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.
