Hey everyone! I apologize for how long it has taken me to post on here about how my trip to Nicaragua went. Between school, catching the flu, and spraining my ankle, my life has been nothing short of chaotic since I've been back in the States.But now I am finally able to sit down and write out a short description of what happened on the trip. So, here we go!
After arriving in Nicaragua late due to my flight being delayed, I joined my team near the capital city of Managua and spent the night there. It was hot and humid, which made me feel right at home (I miss Charleston!).
Saturday was an eventful day. First, we went to the dumps of Managua to visit and minister to the families living there. It was a sight to behold. Families live in little metal shacks. The boys spend their lives sorting through trash, while the little girls are sold into prostitution at around fourteen years of age. Anyway, I spent most of the time there playing with two little boys named Jeppi and Antonio. Jeppi loved getting on my shoulders, using my hair as reigns, and saying, "Go cow!" Haha, it was a blast!After the dump, we visited a volcano. It was a breath-taking view that caused me to worship the God of creation.
After the volcano, we began driving to the camp that we would spend the majority of our time at. However, it didn't take long for the enemy to cause trouble for us. About two-thirds of the way there, our bus broke down. We were stuck on the side of the road for about five hours. We spent that time worshiping and talking. It actually turned out to be a good group-bonding experience, despite the fact that many of us were dehydrated and feeling sick. Eventually we were able to make it to camp and get to bed.The camp, Campo Alegria ("Camp Happy"), is an absolutely beautiful place. It is a few cabins right on the beach of Lake Nicaragua. There are two volcanos in the middle of the lake. It was amazing!
After spending Sunday getting the camp ready, the kids arrived on Monday. We split them up into different groups. My group was Team Blue (Grupo Azul). We introduced ourselves to them and immediately began loving on them. Throughout the three-day camp, the kids swam in the lake, learned some basic English, made crafts, played sports, and, most importantly, heard about the love of God and the message of Jesus Christ.There were a few kids that I connected with, but Jimmy was the one I connected with most. He was kind of the runt of the group. The other kids pushed him around a lot, and he usually kept to himself. So I took him under my wing and loved on him. He loved to ride on my back and dig holes on the beach. As he was leaving, I told him that God loves him and I do too. He began crying and saying he didn't want to leave. I was glad to know that God used me to touch his life and love him like Jesus loves him.
We dealt with kids from abusive homes, dropouts (at second grade!), and others. We gave them hope, a hope that there is life beyond the dumps: the life that only Christ gives.After the kids left, we spent a few days doing construction at the camp in order to be a blessing to Adam Todd, the long-term missionary there.
Our last day was spent touring and shopping in San Juan del Sur and Masaya. We ate lunch at a restaurant called "The Iguana", where I tried a bite of cockroach. Yup. I ate cockroach.
Well, that was my trip to Nicaragua in a very small nutshell. If you'd like to know more details, just ask me!
Praise the Lord for everything he did with us and the kids. Amen!
