Hola amigos!
First things first, all students are healthy and well. We praise God for this provision of health and safety.
Nicaragua always seems to stretch our capacity to learn and grow through the unique circumstances it presents and the abundance of opportunities to serve it provides. Today God provided us with many opportunities to stretch our hearts and minds to see what He is doing in the world more clearly.
Today ALL the students on our team met up this afternoon at Hertylandia, a water park about an hour outside of Managua, to grow in their relationships with these precious children Christ has blessed us with.
The Seniors departed Casa this morning to do VBS with kids from El Faro just outside of the dump in Managua. They were able to play some games, sing songs with the kids, and teach them a lesson on joy. We've been delighted during our time here to see students step up and be willing to lead these small teaching times for the kids in Nicaragua-- some with the help of translators, and other stepping out in faith and giving their Spanish class knowledge a try. They loaded up about forty kids from El Faro and headed to Hertylandia to meet up with the juniors and sophomores. After enjoying boxed lunches together with the kids, everyone suited up and headed to the pool for an afternoon of swim lessons and good times. They departed the pool along with the juniors to return to Casa for dinner and a movie night with the kids from Casa.
Our Juniors left Casa this morning after breakfast to teach a VBS lesson to the kids at Verbo Sur. After being on the bus for about 45 minutes they realized that the bus driver was already taking them to Hertylandia... without the kids from Verbo Sur. They turned around and headed back to Managua to pick up the kids and their lunches from the church. The children were eagerly awaiting the team's arrival. The team made up for the missed VBS by singing their hearts out en route to Hertylandia, where they ate lunch together before joining the seniors and sophomores in the pool for the afternoon.
Team Sophomore had breakfast at their housing sites and then went to Nueva Vida to spend some time with the kids before heading out for Hertylandia. They filled a few buses and arrived a little before lunch to enjoy some pool time before the other groups arrived. They enjoyed a lunch of pizza with the Nueva Vida kids, which for some of our pickier eaters was a pleasant surprise. :) After their lunch they rejoined the seniors, juniors, El Faro kids, and Verbo Sur kids for a few more hours in the pool...complete with a few Nicaraguan down pours.
Days like today remind our students that life doesn't always look so similar across the world, but with God's perspective, some things begin to come into focus. For 112 students and leaders from Williamsburg that see the flair and glamour of places like Busch Gardens and WaterCountry on a simple drive down Route 60, their eyes were opened today to children who only dream of the pool. They spent their afternoon engrossed in laughter and games with precious kids that couldn't have wanted of anything bigger in the world. God was everywhere as leaders surveyed the pool to see our students covered in Nicaraguan kids as they enjoyed the slides, played games in the water, and taught some of the children how to swim.
Nicaragua sometimes wins in moments of longer than expected bus rides and rain that comes down in buckets, but thankfully through God's grace it also wins in the moments where a hug and a hand to hold can cure all the pain in the world. Our students are learning...our students are growing...and we couldn't be more thankful.
This evening we set aside time for small groups. All students are currently processing the trip alongside their leaders and friends. They are getting into God's Word by answering questions posed in our porch time Bible studies from the previous 3 nights.
Please continue to be in prayer for our team as we enter into the last half of our trip. Pray that God would continue to seal in the lessons of this trip and give them perspective on how to apply those lessons back in Williamsburg. Also, please consider attending the prayer night for the Nicaragua mission team Tuesday at 7 in the Student Ministries Worship Room (see earlier blog post for details).
We are now look forward to Sunday when we will be attending church at three different Verbo churches (Verbo is our primary ministry partner) around Managua then heading out for a big soccer game day and hang out time with kids from Casa and Nueva Vida at a local sports complex. Dios bendigas! (God bless!)
Love in Christ,
SM Staff Team
