Island living has been adventurous and time for experiencing a new way of life. At the orphanage there are about 20ish kids ranging from ages 4 to 20ish, most of them are teenagers. They are here for variety reasons but it has been a blessing so far trying to get to know them and work/live along side of them. One aspect about the orphanage that is really amazing is that they are a self sustaining property. They have their own garden and farm area where they grow all of the food that they eat. Although it is a pretty large garden, they have a couple staple foods that they eat every meal which has been fun getting use to. Rice, beans and plantains, these have been the three main parts of each meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Although redundant, it has been a blessing to be part of their self sustaining life and really embrace their way of living.
All of the kids have their own part everyday, where if everyone does their own part, everything runs smoothly. Its been really cool to learn how it all works and be apart of it and live in it. So some people work in the garden, some do variety landscaping work that needs to be done around the property, some take of the younger kids, and then I have been working alongside a couple people working with Heilding (a Nicaraguan who has lived on the island his entire life who has been working with the orphanage for years). We have been taking the tractor along with two trailers hooked up to it, to the bottom of the volcano where we have picked up beans and delivered them to variety of people on the way home. Picked up about 4 months of hay for food for the goats on the orphanage. Sometimes along the way we may get sidetracked due to Heilding knowing absolutely everyone and stopping for some watermelon or coconuts. Last run, we encountered a monkey who welcomed us with a loud growl which startled us all due to not knowing where it came from and because monkey’s are usually at the volcano not out and about. It was a good surprise along the way.
Although, this month has not looked as how I expected when coming to an orphanage, it has been a huge blessing to work alongside of everyone and be part of something that helps and grows everyone together. Ministry continues to take different shapes and forms.
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