Where in the World…

When I was younger, I was obsessed with the computer game Carmen San Diego. She traveled all over the world and no one could ever find her! (Until you beat the game and found all the gold treasure, but that is beside the point.) As our trip has progressed these last two weeks, I like to think I am channeling Carmen as I have been in three different cities in the last fourteen days. Thus, I am not in Ometepe anymore. Carmen San Diego’s slogan was, “Where in the world is Carmen San Diego?” Fittingly, I guess you could ask, “Where is the Nicaragua is Katy O’Neil?” Correct answer as of today: I am in Managua, Nicaragua. How did I get here? Let me tell you because it was not by the click of a mouse.

At the end of the second week here in Nicaragua, some concerns arose about the pastor we were working with in Ometepe. We had some different theological views that were pretty core to our beliefs as Christians; ultimately, my team and I expressed that we believe in God’s grace seen through the death and resurrection of Jesus. This grace saved us from death and gave us the awesome gift of eternal life and showed us how much God loves us. The pastor believed this too, but thought that every single time we sinned we had to start all over. He sort of told us that we were all not going to Heaven because we had lied before… Basically, the pastor was teaching others to live a life in fear of God. After hearing this, I realized how grateful I am that God’s grace isn’t limited to my shortcomings as a human being. God loves us each so much that His grace overcomes all of our sin. Thank goodness.

So after all of this, the pastor asked us to stop working with his church. Because we did not want to cause tension within the Ometepe community and wanted to respect the wishes of the ministry we were working with, El Puente, we left the island. Saying bye to the connections we made was hard, but I felt like God had something else in store for us.

With my first Carmen San Diego move, our team planted ourselves in the city of Granada for a week on the grounds of El Puente. This ministry is run by two American missionary couples who reach out to tons of different places in Nicaragua. For the week we were in Granada, we hung out in a poorer community just outside the city called Pantanal. During this time, one of the high points was meeting a one-month-old baby named Estefani. This little girl definitely stole my heart. Also during this week, I learned how to successfully wrap myself into a cocoon and fall asleep in a hammock within thirty two seconds. It is a great life skill.

Ok, so how did I end up in Managua? After a lot of prayer and logistical conversations, my team leaders and the leaders at El Puente have placed us at an orphanage called Casa Beteseda. There are around forty kids living here where they have access to basketball, volleyball, a psychologist, church, dance team, and the love of the awesome staff here. The minute I got to Casa Betesda, I knew it is where God wanted us to be. The kids are already so fun and I can’t wait to see what is in store. I have already practiced dancing here with the dance and let me tell you, these girls were born with rhythm. I am trying so hard to pull out some of my inner Latina that I know my mom gave to me.

I guess it is safe to say that I am not as sneaky or mischievous as Carmen San Diego, but I have learned a lot from my life as a vagabond. Finally settled in, I am realizing how much I love Nicaragua and the people here. Even in the midst of trying to convince myself how much I love rice and beans for the safety of my sanity, I really have experienced so much in the first month here in Nica and can’t wait for what’s in the store for the next month. I am sure I won’t find gold and coins like Carmen did, but I am sure that what I will find with God present here is better. Nos vemos!