Nicaragua was a LONG month- full of transitions and adapting to a new culture. It took us 4 days to get from South Africa to central America. Goodbye corn pap, hello rice and beans!
My team and the other co-ed team spent the first 2 weeks on the island Ometepe partnering with an orphanage. I loved it because I got to teach (yay!) and use Spanish. When the squad reconvened half-way through April, we split up based on those meeting their parents for the Parent Vision Trip in Granda and those in the non-PVT group who headed north to the remote town of Palacaguina.
Being in the later group, the 14 of us spent the mornings of the remaining 2 weeks doing construction to build a new church. Some afternoons we taught English or played sports with the kids at the church, usually followed by a trip to buy chocolate covered bananas down the street. 🙂 I shared my testimony at the youth group and we even got to talk on a radio show broadcasting across Nicaragua and other countries around the world! We shared our experiences from the World Race and how we’ve seen God work in people’s lives.
The last few days of the month we met the rest of our squad and their parents in Granada. We took an adventure day together to see inside an active volcano. We all left for Costa Rica to debrief the month AND we got new teams we’ll be with for the remainder of the race, which I’ll share in my next blog- stay tuned!
My time in Nicaragua taught me there is purpose even behind the “mundane” work. It’s all a part of the bigger picture to support ministries by coming alongside them to transform their community. I can measure the amount of work or impact I think I’m making by my own standards or what the world tells me based on what I can tangibly see or experience. But it does’t compare, nor matter, because I can trust God is working in unseen ways higher than my ability to understand. Whether it is through a simple smile to someone I’m passing on the street or digging holes in a plantain field, or if it’s an experience God will use to prepare me for something else. What matters is I do whatever he’s called me to with my whole heart, completely trusting in him.
Enjoy the photos below! Hope it gives a good idea of what I’ve been up to. Thinking of you all at home.
Peace and love,
Eva <3
Taking a ferry to the island of Ometepe inside of a giant lake in Nicaragua.
The photo above is from the orphanage. The two photos below are from the church we attended in Ometepe.
Our team worked on a plantain farm on Ometepe. The owner of the land financially supports the orphanage.
The photos below are from one of the main towns on the island. You can see the active volcano in the background.
These are some girls I taught at the school at the orphanage.
Here is a big group photo with our teams, our host, Helen, and some of the students. The orphanage has been there for 30 years!
On to Palacaguina! This is the home we stayed at when partnering with the ministry 5-16 NOW.
This is the church we helped build. We carried dirt to level out the foundation floor. We also dug up space for a baptism pool, a trench and bathroom long-drop.
We drove in the back of a truck to get around. Just your average day in Nicaragua getting to ministry!
This is from the radio station. We stepped in after construction. Our host, Yaner, introduced us. We shared an encouraging word and a story from our time Nicaragua.
This is a picture of Palacaguina walking into town one day.
This is a relatively new classroom they built. We visited the classroom and sang songs with the kids.
Some of us with our chocolate covered bananas.
A pretty toucan we found while out exploring the ministry site.
The square in downtown Granada.
This is our squad waiting for the bus to take us to Costa Rica. We take up a lot of space as you can tell…
For our adventure day and my friend’s birthday, a group of us went volcano boarding. We hiked up the volcano with our board, put on our jumpsuit and goggles. We used our feet to keep balance. It’s harder than it looks! Needless to say, I got a lot of rocks in my shoes but was worth it. #yolo
Birthday girl Savannah, me, Stella and Macy
This is from a different adventure day in San Juan del Sur on the pacific ocean. I’m with my old teammates Lauren and Amanda in the picture.
This is our last dinner as Team Kainoseros. We went up to a restaurant overlooking San Jose, Costa Rica during our time at debrief.
