Week one done in Nicaragua! This month we are on top of a mountain at the Young Life Camp stationed right in between Matagalpa and Jinotega, Nicaragua. After staying one night in Monagua the capital of Nicaragua, we took a 4 hour ride on a bus to Matagalpa where we met up with two of our hosts, Miguel and Louis. They were all smiles and immediately helped us grab our bags from the roof of the bus (yes that is how luggage is transported in Central America… Their motto seems to be, cram as many people as possible- then cram 20 more- inside the bus and just throw any bags on the roof!) and get them into the van that would take us to our home for the next month. The views here continue to be stunning, and our ride to the base camp was no different. God sure shows off his beautiful work in the mountains of Central America.
The moment I set foot on the Vida Joven Camp, I knew this month was going to be something special. God and I have shared some very intimate moments in nature, and it really is one of the ways we communicate best. That was confirmed the first morning through a meditation at the very top of the mountain where they have a fire pit set up with benches all around. I couldn’t help but be brought to tears while glorifying Him for the gift of this place and His undeniable presence here. Oh- and did I mention it is also a coffee farm as well?? All my coffee lovers hollahhhh!! 🙂 It really is more than just the gorgeous landscape here though, it is every person who is in any way connected to this camp. The people here are more than generously accommodating.
I could write pages on pages of examples of such kindness-
Ann and Danny, the camp directors, who are two of the most intentionally loving people. They are the type of people that don’t have to tell you they are followers of Christ… It radiates out of them in the way they treat the staff, the way they ask questions that truly reveal a piece of information for them to get to know you, and the way they so passionately live out their faith day to day. Walter, who works with the facilities team around camp (and whom everyone lovingly refers to as “churro”), is someone I don’t think I have ever seen stop smiling. He loves being around us and laughs uncontrollably when we try to put together funny phrases in Spanish. He is quickly becoming a part of our crew 🙂 Walter goes above and beyond in whatever task he happens to be charged with- and even in those tasks which he isn’t assigned. He is a true joyful servant. Really these are just two examples among every single person we have encountered here.
Maynor (pronounced Minor), who also works as part of the facilities team, carries a very similar attitude. You might be thinking- ok a cheerful worker, I’ve seen that before… But there is something different about Maynor. We got to spend our first week here alongside of him while digging out a ditch to protect the coffee plants from run off. From day one, He jumped down in the dirt right next to us. We shoveled for 6 hours a day – and when I say shoveled I mean dug heavy mud and dirt that has been caked and rooted there for quite some time – and emptied over 200 wheel barrels in the first day alone. With no complaints, he would shovel and empty wheel barrel after wheel barrel like it was nothing. By the way, Maynor is about 5 ft. tall, and I could likely carry him around on my back; hard working would be a drastic understatement. Yet, he is so patient, sweet, and kind hearted. He was always willing to let us figure and talk through a plan of action, and never seemed in a hurry when we had to take a moment to catch our breath! When they do 15 min. coffee breaks, he always brings us mugs first before getting any himself. Friday, he disappeared for about 15 minutes, and I thought, “hmm, maybe he really does have a limit after all…” Next thing we knew, he came trotting back down the road with a huge bottle of cold Pepsi and 7 plastic baggies (we’ve seen this method used a lot in Central America to drink out of when on the go… You bite a hole in the corner and slurp away!). I think he was ready to celebrate being done with the digging too 🙂 Something so simple as sharing a baggie of Pepsi together after a long hard week, provided such a beautiful moment. Maynor is a 28 year old who works an incredibly physically demanding job with no hesitation. Though Vida Joven pays their workers more than the “minimum wage” here, he still lives on very little- what you or I would consider beyond poor; yet, he took it upon himself to buy a bottle of Pepsi for the gringos who happen to be visiting for the month. Just Saturday, while hiking the nearly 1000 steps up to Pena de la Cruz, he snapped a bunch of photos for our group. While we ate lunch, he disappeared again… When he returned he carried with him pictures from the day printed out for us to keep. I am so grateful to be humbled by his way of life. Sometimes it is people who seemingly have the least who turn out to be the ones with the most to give.
Although technically this month’s “assigned ministry” is manual labor type work around the camp- the relationships are what are going to make this month incredible. All the workers here rush to eat lunch so they can get a couple games of soccer or baseball in, and they always invite us to join- even though that means playing down to our level. They are always asking if we have everything we need… Do we need our laundry done? Do we need a ride to the store? Can we show you around our city? What else can we do for you? There is so much to learn from this culture and from the people we have the pleasure to serve alongside. I believe Harold, the head of our daily work, said it most eloquently when he stated that here they do not have much at all, but anything we have we are willing and eager to share with you. Man- what a beautiful way to honor God through your way life. I mean isn’t that really what He asks us to do? To love one another as He loves us. To live a life of abundance knowing that He will always provide what we need so we don’t need to hold fast to things of this world, but instead share them with our brothers and sisters. I can’t wait to see what else The Lord has in store to reveal this month.
*If you want to see even more of what is happening in this beautiful place, please find me on Facebook! I look forward to continuing to share this journey with you all 🙂
