Hola from Leon, Nicaragua! For anyone wondering, we are
currently staying in La Posada del Doctor in downtown Leon until Wednesday.
This Sunday morning started out hot and sunny, like most days here in
Nicaragua. But the past few days have been quite dusty due to the peanut farms;
in fact, this “dust bowl” that we’re currently in is a phenomenon, and many of
the Nicaraguans have never seen the country get this dusty before. Why bother tanning when we can just walk
outside and instantly become five shades darker?? Although dirty, it’s
certainly a humbling and memorable experience.
This
morning, we went to a short church service at Verbo Leon, which was awesome to
be praising the same God while in Nicaragua while singing in English and
Spanish. Tommy Verab even volunteered to lead the congregation in “Open the
Eyes of my Heart, Lord” while our translator/guide from ONET, Alfred (“Big Al”),
sang “Father Abraham!” It was amazing to see a girl whom Kristina befriended on
Day 1 run to and sit with Kristina during the service, continually embracing
her. Afterwards, we hung out for a little and played with the children.
After
service #1, we couldn’t get enough of Jesus, so we headed over to Verbo de
Posoltega, another church that ONET partners with, for service #2! This service
was a bit larger and longer, but equally as rewarding. Big Al and Tommy helped
to lead some worship songs again, this time Tommy sang in Spanish! The entire
congregation welcomed each and every one of us with open arms, literally! How
comforting to be felt welcomed and loved instead of feeling like distractions.
Next,
we stayed at the church and 3 soccer games ensued. The Nicaraguans from church
versed the Americans, and we lost badly 5-0, but in the third game we only lost
4-3! However, Evan’s goalie skills were quite impressive and he stopped
countless shots, thanks to Mackenzie’s sub-par defense. It was fun to watch
Dewey and Jerome try and play futbol instead of American football; once they
toned down their strength, they were successful in keeping up with the
Nicaraguans, who had lots of fun competing with them. Gena was awesome at
entertaining her posse of kids with dancing, goofing off, and showing them some
American games. Heather was equally as competitive in soccer as she was patient
with the girls trying to stick leaves and seeds in her very curly hair. Before
leaving Posoltega, a little girl hugged Mackenzie and said, “La quiero mucho”
(I love you so much) after such a short period of time. We then left in our
mini bus with trails of children running alongside waving goodbye.
Returning
to the hotel, we all showered and ate dinner, followed by “Porch time”- a time
to reflect on the day, point out where we saw Jesus, and get into some
scripture. Evan has been doing a superb job in guiding and sharing his wisdom
with us, especially as we looked at Luke 6 and Matthew 6 tonight. It certainly
was eye opening to see and experience how the people down here don’t have much,
but they have a lot more than us (spiritually speaking). These kids embody love
and joy- true representations of Jesus; never have we felt more loved and
accepted. We’re excited for the rest of this week and can’t wait to see what
God has in store. Adios!
