Hey everyone!
I am sorry I have not posted a blog update sooner but I have officially been in Nicaragua for about 3 weeks. It has already been such an adventure! I know in my last post I talked about struggling at training camp, but things are very different now. As I stepped out of the Nicaragua airport my little travel bug kicked in and my feelings changed. I was ready for the adventure. Of course I still have days that I struggle and I miss people at home but I am really learning to enjoy where I am in the moment.
We currently are living in a little town called Palacaguina, Nicaragua and everyone is so welcoming here! We have already done so much! When it comes to ministry we have all learned the importance of flexibility because things are always changing.
In my first two weeks I was doing construction at a local church from 9-11:30am Tuesday- Saturday. Our job has basically been to shovel dirt and rocks to help build a second level for the church. Construction wasn’t necessary something I enjoyed doing, but as time went on I learned to love it in my own way. I didn’t look at it as just shoveling dirt but instead a little work out with my team while listening/ dancing to good music and occasional breaks where I got to hang out with the cute kids who live in the neighborhood. It has been something that has connected us as a team as well and gives back to the community. This has been amazing to witness. The pastor of the church is always working with us. It has been so fun getting to know him. He is probably one of the sweetest men I have met. We have attended his church a couple times and every time I am blown away by the amount of love the people have for each other and for God. One service we were asked to come to the front and introduce ourselves. After we did, the whole church stood up and got in a line. I was so confused on what was going on, but the pastor began to play music and the people started hugging us one by one and thanking us. I had never experienced something like that. I probably hugged 30 different people of all ages. I was blown away by the amount of love these people showed us right away. I couldn’t stop smiling!
Our other main ministry has been going to the local Christian school and helping in the classrooms. We rotate three girls every week at the school instead of construction. This week was my week to go. The first two days I was in second grade and the kids were SO sweet. Every morning I was greeted by them screaming a combination of the names “Maddy” and “Mary”. They would all reach out to hug me as I walked to go sit down. At lunch and recess there were always girls trying to hold my hands and hug me. They would all try and talk to me and I just had to smile and nod because most of the time I had no idea what they were saying but they didn’t quite get that. Even though there was the huge language barrier I felt so loved by each of them. I also spent time in the kindergarten class and got to help with teaching English. Again was welcomed by SO many hugs. They all were such sweet children who were so eager to learn and so happy. So much love.
So far I have really enjoyed my time here. It really is just the beginning of everything but I already am seeing self growth. I also am beyond thankful for the amazing team God gave me to experience this all with. I am really so grateful to be doing this. I keep having to remind myself to enjoy every day, one day at a time. Each day there is always something new and exciting. I only have about 2 weeks left in Nicaragua and then it’s onto Costa Rica. This was just a summary of my weeks so far but I am hoping to be better about blog posting and hopefully the next one will have a little more detail! Anyways thank you all again for the continual prayers and thoughts!
Lots of love!
Maddy Harvey
