Hola de
Nicaragua! (Hi from Nicaragua)
Senior Group 1
& 2
Senior Group 1 (Craig, Dante & Tim’s small group,
Christa’s small group)
Senior Group 2 (Alexis, Steven & Andrew’s small group,
Christine’s small group)
The
seniors came together today in Leon as they served the women who are the
caretakers at the feeding center that they had been visiting. The team had the
opportunity to serve the caretakers by bringing them to the beach to relax and
to enjoy God’s beautiful creation. It was a neat experience for the team to
switch their focus from the niños that they had been playing with all week to
the women who have been looking after them. After lunch, the team was thankful
to engage in friendly competition through playing games with the caretakers,
which allowed them to rejuvenate. Later that evening, the seniors were given
the privilege to speak up and to share about the ways that God has been working
in their lives through the past few years that they have been serving
Nicaragua. There are 19 seniors that have returned to Nicaragua three times in
a row, which is an amazing example of the way that Jesus is consistently
working in our lives to make a difference in the hearts of others. These 19
seniors have not only been blessed by their experiences here in Nicaragua, but
also by the love, care, and generosity of their family and friends, for without
them, a lot of them would not have been able to come to Nicaragua in the first
place. The seniors shared about all the wonderful things that the Lord has been
doing in their lives. It was amazing to see how God has used Nicaragua to show
them true joy and teach them the importance of giving.
Junior Group
The
junior team had the privilege of visiting the Managua Zoo with some of the
niños from the Nueva Vida community that they have been serving throughout the
week. The Zoo was an interesting and unforgettable experience because the
junior team saw many animals that they had never seen before and many of the
niños were able to experience their first time at a zoo. The niños showed
incredible excitement throughout the day as they were energized from both the
zoo experience and their relationships with the junior group. After the zoo,
the team was able to treat the niños to a lunch at a pizzeria. While the team
and the niños shared delicious pizza, they were given the opportunity to
recognize the ways that they had bonded throughout the week and thank God for
bringing them together. Before the niños left the pizzeria, many of them saved left
over pieces and scraps of pizza to bring home for their parents, siblings, and
cousins. It was wonderful to see how the niños constantly are caring for others
and loving their family in every way possible. As the team spent time with the
niños, they learned how to give generously and love unconditionally. After
saying goodbye to the niños from Nueva Vida, the junior team returned to Casa
Bernabe for the evening, which is both an orphanage and the location of our
main team center. The junior team had the opportunity to eat dinner with the
girls at Casa Bernabe. It was a special experience for the junior team to spend
quality time with them. After dinner, the night was still young as the junior
team put on a birthday party for all the niños at Casa Bernabe that may not be
able to have a regular celebration throughout the year. The party included loud
music, a piñata, delicious cake, and a lot of dancing. The niños from Casa
Bernabe and the junior team thoroughly enjoyed the birthday party and the good
times that were shared. Not only was the day filled with many fun
opportunities, but it was also evident that Jesus was present in every
situation.
Sophomore Group
The
sophomore group was thankful for another day with the niños from the El Canyon
orphanage. This morning, they picked up the niños, who had smiles of
excitement, as they anticipated a day at the beach. Upon arrival, the niños ran
quickly to the oceanfront to start the long day of fun. Throughout the day, the
team experienced an indescribable joy from the niños as they enjoyed the pool,
discovered all different types of shells on the beach, and jumped over waves.
One of the team goals for the day was to serve the caretakers so that they could
have a day off to relax and enjoy themselves. As the team did a wonderful job of
watching and playing with the niños, they also had a few opportunities to
converse with the caretakers that came with us to the beach and to hear about
their stories. In Nicaragua, the caretakers of the niños that we visit shine
Jesus’ light as they labor over the niños well being and show compassion and
humility as they care for them for their entire childhood. As the sophomore
team spends more time with the niños and more time with the caretakers, they
are seeing more of Jesus and learning more about the ways that he works through
people. It has been beautiful to watch the sophomore team build relationships
with the niños, but in addition, God has been deepening their relationships
with each other.
Porch Time
While
the seniors had a special evening filled with sharing about their past
experiences in Nicaragua, the sophomore and junior groups came together at Casa
Bernabe for porch time. Hawley gave the message this evening and shared about
“the secret of the poor.”
Focusing
in Luke 6 and Luke 12, Hawley shared about the difficulties of being rich in
material possessions and how easily our possessions can bring us away from God.
Hawley told us that the “secret of the poor” was founded in the fact that the
people of Nicaragua don’t store up their possessions and they freely give. As
we spend time in Nicaragua, we can re-focus on being primarily rich in our
relationship with the Lord.
Reminder: There
will be a Prayer Night for the Nicaragua team in Moog hall, next Tuesday, June
25th at 7:30 p.m.
