I had a ton of people ask me before I left home what I was going to be doing. I had no idea when I left what I was getting into and now as I near the end I still don’t have any idea what I am doing. Every day is different depending on what the Lord has for us in that day. When I get home in just a couple weeks (16 days as of writing this) I don’t have long. I will be in Augusta for about 6 weeks before I take off to some other crazy countries. I have some pretty exciting news though. I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING AND WHERE I AM GOING!!!! This is music to my ears after a year of living UNSCRIPTED.
On January 18th I have to be back in Gainesville, Georgia for training camp. We have a couple days of leader training before the squad gets there for a few more days of training. Then we take off to Nicaragua for about 6 to 8 weeks. When we get to Nicaragua, we will be working with one of two ministries. The first ministry is CICRIN Orphanage. At CICRIN Orphanage they support about a dozen kids full time. Apart from the kids that live at the orphanage they support hundreds of other kids in the local community through their school, and prevention center. They also offer adult education classes to teach English and other job skills to the adults in the Ometepe area. CIRCIN has been operation since the 1970’s by American missionaries when they saw the need. During the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua the orphanage was taken and used as a training site for the military but was returned after the revolution. CIRCIN Orphanage looks like an amazing ministry site. Young people are a huge part of my heart (hence leading Semesters in the first place) and I have always wanted to serve in an orphanage. This is a dream come true.
Also, in Nicaragua we will be working with another group called Salt and Light Ministries. This ministry also works with kids in their community. Their goal is to disciple, train, and empower young Nicaraguans to break the cycle of mental, spiritual, and physical poverty. They do this with many different activities for the kids in their program. The first thing they do is have discipleship classes for the kids. They are taught from a young age what it means to be a child of God. They also have classes to teach them computer skills, fine arts, sports, and are given time to work on their homework and other academic activities. This gives the kids in this program a tangible way to escape poverty that is so common in Nicaragua.
The final stop for my team will be with the World Race Base in Guatemala. This base has long term missionaries who are supported by different World Race, Gap Year, and Semester teams as well as other short-term teams. This base does a lot of outreach in their local community but a few of the main things they do is giving out water filters, community outreach, and installing fuel-efficient stoves in homes throughout the community. Water in Guatemala is contaminated with parasites and bacteria and half of their population lives below the poverty line. This means that many people do not have access to purified water. They give out these filters to people in need so they can get the water they need for everyday life. This base empowers the local church leaders in their outreach with the local community.
I am super blessed to partner with these three amazing ministries next spring. It is also an amazing opportunity to get to lead the 16 young adults on this amazing trip. With this I need to fundraise again for this trip. It is only $3,000 which is nothing compared to what the Lord has provided for this year. If you would like to partner with me in this new journey you can donate at the top of this blog or email, text, call, or Facebook message me. Also, if you would like any more information on any of the ministries that I get to partner with in the spring I will have links below. Check out the amazing Kingdom work that these people are doing in Nicaragua and Guatemala.
