What an amazing day that we've spent here with our friends and family in Nica! It has been another day of grace and joy as we've served and been served by these beloved people! Our team is loving life and as we close another day here, we remain so very thankful for our time in Nicaragua.
The Seniors had a big day today as they ventured off for their Senior Experience. After breakfast at Casa today, they loaded up in a bus with lots of our donations and headed for Posoltega just outside of Leon. The team spent the day serving at the community feeding center and then hosting a Midweek for the children at the local church. After Midweek they were blessed to serve the people of Posoltega by setting up a 'thrift store' for them to get clothes and supplies from the donations our team brought down. They remarked that it was like watching Jesus at work right before their eyes as over a hundred children and their families received much needed supplies. They'll be spending the night in Leon and will be returning to Casa tomorrow around lunch time to meet back up with the team.
Team Juniors enjoyed such a wonderful day today! They stuck around Casa after breakfast this morning to finish up a few work projects they had started a couple days ago. All the tables and chairs for Casa's dining area are completed and will be helping to feed children for many years to come. As tables were finished, a group of our juniors served a group of Casa women that are used to being the ones serving. It was a neat experience for their leaders to watch girls and guys alike jump in with the cleaning staff to complete their daily tasks at the team center. Just before lunch they headed out for Nueva Vida to serve at two different feeding centers. They helped feed the kids and then hosted a VBS lesson on joy. Their afternoon was spent taking about forty children from Nueva Vida to see Kung Fu Panda 2 at a local mall in Managua. As a group of leaders sat in the back of the theater Christ's love was almost tangible as our students really engaged with those kids by joining in their laughter over the simple act of being a kid.
Our Sophomores went through probably their biggest day in Nica today. Their morning was spent visiting La Chureca (the Dump) and then volunteering at two of their feeding centers. Many of our students have commented on how much they saw Jesus in the hope and courage of the children in Chureca. As leaders we are thankful to be able to take these steps alongside them as they are really challenged in their faith by their experiences here in Nica. After lunch they returned to El Canyon to throw a goodbye party with the kids. Our sophomores have formed many friendships with the children there as they've worked this week and it meant a lot to those children and our students to share one last afternoon in fellowship together.
Tonight the juniors and sophomores rallied together since the seniors were off on their adventure and enjoyed dinner together and then porch time at Casa. The talk they heard tonight focused on taking these experiences in Nicaragua back into their lives at home and as we head into their final day of service tomorrow we really challenged them to give Nica all they have got! Our students will be doing a few more work projects tomorrow and then throwing some goodbye parties before we all head out for debrief tomorrow night.
We thank you so much for your support and prayers as we've been on this journey in Nicaragua. Our staff and leaders really want you to know that we couldn't do any of this without your help in lifting this trip up to Christ. He's doing amazing things here in Nica and in our students and we can't wait to be back to share it with you in a few days!
Love in Christ,
SM Staff Team
