Hello Everyone!!
Things have been going great! Spiritually challenging yes, but great! There has been so much going on and it's not easy to sum it up and describe to all of you back home what it is like living on the island of Ometepe, so I came up with a fun yet insightful list for you to read,
"You know your in Nicaragua when…"
•you ride back from church in a half bed pickup truck with 15 other people.
•you get to wash your clothes waist deep in the worlds largest fresh water lake , overlooking an active volcano.
•your dessert after meals is found on the ground under the mango trees.
•there is a sign on the bathroom in the morning "audacious scorpion inside"
•you hang your clothes on a barb wire fence to dry
•you are brought to tears at the sight of pancakes for breakfast
•you don't crawl under your mosquito net for the night unless you have your headlamp
•you get to witness the most beautiful sunsets every night!!
•the Sunday school snack is a whole plate of rice and beans after they break the piñata
•when you need to quickly go to the other side of the road because there is a herd of cows and bulls heading down the other side
•the birds sound like helicopters and the mangos hitting the roof sound like bombs and lizards on the walls at night sound like dogs barking
•your in the garden and can't tell if your hearing pigs squealing or kids playing at school
•everyday your guarantees bounds of love from the kids staff and my your team
•your cutting down weeds in the garden to feed the goats which are next to the chickens being killed for lunch the next day (also really delicious)
•you walk 40 mins rounds trip to buy a small piece of chocolate from the corner store…..and it's worth it!!
These are just a few of the several unique experiences we are being blessed to live through here. I'm just stepping back in complete awe that God made this my life, and the things he is teaching me through the simplest parts of living in Nicaragua. Last year I would have never imagined being here, and let alone praying to spend the rest of my life in missions like this, but you know the amazing experiences can be endless when you give God the reins, and let him take you where he wants you to be! Like on of our staff members here said during her testimony, "I looked back, and saw what my life was like and realized I had become one of the characters living that epic story from the books I grew up reading." I can't wait to keep on living, enjoying the ride, and seeing where he will take me!
