was also the ministry we worked with alongside our parents! More about this ministry and Parent Vision Trip to come in my next blog!
Thanks for reading!
