“Jesus es el rey en Nicaragua!” Yesterday, I yelled that from the top of a small mountain that I climbed with some other amazing people that are on this journey with me. As I was sitting on the top of the mountain looking over this city of Palacaguina, all I could think about was the joy that won’t stop coming. It’s 4 AM right now and I just woke up and can’t really sleep. I am sleeping in a tent on a concrete floor with a sleeping pad that is definitely not thick enough. My back hurts from sleeping here and the construction work I have done this week. Yet, I am smiling alone in my tent with only the light from this computer illuminating my face. It is quite amazing to know you are exactly where you are supposed to be. I have only felt that way a few times in my life, but I definitely do right now.
This week we hit the ground running and began constructing a cafeteria and church. We spent this week moving a lot of things- dirt, rocks, bricks, more dirt, more rocks, and more dirt. The methods of doing things here are quite different. There is no machinery to move things around. There are people. There are small tools like breaker bars, shovels, and pick axes. I didn’t even know what a breaker bar was until this week. I now know that it is one of the heaviest tools I have ever used and it doesn’t do much at one time.
Our worksite, building a church and cafeteria to feed children.
Fast forward a couple days later from when I began this blog. Today, Sunday, we worked with the congregation of the church on their new building. The church they currently have is pretty big (big enough to house all 54 of our tents and still have room for church) and this is going to be what they call a hija iglesia (daughter church) of their current one. We didn’t finish it yet, but we did spend time dedicating it today. This week we begin building a house for a family and doing a community service project of some sort. This ministry is very involved in many things and they want us to be able to experience more than just construction so we will be involved in different things this week.
It’s crazy how much fun life is when you are committed to something. Two weeks ago, I was praying for the end of this World Race thing. Now, I can’t get enough of it. I used to spend a lot of time by myself, now I can’t get enough time with my teammates. I can’t work hard enough at our worksite. I can’t work out enough. (My love for exercise has intensified on this race.) I amrelearning a lot about myself. When you have people constantly asking you to tell them your story, you remember a lot of things and recall things about yourself that you may have repressed. I am also learning a lot about other amazing people and the things they have grownin in their lives..
Getting my pick axing on
So, Nicaragua will probably be a place that I will forever attribute to whatever change occurs in my life this year. This is where the journey really began. Costa Rica was just a trailer to what was to come. I love thinking about my life as a movie. God is the director. I am the writer who gets to make the decisions. Now, on the World Race, I have a whole new cast of characters. So, grab your popcorn and candy the future presentation is about to begin.
Where we are staying…I think this is missing a few tents.
Palacaguina is so pretty
