This morning, for the first time, we were able to go to our feeding center for not the first time. Instead of meeting strangers, we met acquaintances, and instead of leaving Ecuadorians we left friends. We served two shifts of lunch to the neighborhood kids, with much more efficiency than last time, and played baseball in the street before gathering some of the children onto the buses and heading off to another Secret Location.
The bus ride was not a short one, so we came prepared with children’s books written in Spanish, and we read them and pointed at mountains and buildings and people until we arrived. Today’s secret location was Managua’s zoo. Dressed in their absolute best, the children leaned against railings to better see tigers, held their fingers’ still so that butterflies might land on them, and toted us around by the hand.
Tonight, instead of being joined by the other Virginia schools, we went to them. Our speaker was a charismatic 30-something who moved himself and his wife to Nicaragua so that they could apply themselves fully to the mission of “caring for people”. He warned us of the things much more powerful than miles that would distance us from Nicaragua, and he encouraged us to remember the reality of these people and this place. He was very funny and convincing. When he had finished speaking music struck up and started to approach our pavilion from the dark outside. A fully costumed mariachi band played their way into our midst, and Lord oh Lord did the Christians dance. And because the clapping and shouting just didn’t last long enough for our liking, we turned up the music on the bus and carried on until we arrived back at the orphanage.
We can feel the fatigue from the time we’ve been here, but more strongly we feel the pressure of our departure. We hope that Nicaragua stays real. Thank you for your prayers, we miss you, and we love you.
