We have made it to Nicaragua! After a few days in Granada with the whole squad, our team (and 3 others) headed up to Palacaguina (close to Honduras) to work with Pastors of the Kingdom. Adelphoi, my team, has the privilege of working and living the Joy Bombs (#JoyPhoi)! We are living at Ipaulito’s church, Igelsia Bautista Resurreccion and its our first tent city:
We spent a lot of time our first few days in church. Here we were able to meet some of the people from the community and worship with them, for hours, in Spanish! We loved our little church, our home and our time together.
But every night it happened… spiders came out of the woodworks (or I guess concrete…) Hundreds of them! The first night we probably screamed more than you would hear in a theater during a scary movie! Wanna see why??
So daily, mass genocide of wolf spiders (and some of us killed the daddy long legs too) occurred. Its amazing just how many there were 🙂
God is doing a great work here in Palacaguina. He is using Pastors of the Kingdom to expand his love in the small town of 8,000 people. He was also changing us. The Joy Bombs spent month 1 alone in Guatemala. They were able to use this time to truly grow as a family. It was obvious and a great call for us to follow suit. Our month one was full-on community with 3 World Race teams and 2 WYAM teams, we just didn’t get time alone. With month two being an all squad month, Adelphoi hasn’t always had a lot of time alone. Now, we get that time (alongside the Joy Bombs) and the ability to see what a family looks like 🙂 This will be an amazing time of learning and growing for all of us. The Joy Bombs are truly a blessing to Adelphoi and to me, thank you for all you’ve done ladies!
#joyphoi
On our first full day in Palacaguina, we got to tour the city and a coffee processing plant (I think its called a Prodecoop…?) The town was really small and quaint. Very different than our first two cities, but we would grow to love the quiet and the closeness found here.
** Enjoying Palacaguina with my sisters
** Pre-roasted coffee beans kinda taste like dirt 🙂
** Anna checking an item off the bucket list 🙂
On the walk to the coffee plant, Michael (one of our squad leaders and I) got to talking. He asked me how things were going, how God was working in my life, what challenges I might be facing, and what I hoped to get out of the race. As I pondered on these questions I got to thinking about just how much God has been doing through my experiences, conversations with my team and others, people I’ve met… its been an amazing 2 months!! I love seeing how God continuously breaks the box that I had put Him in. He is speaking to me and for the first time I’m hearing Him. He is a good and faithful God and I pray for continued growth in our relationship 🙂
“But this thing I did command them: Listen to and obey My voice, and I will be your God and you will be My people; and walk in the whole way that I command you, that it may be well with you.” ~Jeremiah 7: 23
Here’s to an amazing month in Nicaragua 🙂
** Granada was beautiful 🙂 This is Volcano Motombo
** Last day in Granada some of us enjoyed an amazing sunrise over the water
** Just hanging out in a plane, trips to the ATM are fun
**Amazing view of Condega (the next “big” town over from Palacaguina) “Big” means they have a grocery store and an ATM. Condega is a 10-minute bus ride from our town
** And, we ended up on the wrong bus on the way home… not to mention we couldn’t even fit on, but somehow 5 of us managed to squeeze into the school bus!
** Berenice 🙂 This little girl just ran up to me and into my arms! I love my little shadow
** The new normal
** #baggedmilk, a new all time favorite (this is a big step for me!)
** Choco bananas 🙂
** Awakening, Petrichor, Jade and I went to a waterfall in Esteli on our day off, so beautiful 🙂
