Day Three!

This morning our team left our hotel bright and early to educate the leaders of the feeding center in Leon. We split up into two teams: one for flannel graph teaching and one for first aid/CPR teaching. The flannel graph team went first and the leaders were very engaged in the presentation. They left feeling significantly more knowledgeable and were ready to educate the kids. Afterwards, the first aid group presented and the leaders and staff of the church and feeding center were overjoyed with the materials given to them. They were not expecting such a thorough explanation and were thrilled for the education. The training was followed by lunch, in which we served the local children upon their arrival from school. Serving the children lunch was refreshing because we got to put smiles on the children's faces. After feeding the children, we left the feeding center with the church leaders in tow to go to the beach. The beach was a beautiful sight, there was team bonding and copious amount of laughter coming from the teams. Unfortunately, we did have to pack and leave the beach. When we arrived back at the hotel, the wonderful hotel staff had a delicious meal prepared for us. The night ended with a very fruitful "porch time" with a talk from our wonderful OrphaNetwork leader.

Day Two!

Today has been another great day! We started the morning participating in the Sunday worship service at the church in Leon. It was a wonderful time of singing praise songs and listening to Pastor Jose preach the Word. The Spirit of the Lord is clearly alive in this country! After the morning church service, we packed up our bus with 30 children from Leon and headed to Posoltega (another church and feeding center Pastor Jose runs) for their afternoon church service. Upon arrival at Posoltega, we ate lunch and spent some time playing games with the children before the service began. The Lord showed up once again through the testimonies of some survivors of a volcanic disaster in that community and it was powerful to see so many children and families lifting their voices in praise to God. Once the service ended, it was time for the annual soccer tournament, Nicaraguans verses Americans. The girls played first and put forth a good showing ending the game tied 0 - 0. Then the guys played and although they tried their best, they came up short against a very skilled Nicaraguan squad (lost 3-0). After the games we went back to the hotel for a delicious dinner of meatballs and rice. Tonight, Lynette challenged us with a message on the secret of the poor and the idol of materialism that we struggle with in America. It was a great night of small group discussion and our team is excited to train the leaders at the Leon church in the morning (and go to the beach in the afternoon!).

Day One!

Our trip is off to a great start! Today we packed up our bus and left Managua stopping along the way to pick up food supplies for the feeding center in Leon. Upon arrival in Leon, we were greeted by many happy children who were excited to see us and anxious to help unload the food from our bus. We were having so much fun with the kids that we almost forgot to stop and eat lunch. During lunch we had a question and answer time with the directors and Pastor Jose who run the church and feeding center. After lunch we played more with the children before heading out to get a quick tour of the city of Leon. We marveled at the cathedral and shopped in the local market, which gave us more background on the city and culture that surrounds this feeding center. We headed back to the hotel to settle in and rest from our first day under the Nicaraguan sun. After dinner and a history lesson on Nicaragua from one of our translators, we finished our first night in Nicaragua with “Porch Time.”  This was an opportunity to share funny stories, praise Jesus through worship, and discuss what we were looking forward to for the rest of the week.  Even though it was a tiring day, we are so excited to see what the Lord has planned for us tomorrow!  

Safe Arrival!

The College Nicaragua Team has arrived safely in Managua! The group is now heading to the hotel to settle in for the evening. The team is excited to begin serving in the morning. Thank you for all your prayers for safe travels.

We will update you again late tomorrow evening with details from the serving day. Due to the time difference, it may be most convenient to check the posts the following morning. Please pray for God to show up in big ways this week.Thanks again, and goodnight!

College Nica Team Update

We arrived in Miami and are getting ready to board to Managua! Our flight is on time.

College Nica Team Update

At Dulles airport and boarding shortly for Miami. Everything is on time!

College Nica Team Update

We are en route to Dulles and on time for our 2:20 departure.