Where do I even begin? It’s been awhile since my last post and so much has happened. I’m currently sitting in the Incheon International Airport in South Korea. Month 3 of The World Race is over, and we’ve crossed our first continent off the list. Nicaragua was an incredible month and while I have the chance I’d love to fill you in on what we did.
This month we partnered with “Vision Nicaragua” – an incredible organization who works primarily in the community of “Bethel”. They truly enable people to have a better life and show Christ’s love in all that they do. A primary concern in the north western region of Nicaragua is the health risk of working in the sugar cane fields. Sugar cane is one of the country’s primary exports and one of the only ways for men to provide for their families. However, it is also extremely dangerous due to the pesticides they use which are manufactured, yet banned in America. The average life expectancy for a worker in the fields is only 2-5 years.
Many women and children do not have husbands or fathers. When we attended a graduation ceremony in the community, lots of the kids were accompanied by their aunts, grandmothers or older brothers. It’s an incredibly sad and harsh reality that in order to have food on the table men have to risk their lives.
“Vision Nicaragua” encourages people to find alternative employment and provides practical training. They employ women to cook for mission groups and do laundry, and men as security guards, property managers and groundskeepers. They have paid for a man to go through medical school so they have a doctor on site and they bring Americans to the area to teach practical skills such as mechanics and masonry to locals.
We spent time in Bethel getting to know the families, playing with the kids, hosting a soccer tournament and cleaning the area. I learned so much about hospitality from them and have never felt so welcomed in my life. We also had the chance to do some construction for two of the ladies that cooked for us. We replaced the roof on Antonia’s house and began building a brand new home for Estella. It was such a rewarding experience to see the physical fruits of our labour. Paul and I even joked about starting our own masonry business upon return to Canada! Haha.
Christmas in Nicaragua was also a memorable experience. It was our first time ever being away from home, which was very hard, but we created some beautiful memories with our World Race family. On Christmas Eve we went swimming in the Pacific Ocean and then had our own church service. We sang Christmas carols, had a t-shirt decorating contest, read the Night Before Christmas, lit candles, sang Silent Night and read the Christmas story. On Christmas morning we opened stockings with our team and did our secret santa gift exchange. Then we were lucky to skype home with both of our families and get a glimpse of their Christmas mornings too.
Nicaragua was an absolutely wonderful month for us. We loved the country, the people, the ministry and the weather so much and hope to return sometime to visit our friends in Bethel.
