How often do you hear things like “You throw like a girl?” Or “Quit being such a girl?” Or “Girls can’t do that. They’re too weak/small/fragile”?      I know that most of the time, these are just jokes, but it still happens. You know what I mean, and it’s not just with athletes or in the workplace. Traditional views of gender roles are still being valued, including in places like Nicaragua.      Today we went to a nearby village called Candelaria to do a Bible study with some women there....

  Before leaving home for Nicaragua, I had completed my Associates of Science degree and was searching where to go from there. I enrolled at a tech school and began pursuing a degree in nursing. In June 2013, The Lord led to me to Adventures in Missions’ Passport trip to Nicaragua. By this point I had only a few more courses remaining before applying for acceptance into the Nursing Program. In pursuance for an answer, I continued to pray about what my next steps should be and questioned if nursing was really the direction that God wanted for me.    On January 21, 2014, I...

It is officially February. Just a few weeks from where we first began our journey. In that short time, I have managed to get sunburnt and sick.. It’s an awesome combination.. (Kidding, it’s awful) On a serious note, my Chaco tan is THE best. (Okay, maybe not so serious) I guess I tell you this so we can talk about church.       I know, it still sounds weird but hang in there with me.   Last Thursday we took an hour and a half ride to another town to visit a church. After riding on the smooth pavement we finally made it to the bumpy dirt road which meant...

The humid, warm air hit our faces as  the sliding doors opened and our chariot awaited: a completely open truck lined with seats. It was very similar to ones landscapers use in Arizona to tote around their lawn mowers or the ones people use to go garage sale hopping. It had a thin frame, no roof and  two rows of seats on the edges beckoning to us. We all squealed in excitement and hopped in putting our heavy packs in the middle at our feet. It was our first adventure.    What a way to first experience a country. The breeze rustled our hair, the sun blared down and we basked...

62: Days since I left Pittsburgh for training camp in Atlanta. 56: Days I spent with 18 of the most wonderful women I have ever met 50: Days spent in Nicaragua ??: Days still to come When I signed up to go to Nicaragua, I was running. Running from reality, from growing up, from the future (futile), and mostly from fear. My college graduation loomed large only a few weeks away, and I was spending entirely too much time wearing suits, shaking hands with other people also wearing suits and talking about where I saw myself. The trouble was I didn’t see myself anywhere.  While I’m...

Our team made a fun list of what becomes normal after being in Nicaragua for two months. 1. You respond to "gringa" 2. You eat prunes for a snack 3. You frown upon putting toilet paper in the toilet 4. Going to get a coke means walking for 20 minutes 5. It's normal to clean the toilet and the sink with the same brush 6. You have in-depth discussions on which bug net color is the most affective  7. You have to decide whether to shower with yellow-jackets or tarantula's 8. You become immune to the smell of B.O. 9. You cry over burgers 10. It's shocking when there are...