As we started our trek to Ometepe Island, Nicaragua, our ministry location for the month, I had the thought…”Wait what? Where are you taking us God? An orphanage on an island?” As we progressed through our long travel to our destination, that question kept on arising and making more and more excited the nearer we became. After an 8 hour bus ride to Maugaupa, Nicaragua from Teceguicalpa, Honduras, then a 2 hour van ride to the lake where we then had to convince the ferry workers that we wanted to go to Maulgalpa side of the Island, which according to them was confusing because we are white and the tourist area is on the other side of the island. But, they finally understood once we said we were missionaries and were working at an orphanage in Maulgalpa. So we continued on with an hour ferry ride to Ometepe Island.
When being told that your are working on an island, there is of course going to come certain expectations or pictures put in your head. Trying to control those and have no expectations was quite difficult as we rode in on the ferry to see an island with two distinct volcanoes on each side. Once we landed, we were picked up on a rickety short bus and driven about 20ish minutes down dirt/rocky roads till we finally arrived at CICRIN Orphanage.
As before I said I was trying to constantly throw out any thoughts of what our living conditions were going to be so I wouldn’t be disappointed and just be open to what was about to come. BUT, with how God likes to blow my expectations out of the water, he did so again. We first drove in through a large garden/farm and past multiple living quarters to where we parked and walked to our bedrooms with our own bathroom (well for the guys and the toilet doesn’t really work that well buuuutttt nonetheless a bathroom for 4 people not 52 J) After shuffling around in the bedroom throwing my stuff down, I walked down the path to our cabana, yes cabana, to see a magnificent view of the sun setting down on the vast water.
This is where I sit down in a hammock and begin to write down how much God has blessed me and tell you wonderful folks about it.
2 Samuel 23:4
He is like the light of the morning, like the sunrise bursting forth in a cloudless sky, like the refreshing rains that bring tender grass from the earth.
