We were blessed to spend the month of December on Ometepe Island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. Our ministry was based at an orphanage and included caring for and building relationships with the kids, to helping in the kitchen, and working in the garden. I know for me and for most of Team Kaleo, it was a month where we were able to experience a variety of different ministries and enjoy the beauty of the island.
A good portion of my ministry this month was working in the garden at CICRIN. The orphanage is almost entirely self-sustaining and every morning would find me and a few other individuals weeding, hoeing, watering, planting, and wielding machetes. Antonio, the gardener, always made sure that we were able to enjoy the fruits of our labors, which often involved eating fresh papaya or watermelon directly from the garden.
The kids at CICRIN were mostly teenagers, with a few younger kids as well. I absolutely loved getting to know the older girls and establish relationships with them. Thankfully, my Spanish has improved to where I’m able to enjoy conversations and not merely communicate. As a result, I was able to get to know many of the girls more and form deeper relationships with them than I have with most others in previous months.
These kids captured my heart, and spending Christmas with them was an honor and a blessing. On the 23rd, most of the local churches and their pastors came to the property to enjoy worship, dinner, and celebrate together. The 24th is the day most Nicaraguans celebrate Christmas, and for us entailed a dinner with all the kids, opening presents, and even a piñata! Christmas day we were able to share with the kids the American tradition of decorating cookies, and all the local families came to CICRIN to enjoy games, music, more piñatas, food, and gifts.
To finish off our months in Central America, we met back up with the entire squad in the beginning of January. We were able to spend some good quality time together on the beach while undergoing some big changes before we head to Thailand. Its hard to believe that the time has come to switch continents! Thank you for all the continued prayer and support!
Check out more photos here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/set=a.10150456290517085.362106.512522084&type=3&l=6a539ccb93
