Surprise we have internet (sometimes)!
This month started out very hard. We had a 22 hour bumpy bus ride to get to Puerto Cabezas in Nicaragua. From the moment we arrived I felt such a hopelessness fall on me. There is heaviness about this place that is hard to explain. As in most third world countries, this place is filled with the very poor. Ninety percent of the community is involved in prostitution in one way or another. Witchcraft is present here as well.
Our squad has been through a lot too. We had to sit together and work out our problems within the team. Oddly enough, I think it’s made the squad grow closer. Silas and Brooke have left to prepare for their upcoming wedding and spend some much needed time with family. We miss you guys! We all miss very much the 7 teammates that we left in Granada as well. For Valentine’s Day the entire squad participated in speed dating. It was so good to laugh together.
We thought we were going to be in tents this month but God has blessed us once again with a roof over our heads. The girls are staying in a guest building that has lots of bunk-beds. The electricity sometimes works as do the two showers. Most of our meals consist of red beans and rice. Sometimes we get bread or a bit of chicken with it. We really can’t complain though as so many of our neighbors have so much less.
Our ministry this month is building houses to replace ones lost in the recent hurricane, teaching at a couple of local schools, playing with orphans, ministering at a hospital and a Barrio (similar to a squatter’s house). The barrio is where I feel most connected to this place. The children there remind me of the children in Swaziland. Many of the little ones walk around in their underwear and a t-shirt. Most don’t have shoes on. Most our quite dirty. I love them.
I got to sit with a little boy and rock him yesterday. I sang “Jesus loves the little children” to him. I could barely get a smile out of his sweet little face. He’s so tiny and yet has lived through so much in his short life. You would be appalled if you could see his living conditions. He has a chest cold and an ear infection and I don’t think he’ll be getting treated by a doctor anytime soon.
As I sat in church this morning reading my Bible, God reminded me that He is still in control. And that He hasn’t forgotten those in need because sometimes I feel overwhelmed at the enormity of the suffering going on around me. 
I feel helpless. This morning I read, “For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.” ~Psalm 72:12-14
Our squad’s time on the field seems to be running out so quickly now. Pray with us that we stay focused on being here and not on our plans after the race. Pray for strength, for our health, for our future plans, for the people we are ministering to and those we will be ministering to. Pray that we have extra love to pour out on all we meet. Pray against tiredness, laziness, and being desensitized. We all want to finish this race well.
Next month we will be splitting off in to three separate groups to do ministry in and around Honduras and Guatemala. I will be in Antigua, Guatemala.
