In a way, it feels like this month is a new start to our World Race.
Our first two months in Panama and Costa Rica were absolutely amazing. Panama, being month one, was full of adventures. We were adjusting to being in a new country, getting into the routine of ministry, and our team was just beginning to get to know each other. Costa Rica as our all-squad month was a blast. It was awesome getting to live in close community with 39 people that I have grown to love so quickly.
But this month is different (as I expect each month will be). This is the first month my team is alone at a ministry site. Just the six of us. And by this point, we are getting used to being on the Race. Being in a new country isn’t so weird anymore. It seems so normal for everyone around us to be speaking Spanish. We are used to doing without many ammenities that we expect in the U.S. (like wifi, daily showers, free time, convenient transportation, and even a spatula!).
So without the factors of adjusting to a new way of life and having our whole squad together, my team is really diving deep into ministry and into each other this month. And it’s wonderful. We have spent time bonding over coffee, cookies, loving children, beaches, deep conversations, hospital visits, and awkward social interactions.
This month we are partnering with an organization called El Ayudante in León, Nicaragua. El Ayudante means The Helper, and that is what this organization is all about. In the words taken from their website, “We are a Christian humanitarian organization based in León, Nicaragua, dedicated to partnering with the Nicaraguan people to transform the nation—one child, one family, and one community at a time.” They care for 27 children and their families on a long-term basis. Some of the kids who first came here when they were 9 are now being supported by El Ayudante through college. Most of the kids used to actually live here at El Ayudante, because they all come from at-risk homes. However a few years ago, the government forced all the children to go back to live with their famillies. So now the children live with their families, but they come here before school for breakfast and after school for tutoring, Bible study, field trips, and other activities. El Ayudante also provides holistic care for the entire family, including spiritual nurturing, housing, proper medical care, nutrition, service and excellence in education. They also host over 30 (I heard someone say 50) short-term mission groups from the States each year who come and partner with El Ayudante to bring transformation to surrounding communitites here in León. There will be a different group staying on campus each week that we are here.
Our ministry this month is mainly partnering with the El Ayudante staff in caring for the children and equipping their parents. We get up at 6:00am to accompany the kids to school. We help them with their homework and play with them after school. We provide health and general human welfare classes for the parents. We plan Bible studies for the kids. We teach English classes to the staff. I’m also giving guitar lessons to some of the kids. And sometimes we accompany the other missions teams that are here during our stay to help them with their projects (so far that has been Vacation Bible School, construction, and farming).
You can meet the children that I am falling in love with by clicking the link here: http://eanicaragua.com/meet-our-children/
Also, if you want to read a beautiful story about my favorite child at El Ayudante, click this link: http://eanicaragua.com/more-than-a-symbol/
Jesús and his brother Franklin are the first children we met when we arrived at El Ayudante last week. Because they don’t have a biological family to care for them, they live here full time. Jesús instantly stole my heart when he was so excited and eager to get to know us, even though we can’t communicate with words, because he is deaf. It’s so fun to communicate with him using my extremely limited sign language (most of which I completely make up), combined with me trying to interpret his motions. Somehow it works and we have created a great friendship. He is so loving and affectionate and just really seems to love life. For his twelveth birthday last Friday, we baked him brownies with sprinkles. It brought him so much joy that we went out of our way to make him feel special.
As I live with and love on the kids this month, a verse is ringing in my spirit.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God!
–1 John 3:1
The short-term mission team that is here this month is from a Methodist church in Florida. It’s crazy how much they remind me of my church family back at home! We must have the same church DNA. 🙂 They have been amazing welcoming us into their group activities and ministry. I’ll be sad to see them go back home tomorrow morning. Seeing them do ministry here got me dreaming about our church beginning a partnership with El Ayudante. Maybe God has some plans for us here in the future. 😉
Here’s a picture from the field trip we took today of most of the kids here at El Ayudante that I have been falling in love with all month long.
Be sure to check out my gallery, because I just uploaded a lot more pictures from Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua! 🙂
