Today was a wonderful way to finish our time serving here in
Nicaragua! We began the day with yet another delicious breakfast prepared by
Pastor Oscar and his team. After packing up all of our stuff and loading the
bus, the group got to visit the houses of three different families who are a
part of Oscar’s church in Somoto and who benefit from the feeding center there.
The group was amazed to hear the story of Ana, a young woman who, inspired by
the feeding center at the church, opened up her home to serve as a second feeding
center in the area. Almost 50 children, after singing and dancing to praise
music, eat lunch in Ana’s house five days a week. To see her serve with such
passion and to open up her home so sacrificially was a lesson on service that
the team will never forget. After lunch, the kids sang “Happy Birthday” to one
of our team members, and every child gave the birthday girl a big hug! Ana’s
house was truly filled with joy this morning, and so was our team.
After saying goodbye to the kids at Ana’s house, the team
traveled back to Oscar’s church inside the city to serve lunch at that feeding
center, too. Once again, the kids were excited to sing “Happy Birthday,” and
Pastor Oscar brought out two large cakes – one for the birthday girl and one
for Hawley to celebrate Father’s Day in Nicaragua (which was this past Sunday).
The kindness and generosity of Oscar, his family, and his church leadership
team has been contagious and reminds us of the paradoxical truths we find in
scripture: while we were the ones who came down here to serve, we feel like WE
are also the ones who have received so, so much in return.
Once the cake was finished, it was time to say goodbye to
Oscar and his family and start the journey to our final destination, the
debrief site, where we will process all that God has done through us and in us
on this trip. With a stop for dinner on the way, we made it to the resort with
just enough time to start our post-trip small group study before it was time to
head to bed.
Tomorrow we will be at the debrief site all day
participating in small groups, reflecting on God’s Word, enjoying His creation,
and experiencing our final Porch Time together. Please pray for God to seal
these lessons into our hearts and that the result of this trip would be nothing
short of life transformation for each participant.
Tuesday night (or Wednesday morning, by the time you read
it) will be our last full-length blog post for the trip. As we travel home on
Wednesday, we will send updates via text message. If you would like to receive
those travel updates but have not yet signed up to receive text messages,
please text the word NICAPARENT to the number 41411.
Once again, thank you so much for all of your prayers. We
are excited to process the trip tomorrow, but also excited to get to share
stories with everyone in person. Buenos noches! (Goodnight!)
