Nicaragua!

Dear friends,

Some of you are probably wondering if I indeed made it back from Nicaragua. Yes, I'm happy to report that I survived the Managua airport, crazy bus rides, tarantula in our dining room, zip line, beans and rice at every meal (among other food), stomach issues, and cold showers. :) It was an amazing week and I can't thank you enough for all your support. Although I've been home for over a week, it was hard to start this email not only because I've been super busy, but also because it's hard to know where to begin. People ask you things like, Was the trip what you thought it'd be? and, What was the highlight of the week? Hmm, let's see if I can articulate the week in a few short paragraphs.

The overall schedule was pretty much what we anticipated. We started off the week by doing a weekend retreat for older students (most were 18-23 yrs) who grew up in an orphanage but are now transitioning to college or the workforce. The first night was a little tough feeling comfortable around them, as we didn't know each other and many of them didn't speak English, but by Saturday we were having a ton of fun together. I could tell you all the things we did during the retreat, but I'd rather just tell you that these kids are simply amazing. Their maturity level, goals in life, and faith in God was unlike any I'd ever seen before. And to think of what must've transpired in the first few years of their life for them to end up at an orphanage at a young age. . . I was simply in awe of these young adults. On the final day of the retreat, we broke into small groups to share and pray for each other. My group consisted of our translator Lula, and two students Nubia and Rudy. Nubia was finishing a business degree that Tuesday and is hoping to get a good full-time business job. She then wants to go back to school for a psychology degree, and someday open a school. She speaks English very well and is a super neat girl. She wants prayer for stability in her life, especially in finding a good job. Rudy is quieter and does not speak English. He is working on a computer degree and hopes to open a computer school someday. He shared that he initially did not want to come to the retreat, but was so glad he did and got a lot out of it. His prayer is that he can learn to love others more. Shouldn't that be the prayer of each one of us?

On Sunday we headed to the orphanage Arms of Love where we spent the rest of the week. I would say that this part of the trip wasn't as much what I expected. First of all, the building in which we stayed was beautiful. Not a five-star hotel by any means, but plenty of room to sleep, eat, and hang out as a group. Sure, it was bunk beds and cold showers, but to wake up in the morning and spend some quiet time with God in a rocking chair overlooking the Nicaraguan countryside was wonderful. After breakfast we headed out to our work projects, which for me was painting a roof. You might be wondering why you would paint a roof, but here the roofs are corrugated tin, and if not painted, it will rust. So for three days a group of us climbed up a tall ladder, stepped onto a very steep and slippery roof, and painted it red. On the last day, there was an extra little top part to paint, so a guy rigged up some ropes (which had snapped two days before while setting them up) and I had to hold onto the rope while painting so I wouldn't fall off. God definitely got us through that day; the girls I painted with really hung in there and we got it all finished, even when they probably wanted to quit! And yes, it was hot up there!

As far as the orphanage itself, there are about 25 kids there. There are 3 houses: one for the younger kids ages 4-12, one for the older girls ages 13-18, and one for the older boys ages 13-18. The little kids (especially the little girls) have so much energy! When we arrived they immediately took our hands and started walking us around the sidewalk. Actually what they did was pick a "mama" and "papa" and walked between us holding hands. I realized that they wanted to pretend they had a mom and a dad, walking hand in hand with them. How lucky my girls are to have two parents that love them; I hope I'm never too busy to show them that love. As far as the older kids, I have one quick story to share. One night a few of us went over to hang out with the kids while the rest of our group served a special dinner to the staff. I got to go to the older girls' dorm, and they showed us around their rooms. They are normal teenage girls who like to talk about boys and have pictures of famous young actors on their walls. They like to watch certain shows on TV, like to dance, and play games. But then it came time for dinner and since their houseparent was over at "our place" eating dinner, one girl got to work cooking the food. (They are all assigned different chores each week.) It came time to eat and all the girls came to the dining room table. They started to eat their usual meal of beans and rice and a piece of cheese, then all of a sudden one girl stopped and held up her finger. They had forgotten to pray. This 16-year-old girl proceded to bless the meal, not out of duty but straight from her heart. I was so impressed. No "parent" was around and yet she stopped and remembered to thank the Lord for his blessings. I can only hope that someday when my girls are teenagers they will do the same.

If I recounted everything the week entailed, this post would be so long no one would read it. So to hit a couple more highlights. On Wednesday we went to a couple feeding centers in Nueva Vida, an extremely poor area of Nicaragua where the government relocated homeless people to after Hurricane Mitch in 1998. I expected my heart to break but once again I was instead inspired. Sure, this cup of rice is the only meal some of these kids get each day, but they were so happy to see us, loved having their pictures taken, and loved taking pictures even more. We broke into two groups, and at the other group's feeding center the stove wasn't working so they weren't able to cook the rice there that day. They told the kids they would have to go to a different feeding center to get lunch, but the kids didn't want to leave our group. They wanted to stay with us rather than get their one meal a day. It goes to show how important love is, even more important than food. These kids don't get much love, that's why they instantly come over to you and want to hold your hand and walk around with you. The kids finally agreed to go get food at the other feeding center, but only when our group promised they would stay there until they came back.

As far as my spiritual gifts sessions, they went well! We ended up doing it at the youth retreat as well (which wasn't planned, but remember the key was flexibility!) At Arms of Love, we ran two sessions for the staff (6 people came). I think they really appreciated it and came away with some new ideas. It was neat hearing their personal stories as well (through a translator since none of them spoke English.) Isabel is the house parent in the girls' dorm, and what a heart she has. She cried tears of joy as she told us about how God had healed her of some major health issues and a curved spine. Another gentleman told of how he used to be an alcoholic but now he teaches young people, and also does outreach in Managua to the homeless, telling them about Jesus. As I listened to them tell their stories, their strong faith was so evident. You can just see in their faces that Jesus is everything to them. These people don't have nearly what we have in the U.S., but they never complain. They appreciate what they have and are filled with such joy.

I asked you to pray for unity for our team and especially my small group, and those prayers definitely worked, thank you! Our team got along so well, and everyone chipped in to help with whatever was needed. We all had different strengths so together we accomplished so much more than we could've ever done alone. Every night we had "Porch Time" which started with two things: "I Remember When. . ." and "I Saw Jesus. . . " I Remember When was when we recounted funny things that happened that day, and I Saw Jesus was where and through who we saw Jesus work. It was a great chance to highlight the day's events and hear stories of how God showed up. Probably the most emotional part of the week was when one of our translators named Nico had us gather together right before we took off for the airport. He started off by saying, "I remember when a group from Minnesota came to Nicaragua last Friday. I see Jesus in each one of you. . . " He shared how he had never been so close to a group before, and thanked us for sharing our lives with him. Nico is awesome, we all grew to love him; I don't think I ever saw him without a smile on his face the whole week. We sang "How Great is our God" together, and then he prayed for us -- in Spanish, because he said then it was coming straight from his heart.

Ok, I know this is ultra long, but I have one last thing to share. My small group was simply amazing. Thank you for your prayers, we developed such a special bond. I know that each girl in our group had an awesome experience in Nicaragua because of what we shared together. And even if it was just for that, I count the trip a success.

If you would like, you can click here to see more pictures from the trip. http://blnebcnica2011.shutterfly.com/pictures/10   Feel free to email me with any questions, I'd love to share more about my experience. Or better yet, go on a future trip and experience it for yourself!

Thank you again for all your support, it meant so much to me!

Steph

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40

Here are a few short videos from the week.  The first is from a church service we went to on Sunday.  Maybe a little different from your church?  :)

One day a girl named Estrella took my hand and led me outside.  I went and got my notebook and we proceeded to "talk," me attempting to speak Spanish and she telling me about her "family." 

The orphanage had a zipline out back with 3 ziplines, so I decided to try that for the first time.  This isn't a video of me but you can get the idea.