Little Mission Trip Things

When you’re on a mission trip in Nicaragua, these are some of the little things that happen:

• You try to remember the last time you showered…and can’t. 
• Your water bottle smells terrible but you drink from it anyway. 
• If you haven’t worn it at least 5 times, it’s clean. 
• A deck of cards provides hours of entertainment. 
• When you wash your clothes they don’t become clean, they just become less dirty. 
• Getting dressed up means a t-shirt, maxi skirt, and chacos. 
• Your group can rock “How Great is Our God” because you sing it for people at least twice a week. 
• You forgot that meals at home don’t always contain beans and rice. 
• You’ve forgotten what hot showers feel like. 
• When you spend time alone, there are still 11 other people around at all times. 
• The term “infinity pool” actually means a pond in the middle of the forest. 
• You’ve stopped asking, “what are we doing today” because no one ever really knows until we get there. 
• Fans have become your new best friends  
• When there isn’t rice at a meal you get confused. 
• You think of how to say things in Spanish before you talk even when the person you are talking to speaks English. 
• Iguana for lunch. 
• Killing spiders 3 inches in diameter has become second nature. 
• Sometimes the guards have to come and kill spiders the size of your hand because those will always be terrifying. 
• You take a shower and your tan washes off because it was actually dirt. 
• You become best friends with people over the course of an evening and you don’t even speak the same language.  And there are nicknames involved. 
• Even if you don’t prepare your message, God speaks clearly. 
• You talk about Jesus all day everyday. 
• You’ve come to realize that even if you don’t speak the same language as someone, smiling is contagious. 
• You are dreading the day you have to leave a country you were once nervous about coming to. 

Don’t forget to find joy in the little things.