The Heart of Nicaragua

As I am on the bus leaving Nicaragua, I am reflecting on this month. I’ve had so many amazing experiences here and some tough ones too. I’ve faced a lot of sickness and injuries but I have learned that God is so much greater than all of that. I’ve met so many great people and I am honored to get to have these connections. In Palacagüina, only one person spoke English so it was tough at first but the Lord quickly broke down those barriers and I bonded with our hosts and the locals. I want to highlight a few people and give you an inside scoop on how amazing Nicaraguans are. 

First I will start with our roommate, Yaner. We had the opportunity to stay in a mission house owned by 516 Now and Yaner happened to live there. We had the amazing opportunity of really getting to do life with her this month from waking up early to late night talks. She is a blessing. Yaner translated all of our testimonies to the church so our stories could be heard where they may not have been heard if she wasn’t there. With Yaner, we had the opportunity to help out with the students and women at our church. Let me tell you, this woman has a heart of GOLD. She cares so deeply about the students in her ministry and it is so sweet to see that. 516 Now has a sponsorship program to sponsor children to go to school and she leads that. My team and I had the opportunity to hand out backpacks, uniforms, shoes and school supplies to the students provided by their sponsors. It was so sweet to be a part of this event. The women’s event was literally so amazing on another level. These ladies from the church showed up. They came ready to share their vulnerability with each other and us, which I believe grew their churches foundation. Strong women can do amazing amazing things and I am so honored that I was able to be there to empower them along side my amazing team and the locals.

** side note – at the event we did an activity where we washed the women’s feet like Jesus did the disciples and it was so so so beautiful. Once we were done, they all jumped up and wanted to wash ours! Having 30 women be so passionate about the Lord and showing his love was empowering to witness.

Up next I will introduce you to Dane, our amazing chef and house host. Dane has such a kind heart and the Lord’s love is pouring out of her. Everyday, one of us stayed back to help cook in the kitchen and that was our ministry for the day. I was nervous at first because she doesn’t speak English and my Spanish is super minimal. Our relationship at first was pretty basic because we couldn’t communicate much, but by the grace of God I understood most of the Spanish she was saying to me so we were able to connect deeper. We started sitting down in between meals and connecting and learning from each other. Her spirit is so beautiful and I love getting to know her! Her husband (William) gave us English/Spanish bibles which I am obsessed with! She was teaching me Spanish and I was teaching her English. I experienced such beautiful moments sitting with her and I am honored to get those times. Thankful for people that teach me how to love deeper and break down barriers of language.

With Dane came her firecracker three year whom we ADORE. I learned so much from Cesia during this month. I enjoyed waking up every morning and hearing “Buenos dias, chicas.” in a tiny voice. We connected with her so much in such different ways. It was so sweet to be a part of her first day of school and send her off. Cesia has a huge heart and I can’t wait to watch her grow. 

Lastly, I would love to tell you about Pastor David. We connected with him on the first day of ministry when we were doing construction to help expand his church and build a children’s school. Pastor is such an amazing man and I really enjoyed gleaning from him any moment I had the opportunity. He has worked on his church for 15 years on this project. He was along side us everyday swinging the hammer and shoveling dirt and I really learned a lot from that. He is the type of leader I admire, he was willing to be hot and sweaty, covered in dirt and doing the hard labor along side us instead of directing us what to do and leaving. That left an imprint on my heart. Throughout the month, he taught us about Nicaraguan culture. One instance was he bought Pepsi for the worksite (which comes in 3 liters) and he had a bunch of little plastic bags. They started pouring the Pepsi in the bags and tying them at the top. He showed us to bite the corner off and drink Pepsi out of a bag which is very common in Palacagüina. That was just one of many funny new experiences, he enjoyed watching our expressions of confusion. Pastor has a smile on his face constantly and it was very contagious. A couple moments that stand out for me when thinking about Pastor is one day we went to his church to pray over the grounds and we felt the need to pray over him so we invited him into the sanctuary and he immediately got on his knees and we prayed over him in English, which he is learning. He stood up in tears and explained to us that the Lord told him that morning to remember that prayer is the most important thing and to not get caught up in the physical construction. That moment really impacted me. This man was being so vulnerable with a group of young women and my respect went through the roof for him. He was willing to share where he was at and not pretend or hide his emotions. Another moment was the last day we were in Palacagüina. We went over to his church to say goodbye and sign the wall of the church. Pastor started playing worship music on the piano and it turned into a giant worship session for like two hours. Towards the end, I was looking at my Spanish/English bible and he came and sat down right next to me and told me to read to him in Spanish. Reading in Spanish is out of my comfort zone so I was hesitant at first, but he wasn’t budging. He kept encouraging me and I finally started reading and butchering every word. But Pastor showed me SO much grace and he just told me to keep going. He never laughed, judged or stopped me. He taught me how to say some words and what they mean and it was the most amazing moment that I will always cherish. I saw Jesus through him. I was lucky enough to get both of these moments captured with photos. 

Thank you to everyone else that we connected with in Palacagüina, it truly felt like a family and I know that I always have a place to come back to. Month one was so amazing with so many amazing experiences and I thank the Lord for these people. 

Had to insert a photo of this beautiful family that we got to live with this month. William, Cesia and Dane.

*My team and I are now in Costa Rica at our first debrief where we get the opportunity to learn from our leadership team and reflect on our experiences this month, it’s be really amazing and we will head to our ministry on Tuesday!

**Prayer requests – fundraising! I am still fundraising on the field and I need the help of my family and friends back home, thank you to everyone that has donated and prayed for my team and I!