Sentence snapshots of daily living! From the day we arrived in Guatemala to the day we arrived in Nicaragua!
10/10/17 – arrived at Los Gozosos, the orphanage for special needs children, this morning! One of the little girls, Marisol, took all of our hands and prayed for us in her own special way – even asked for miracles for us!
10/11/17 – this morning I was taught how to make a little girls hair look super cool by a patient nanny. And we had a dance party with the kids and played soccer!! I also accidentally told a little girl to clean her cow instead of her mouth in Spanish…
10/12/17 – on our off day today, we explored the city of chimeltenango. We found cool coffee shops, explored the market, and ate ice cream!
10/13/17 – we went to the Ixichme Mayan ruins with 3 nannies from Los Gozosos today! We were able to explore and a couple people stopped to get a picture with us because we are white lol
10/14/17 – went on a walk with all the kids today and stopped at a field to eat snacks and drink coca-cola! And the nannies wanted to play soccer against us which was so fun and resulted in lots of laughs!
10/15/17 – took all of the kids to church today and hung out in the nursery! The church was awesome and the kids loved getting to go! Also had some goooddd chicken for lunch!
10/16/17 – after devotional time with the kids Josea was crying and he never does not have a smile on his face – when we asked him what was wrong he said he was crying because he didn’t get to read the Bible out loud at devo time. I want to love Jesus like that!
10/17/17 – we started organizing the shed today and dumped old paint on the street – which was odd but that’s what they do here. Also! The orphanage was able to take in a new kid, Jose, who came from a terrible situation but did not stop smiling and hugging people from the time he got here until bed time!
10/18/17 – myself and some people on the team found out we have amebas. We also found out that pharmacies delivery medicine as if its pizza!
10/19/17 – headed to the lake today! On our way there we went to Crossroads coffee where mike, the store owner, told us story after story and gave us free coffee. While at the Lake we stayed at a hostile with people who wanted connection and conversation more than I have ever seen before.
10/20/17 – saw one of the most beautiful sunrises over the Lake this morning.
10/21/17 – this afternoon Han and I took Audrey to Antigua by riding a chicken bus and got to see some other squad mates and have coffee with them! Also had a lady at the coffee shop ask if I was 14.
10/22/17 – this morning I was a dove. We put on church for the kids! We sang worship and acted out Noah’s ark!!
10/23/17 – today we made a prayer poster for the orphanage and I learned more about what is means to have joy in all circumstances
10/24/17 – haley and I found out we do have to book a place for debrief so we set off to Antigua on a mission. We found a hostel with everything that was willing to take us all in with breakfast included for under budget! Thanks, God for the provision!
10/25/17 – we had a going away party with cake for a volunteer at the orphanage and were able to pray for the staff and kids. They also prayed for us! Even though we couldn’t really understand each other, my Spirit was lifted high after a sleepless night. We were also able to give water to and pray for a man in need after asking God to send us someone to minister to!
10/26/17 – Elyssa, haley, hannah, Tessa, and I went to Antigua to explore, saw some other people on our squad (surprisingly!!), hangout in coffee shops, eat pizza, and watch a movie!
10/27/17 – we hiked, ate pb&j, roasted marshmallows, pet horses and dogs, laughed, and much more all on volcano pacaya!!
10/28/17- 5 more days at Los Gozosos. Today we got a lot of treats during lunch and dinner! Such as cookies and banana bread and jello!!
10/29/17 – we put on church for the kids again today and this time we did David and Goliath! Haley and I were Goliath. And tonight after the kids went to bed we hung out with the nannies and did nails and took pictures! It was a sweet time.
10/30/17 – today I taught Diego (a 4yo son of one of the nannies) how to play baseball and in turn he taught, vincen (a special needs boy at LG) how to play! It was quite adorable.
10/31/17 – hand – washed my clothes for the first time in my life. We celebrated Jonathan’s 4th birthday with cake, ice cream, and a piñata!!
11/1/17 – our last full day of ministry at the orphanage consisted of kite flying, laughter, and a little bit of tears as we said our goodbyes.
11/2/17 – really focused on finding transportation for our squad to Nicaragua today. Started off pretty discouraging but ended the day with options!! Also saw some of our squad in Dunkin which was a sweet surprise (literally).
11/3/17 – our whole squad came together today!! It was nice to catch up with everyone and hear about their ministries!
11/4/17 – first official day of debrief!! Today we learned about what it means to walk in Christian freedom and played a lot of ping-pong.
11/5/17 – during our session tonight, we overcome shame we were carrying and came to a new place of trust with one another.
11/6/17 – we had squad fun night tonight which consisted of games, s’mores, and Parent Trap!
11/7/17 – today the squad went to the soccer field that team Wildfires built this month and played soccer and ultimate on it!
11/8/17 – left for Nicaragua at 6am this morning and ran into a 2 1/2 hour roadblock (which turned into a bible study and worship), a couple of borders and ended up staying at a hotel. But also watched Moana, stranger things, podcast, and music!
11/9/17 – arrived in Nicaragua 24 hours later than we planned! But we made it!! The Nicaragua border was a toughy but the church we stayed at had mattresses, showers, and food – what a blessing!
11/10/17 – took the ferry over to the island, Ometepe, where we are doing ministry! We explored the town we are close to and play soccer with some of the kids!! I’m excited to see what this month is going to bring.
