Happy February, everyone!
I have been in the beautiful country of Nicaragua for 5 days now and every bit of it has been wonderful. I don’t even know how to begin to describe all that’s already happened in that short amount of time, but here’s a couple of the highlights:
We’re staying at CICREN, a children’s center for kids who’s parents can’t properly take care of them. Some stay overnight on weekdays and some come just for the afternoon. The school year begins on Monday the 3rd (I traded Minnesota winter for Nicaraguan summer) so we’ve only had a couple afternoons with the kids so far but they are filled with so much joy and laughter. For instance, the kids call me tomate because my face turns really red when I play soccer with them in the sun. There are 2 beautiful girls are named Melissa, just like my mom, and it’s so sweet to have that little reminder of home here.
CICREN is located on Omatepe Island in Lake Nicaragua, right on the shore of the lake. It’s more beautiful than any lake I’ve ever seen in Minnesota. There are hammocks set up by the shore where you can relax, hear the waves crash, and watch one of the most beautiful sunsets.
We’ve also spent time working around the compound or at other locations owned by the center. My favorite has been working at the local church, “Cristo Centre de Ometepe Island.” While there we met a wonderful woman named Lady who wanted so badly to speak English with us and get to know us. While working, we talked about our different cultures and our different hobbies, all while blasting worship music in Spanish for the whole neighborhood to hear. We went to visit her in her home the next day and we got to pray for her hands, since she injured them while riding her motorcycle. She’s such an example of God’s grace and patience.
We eat plantains, rice, and beans at every meal (plus other things) and it’s delicious. There’s always coffee. I honestly might be in heaven here.
One way that the Lord has really been working in my heart has been with leading worship, which I wasn’t expecting. I brought my guitar, not thinking I’d use it a lot and more so being worried that it’d bring more glory to myself instead of God. But the opposite couldn’t be more true. Both our days with the kids, I’ve played guitar while my teammates that speak (at least some) Spanish sang worship songs in Spanish. Our first night at CICREN I played for an hour of worship with my team. On Sunday, I’m playing it in the church (along with my wonderfully singing teammates). My teammates and the Holy Spirit continue to encourage me in this gift that God has given me, and I can’t wait to see how God continues to use my gift to bring himself honor.
A couple other fun things:
I learned how to hand wash clothes!
I lost what are the odds Macafee (google it if you don’t know) and had to kiss a frog about the size of a Guinea pig. Sadly, he didn’t turn into Prince Charming.
Thank you for all your prayers. They are so precious to me.
Soli Deo Gloria.
Bailey
