Half way through our month in Nicaragua, wowza it sure does go by fast. All of 20 of us have been living and working at an orphanage called CICRIN on the island of Ometepe.
We have spent one week working in the school on site and helping with the afterschool program. We have done anything from washing mop heads to playing baseball in the yard with rocks as bases. In our second week we have been focusing on covering CICRIN, Ometepe and even Nicaragua with prayer. We have been doing prayer walks, singing battle songs, praying through psalms and daily putting on the armor of God in fighting against all that is going on here.
CICRIN provides a home for around 15 children, along with a daily program for many different children in the community that includes: 2 hot meals a day, Christian schooling, afterschool help with homework and a daily bible lesson. CICRIN is such a blessing to this community in providing a loving and safe environment for so many different children.
Other things you should know about CICRIN:
-The children are so sweet and friendly.
-They LOVE playing soccer and swinging around in hammocks.
-Laughter is a common thing to hear and sweet greetings come often.
-The staff fights hard to cover this place in prayer.
-The director Hellen loves having different mission groups visit. She says that it impacts the kids greatly and really helps provide for them financially.
-Hellen is a woman of faith who fully believes that all you need to move mountains is the faith of a mustard seed.
-This place is definitely special.
All the other things you need to know about Nicaragua:
-PLANTAINS, PLANTAINS PLANTAINS. This place is filled with them. We have them at every meal and they make them 5 different ways. I cannot get enough of them, YUM.
-Beans and rice are staples (and occasional liver)
-Hot and humid have a new meaning here. It is roasty and toasty.
-Pigs, chickens, goats, cows and ponies roam the roads freely
-Riding in the back of a truck is not an unusual way to get around
-The local parks have free wifi. Why do we not have this in America?
-The sunsets are vibrant, and beautifully painted.
-Pelegues roam the property and often interrupt your morning time with the Lord. They are a mix between goats and sheep, (I call them shoats).
-Fireflies come out each night and flicker as we eat dinner
-The exchange rate is 30:1 AKA I can get a medium sized coke, a pack of cheese filled ritz crackers and a bag of potato chips for one us dollar.
-A tienda (local snack shop) is always within walking distance
-Our showers are limited to 2 minutes (water is precious)
-Beware of the 3 S’s: Scorpions, Spiders and Poisonous snakes
-We check our beds nightly for tarantulas (if you leave your bed too close to the wall you may be greeted by a tarantula in the middle of the night)
-BUGS BUGS BUGS. I don’t think that our bug repellent works on them. They are bold.
-White pineapples grow here and they are delicious.
-The Sabbath is more greatly observed here and they do not have public transportation on Sundays
-They have bull sharks and crocodiles in the lake so swimming is at your own risk.
-Sometimes the sink falls off the wall at 5:40am and you get over an inch of water in your room
-hand washing your clothes outside at a washing station called a pilla is the way of the locals
-The people in Nicaragua are kind, welcoming and hard working
With that being said, I can’t wait to see what the second half of our time here holds!
If you would like to know more about CICRIN or are interested in visiting for a missions trip please check out their website for more info:
Thanks for taking time to read this blog!
