This has been such an amazing experience so far that I cannot fully explain it. I want to begin by thanking all of you for praying for me while I have been away. I also want to thank those who have given financially so that I can be a part of what God is doing here in Nicaragua. Thank you all so much. You can’t know how much I appreciate all of you. |
Right after arriving down here with New Day Ministries run by Glen and Jana Kauffman, I had the opportunity to be a part of another missionary adventure. We would be going up the Rio Cocoa River that divides Nicaragua and Honduras. This trip was approximately a six hour car ride followed by another 8+ hour boat ride in a dugout canoe to reach the mesquite village of which we would be living for the week. While up there our main goal was to bless the people and play with the children. The group handed out clothing and brought much needed supplies to the pastor of the church that was built in the community. We also supplied the children with toys, including dolls for the little girls and soccer balls for the boys. I have never seen such appreciative, excited children.
Another large project that we assisted in while in the village was cleaning their water cistern. This cistern sat up the mountain a little over a mile above the village. It was not like anything we see in the U.S. It was more like a very unsanitary water catchment system. We cleaned and disinfected it with bleach in order to make it safer for the villagers.
I have to be honest It was very hard to leave after spending a week with these people and living out life with them, but on our final morning we took down the hammocks that we had been sleeping in and packed up our supplies. As we made our way to the river, we left the shore and those people behind, but the experiences I had and the things I saw that week will forever be instilled on my brain. What's truly amazing is that that trip took place in only the second week of my being in Nicaragua.
After we arrived back to our home in Los Cedros we had a lot to prepare for. In the week that followed we needed to prepare for 3 teams of people from Pennsylvania that would be coming down to work in the community and bless the people. The first team arrived and was led by Chuck Nork with Hope Community church in Williamsport. During their time with us they worked incredibly hard and in 3 short days put a new roof on a school library.
The following week a team led By Marti and Teri Detweiler, owners of Barnstead Pantry located in Troy Pa arrived. They came with a group from New Life Church in Canton. They have been coming down to Nicaragua and taking teams for many many years and were the ones that allowed me to go on my first missions trip to Nicaragua 2 years ago. I owe them a special thanks, as they have done so much to plan the dates, purchase the plane tickets and spend months of their time preparing to bring a hardworking group down here every year. This year the group they brought was able to give all the school buildings a fresh coat of paint, as well as put on a women's conference for the ladies in the community. It was an amazing week.
The final team was led by Ted and Janet Bown through the Church of Christ in Canton. They are in charge of New Day Ministries child sponsorship. While down here their team handed out gifts that sponsors had sent down to the children. They visited each child's house and spent time getting to know each of them individually. Their team also put on a sports camp for the kids in the community. During this camp they had different stations for the kids to participate in. The stations ranged from baseball to a giant colorful parachute that the kids had the opportunity to play games with.
I am incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with each of these teams and to be a part of spreading the word of God with them. I cannot wait to experience more of Nicaragua and to continue this journey God has me on!