It’s been only a few days since Zach picked me up at 4:30 am to fly out of Denver and I realized that I had forgotten my Malaria medicine. We landed and quickly made friends with people going to Nicaragua. We were then met with a down pour as we walked to the Safehouse in down town Atlanta; where we slept the first night. The Safehouse is one of the biggest shelters in the country. I was the first person inside as we walked in out of the ran and immediately introduced myself to a man named Mike telling we were here from AIM. He was very strong and illuminated the power of...

My name is Katie and I’m absolutely thrilled to go on this trip.  I’ve never been out of the country, let alone on a mission trip.  It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and now that I’ve graduated college I am ready for adventure, purpose, and meaning more than ever.  I want to love people the way God loves people, even though that’s impossible because God is God and greater than anything in this world.  But I am desperate to share God’s word and help those who long for care and nurturing.  I’m introverted but I love...

I’m sitting on the balcony of the Kaye’s house in Granada, Nicaragua. I’ve got the headphones on for a reason as I type this blog.  It’s been a week of celebrating the Virgin Mary here and tonight is the “Noche de Gritaria” – the Night of Shouting. Apparently they stay up all night here carousing on her behalf. There is an outdoor party of some scale going on a few houses away and some guy is yelling into the sound system. I think he’s yelling prayers to Mary.  Firecrackers and cherry bombs periodically split the night air. A marching...

Let me tell you about Giermo.  First, I love him.  He´s nine, and he´s a little bit in love with me.  I don’t mind.  His dad comes to Bible study at El Puente twice a week, so he´s around a good bit.  He cracks me up – he starts out sitting three chairs away from me and spends the next five to ten minutes moving closer and closer until he’s holding my hand and laying his head in my lap. Giermo lives in the barrio.  I don´t know the actual name of the street he lives on; the guys call it no-no street because going down it is not a good idea. ...

Twice a week we hang out with some local girls.  We help with homework, play games, and jump rope.  The home is a place where girls ages 6 to 15 live because their families aren’t fit to take care of them. They are not orphans but many come from physically abusive or drug addicted parents. We mainly hang out with four little girls that are 7 and 8. Oh and I forgot to mention, the home is run by nuns. Last Tuesday we were playing with the little girls when a nun asked Kayla to help her with something. She was traveling to Florida to give a presentation to raise money for the home...