We are in Nicaragua despite ourselves. We have only been here a short time, but we have already said, with both words and presence, that any orphan here at Casa Bernabe Orphanage who doubts their own worth, is incorrect to do so. This too we have done despite ourselves. Instead of lounging on beaches, skiing down mountains, or resting at home, we filled with He have travelled 13 hours through the middle of the night because He died for We.
After a couple of hours packing the donations into bags and the bags into the bus, our friendly driver Drew safely conducted us to Dulles. We weighed bags, adjusted contents, weighed bags, adjusted contents, and finally boarded our flight. We scrambled for breakfast with our hour and a half layover in Miami International, boarded our last flight, and thankfully descended to Managua, Nicaragua.
The descent towards Managua looked much different than the ascent away from Miami.
As a herd we filled out paperwork, filed through customs, and dragged our heavy luggage outside into an explosion of bright colors and foreign sounds. The mufflers gargled and spat, the cabs and buses honked and shouted, and the tin roofed buildings boasted bright hues of salmon, mustard-yellow, lime-green, and fire engine-red.
Our hosts smiled and clapped us on the back, filled the gaps from last time to this time with stories of orphans, and drove us along the dirt-caked streets of Managua. After lunch we met or re-met the kids. Some of them ran to familiar faces and some hesitantly climbed aboard, but within only a few minutes of tickling and sinking the hesitant joined the familiar and we arrived to the pool a new group of friends.
And we all played like children:
“I’ll race you to the other side of the pool?”
“Can you touch the bottom?”
“I bet that I can hold my breath longer than you can!”
Some of us cannon-balled or dove into the big pool to swim with the older kids, while others waded in the small pool to splash shout with the little kids. Those of us who have been here before were able to catch up with our old friends and play the games that were fun last year, and those of us who are new learned the rules, found a new Nicaraguan friend, and joined the game. The bus ride home from the pool was calm and peaceful. After excitement for hours it seemed that we all realized that we are really here, and that the Nicaraguans really haven’t left, and that we will be able to spend the week together.
Every meal that we are fed here is perfect. Tonight grilled chicken covered in glaze rested upon rice and we ate every bit that they had to offer. The group from UVA joined us for an after-dinner introduction to the Orphan Network staff, and then each school split apart for a time of teaching, praise, and sharing that we call “porch time.”
