This week, we said goodbye to CICRIN and beautiful Ometepe Island and hello to our next ministry, 516 NOW, and Palacaguina, a small town in rural, semi-mountainous Nicaragua.
It was surprisingly not very difficult for me to say goodbye to our last ministry, but it’s usually pretty easy for me to say goodbye. Plus I always get excited at the anticipation of what’s to come. However, when they sent us off, they did so Nicaraguan style: with a big party that included lots of dancing and food. I got to hit a piñata for the first time, and I’m really bad at it. 
On the 16th, we left in the morning and barely caught our ferry ride to the mainland. Right after getting off the boat, our squad split into our 2 teams and we’ll remain split for the remainder of our ministry (but we’ll travel from Nicaragua to Guatemala together). From there our current host drove us for 5 hours to the northern part of the country. It’s kind of fun being in a new location, mostly for the fact that none of us really know what’s happening or what we should do. Our space here is also smaller and more communal than our last location. Not saying that that’s a bad thing; it’s just definitely an adjustment to go from sharing a room with one other person to sharing a room with 8 other people and having your bathroom in basically the same room. But it’s been fun to be in a closer space with all my teammates. But maybe that’s just me because I love people.
We don’t totally know what ministry will look like here at 516, but here’s a small glimpse from our first 2 days of ministry:
There’s a school that’s partnered with 516, so a few of us have helped there. I’ve been there both days helping in what’s their equivalent to Kindergarten, and let me tell you it’s a whole new level of organized chaos. 5 year olds are like that in and of themselves (constantly talking, yelling, getting distracted, unable to sit in their chairs, etc.), but it gets brought to a whole new level when there’s 25 of them and you speak a different language than them. But they’re also the sweetest kids. I never felt like I connected super well with any of the kids at our last location, but with these kids I fell like it was an instant friendship. I only wish I knew what they’re trying to tell me all the time. But hey, I’m learning their names which I feel like is a major victory for me.
There’s also a church that’s partnered with 516 that some of our teammates have been working at (painting, cleaning, etc.).
Aside from that, we’ve heard rumors of things but don’t know exactly what the future will hold. Tomorrow we’re doing a big construction project, we might be helping with Sunday school, etc. But whatever they ask us to do, we’re here to do it.
One thing the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me about since we got to Palacaguina is that I need to be aware and attentive of what’s happening around me. Not in a “I need to watch my back” way, but more so that I need to be looking for what other people may be missing: whether that’s a kid that’s overlooked in class, a teammate that’s having a hard time and isn’t letting on about it, or a way for us to go the extra mile in our ministry. I have no idea why God has called me to live with this attention right now, but I know it must be for some reason. And even if it’s not for a specific reason, it’s so nice to hear God’s voice so often because that fuels me so much to do whatever I can to bring glory to God’s name.
As for me personally, I’m doing pretty well. I’m covered in bug bites (not mosquito bites; gnat and ant bites), but don’t worry I’m not going to get sick or anything. We’ve eaten lots of sweets lately, between 4 parties last week and our team being a big fan of walking to town to get ice cream, it’s been a lot of sugar and dairy. I made a slightly impulsive decision and had one of my teammates cut off about 5 inches of my hair for me. Our current host has a washing machine for us to use and they feed us a lot of veggies, which are both huge blessings. The days feel slow but looking back they’re so quick so I haven’t really had the chance to get homesick. It blows my mind that I’ve been gone almost a month and I wouldn’t change this month for anything in the world.
Thank you for all your prayers. They mean the world to me.
Soli Deo Gloria
Bailey
