ala casa!

everyone is home safe, thanks for all your prayers!

Landed

Nica team 2013 has just landed in dulles and is en route to williamsburg!

Nicaragua Team Departure

The Nicaragua team's flight is on time and expected to land in Dulles at 1am as planned.

Last Full Day In Nicaragua

Today was our last full day in Nicaragua. It was a great last day to our trip! We started this morning with breakfast and got prepared to continue our digging project for the last time. Our hole, which we thought was required to be 8 feet deep, was actually 8 meters, so we realized that we had our work cut out for us!  We got busy digging, and some of our Tribe athletes took this as an opportunity to get competitive, timing how long each of us could shovel for before passing it on to the next competitor. This passed the morning quickly, and before we knew it the digging was done for a lunch break!

Lunch consisted of pizza, which we were excited for a little less rice and beans! After lunch, part of the group went back to continue digging the hole, and the rest of the group went to the orphanage to help with English class. It was so interesting to see how the children faced the language barrier as well, but in the reverse direction. Many of the students were nervous to speak in English, but after us asking questions, such as their favorite color and where they lived, we are able to get them to start answering us in English. After the English classes were over, we were given free time to spend with the children. Whether this was spent playing soccer, talking, or just enjoying each other’s presence, it was a great last afternoon to spend just a little more time with the children.

We all headed back to the team center around 6pm for dinner and to prepare for porch time. Worship tonight was awesome, with a lot of great music and bittersweet moments reflecting on experiences throughout the week. Evan spoke on how things are going to be different when we get back home, and encouraged us to not forget what we saw and experienced here but to cherish it, and share as much of our story as we can. We are all planning to stay up late tonight to enjoy our final hours in Nicaragua, enjoying each other’s company. We look forward to our last morning tomorrow, where we will spend the time taking the children to the pool. Please pray for safe travels tomorrow as we return back to the United States and that the rest of our trip will be just as amazing as the days behind us

Day 5 in Nicaragua

Day five in Nicaragua was an extremely busy one for the college mission team.  We dove into our usual morning devotionals and were served our last delicious meal at Hotel San Juan.  We checked out of the hotel at 9am and headed on our way to drop off our gifts for the women at feeding center at Leon.  The workers were definitely appreciative of the gift baskets and the prayers we spoke over them.  They expressed their gratitude and we departed from the feeding center with a multitude of hugs.

Our next stop was the Posoltega feeding center, where we were scheduled to play two soccer matches against the local kids of the community.  The girls from the mission team played their match first, and won by a score of 2 to 1.  It was a fierce competition, but the girls pulled out the victory and also bonded with the Posoltega’s girls team.  The guy’s team, which was not as successful, lost a close match with a score of 1 to 0.  However, fun memories were shared and both teams had a great time together.  After the games, the mission team prepared for the children’s lunch to begin.  Similar to our time at the other feeding centers, we helped the children wash their hands and we served them a nutritious meal.  We left the feeding center around 1:30pm and gave gift baskets to the women of Posoltega as well.

Our bus ride back to Casa Barnabe was long, but we had a lot fun listening to music and bonding among teammates.  We were surprised by our leaders, and stopped at POPS, which is a chain icecream store in Nicaragua.  We were definitely happy about having something cool and refreshing after our hot day of serving at the feeding center. 

Our day concluded with dinner, and then a porch time full or worship songs and small groups.  Today has been a very busy day, but our time here so far as taught us a very valuable lesson.  We have learned to appreciate the concept of hard work as we see that, while we are only here for a week, the people we have met here deal with the struggles we have faced thus far every day of their lives.  We have all witnessed God in a new and refreshing way, and look forward to what the Lord has planned with our remaining time here.  Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, and please continue to do so.  

Day 4 in Nicaragua

Day four in Nicaragua began after a great nights rest at the hotel.  After morning devotionals we gathered for breakfast at 8:30. We then departed for the feeding center in Leon, at which we arrived around 9:30.  We were welcomed immediately by the pastor and his wife, who explained how grateful they were to us and to chapel for funding their new feeding center.  He described how the need was great  in this area for a feeding center, and how God provided through Chapel’s donations.

The rest of the morning consisted of children finishing their shifts at school and arriving at the feeding center. There were well over 100 children who were energetic and excited to eat. We started by helping them to wash their hands, and played with the others that were waiting to eat. All of the children were so happy and full of life, which brought each of the team members so much joy. We wrapped up our time at the feeding center by performing a hygiene puppet show and playing soccer.  On our back to the hotel we stopped to buy gifts for all of the volunteers that help to run the feeding center to thank them for what they do day in and day out for the children.

The second part of the day consisted of a surprise trip to the nearby beach. As we arrived, the Pacific Ocean stretched out before us in all of God’s glory. Many of us ran right into the water, loving the cool relief that it provided us. We were able to stay there long enough the watch the beautiful sunset, collect sea shells and take group pictures

We then climbed back on the bus after a wonderful day, looking forward to dinner and a low key night of small groups and the sermon ahead. We cannot wait to head back to Posoltega tomorrow morning and be able to spend one more morning with them before heading back to Casa Bernabe. Please be praying for us in this last part of our week! 

Day 3 in Nicaragua

Day three in Nicaragua was full of surprises, as we ventured to a different part of the country to serve and spend time with a group of beautiful children.  Our morning got off to an early start, because of the time it was going to take to travel to the feeding center in Posoltega.  Breakfast was served at 7:00am sharp, and departure was set for 7:30am.  In order to keep ourselves busy during the three hour bus trip to the feeding center, we passed the time by reading devotionals, listening to music, and talking about the rich Nicaraguan history.

After picking up paint along the way, we arrived at the feeding around 11am and were welcomed by the directors of the feeding center and surrounding community.  They were able to tell us about the history of the church, and how the feeding center first began.  Shortly after, the children started to arrive and we were able to help each of them wash their hands before serving them the nutritional meals.  After lunch we had plenty of time to interact with the children, through playing soccer and other field day activities.  The field day ended about 2 hours later, however our work at the feeding center was not done.  We split up into two groups; one that would work to paint a rusted water tower and the other group would craft sock puppets to teach the children about proper hygiene.  After these activities, we climbed back onto the bus to drive to Leon where our hotel was located.

We arrived at Hotel San Juanillo around 4:30 pm and we had the chance to unwind and shower before dinner was served at 6pm.  The hotel served a delicious meal and the staff showed us great hospitality.  After dinner, we had a bit of free time before night worship began at 8pm.  Porch time tonight, had a unique twist because we were able to congregate on the rooftop balcony of the hotel.  We sang songs of worship, and listened to an inspirational message underneath the Nicaraguan stars.  Although, we are definitely exhausted after today’s work we are eager to depend on the Lord’s strength and serve again tomorrow.

Day 2 in Nicaragua

The second day in Nicaragua for the college mission team began early this morning with praise and worship with children from the orphanage and surrounding community. In addition to songs and dance, we were able to play several interactive games with the children and observe their hearts for Jesus. After devotionals with the children, it was time for breakfast.  We would need the energy of our peanut-butter  pancakes to continue working on our service projects around the orphanage. 

We continued to dig the holes for the new septic system, and although the sun was hot and tiring, the community and fellowship kept us encouraged to keep working. After the morning of hard work, our efforts were becoming visible and we began to see light at the end of the tunnel.  With the help of the willing hands of the maintenance staff of the orphanage our project began to look more promising than ever.  We concluded work on the septic tank around noon, which was followed by a well-deserved lunch.

After lunch, and a bit of down time for personal reflection, it was time to travel to the local market, Huembes, where were presented with a real-life activity.  We split up into 4 teams, which represented Nicaraguan families from different income levels.  Our challenge was to buy enough food to feed each family for two weeks time.  For example, one family was given the equivalent of 25 American dollars, which was to feed a family of five for 2 weeks.  As you might imagine, this was not an easy task to complete, but with the brainstorming of each team, we were able to complete the task and learn a valuable lesson about what many families face on a weekly basis. After the challenge, we were given a short amount of free time to shop for ourselves, as well as friends and family.

After our afternoon outing and returning to Casa, we had the time to play basketball and enjoy the company of the kids.  After spending a few hours with the children and working up a sweat, we fellow-shipped with the JMU college team for dinner.  After dinner we had a guest speaker, Eddy Morales, who is the in-country program director for OrphaNetwork. He spoke on the story of David and Goliath, and challenged us to search for ways to impact the lives of others. He encouraged us to each lead our own legacy of love for others through the love that Christ has shown us. We ended the night with praise and worship and a recap of the day. Most of us will be going to bed early tonight to prepare for our early morning field trip tomorrow to the feeding centers in Posoltega and Leon. Thank you all for your prayers as we continue our week of a lifetime! 

Day 1 in Nicaragua

Our phone number here in Nicaragua is.... 505-820-69040 (Evan Muro). Please use this if there is an emergency to contact us. 

The first full day in Nicaragua has been nothing short of amazing. The day began with several students diving into morning devotionals and taking the opportunity to explore the grounds of Casa Bernabe under the Nicaraguan morning sun. Breakfast started promptly at 8 am, with plates filled high of the freshest fruit. The buses arrived to transport us to Verbo Church, which started at 10 am. The bus ride was full of laughter and chattering, as we met the children of the orphanage for the first time. Although many of us faced the language barrier, it did not keep us from having a great time and getting to know the kids.

Verbo church began with their service with energetic worship and praise dancing.  The congregation was very welcoming and praised Jesus openly and with excitement.  The minister delivered an inspirational message that all of us were able to understand, thanks to the help of electronic translators.  The message centered around the book of Ephesians, and even though we were in a foreign country we felt at home with the Holy Spirit. 

After another enjoyable bus ride back to the orphanage, and a lunch of plantains and pollo (chicken), it was time to start our first service project.  Our project consisted of digging the foundation for a septic tank, for the girls house at the orphanage.  We split up into two teams; one was in charge of digging the actual holes (9 ft. deep) and the other team was in charge of shaping the rebar for the tanks. The work was hot and quite sweaty, but with the company of the children and each other we preserved and got off to a great start for our week –long project. 

Returning back to the team center, we were all excited to shower and fellowship for dinner.  It allowed us to reminisce on our first day in Nicaragua, and share the many lessons we had already learned.  We were able to hear a valuable history lesson on Nicaragua from Eric Su, who is the Orphan Network Team Coordinator.  We were encouraged, that we too, could be a part of changing a country that has faced a multitude of challenges in it’s recent history. 

After dinner and Eric’s presentation, 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 the remainder of the week.  

College Nicargua Team Has Arrived!

The team safely arrived to the Managua airport. They have loaded up onto the Casa Bernabe bus and are headed to the orphanage's team center for some rest. Tomorrow morning (Sunday) the team is headed to Verbo church with the children of Casa Benabe. After church they will jump right into their service project for the week. Good night and God Bless!

College Nicaragua SB2K13

Our team is in the dulles airport readying to board our plane for a 2:50 departure! next stop Nicaragua! (actually we have a short layover in El Salvador). We will post again later tonight when we arrive safely in Nicaragua.