Month 2: Nicaragua
Where I was?
This was a whole squad month meaning all three teams were together with one ministry in Ciudad Dario, Nicaragua called Light and Salt Ministries.
My sleeping accommodations:
- I started the month staying with my team separated from the squad at out host house.
- However, I am allergic of cats (especially that cat!) so I joined the other two teams in an empty classroom with our air pads and sleeping bags.
The ministries:
For this ministry the whole squad was given many different options that we prayed into and gave our preferences of what we wanted to do. The options; cook help, gatekeeper, classroom aide, construction crew, social media/admin, nanny for host daughter, and painting crew. I was a part of the painting crew with three other girls to start. Funnily enough for the first week and half we didn’t paint but sanded everything; floors, widow bars, ceilings, gates, fences, and I’m sure I’m missing something else. However, what we missed painting the first half of the month we more than made up for it the next. You see, this ministry was in the process of building a new facility and we were able to help by painting the walls. I was mostly with another person, Jackie, as we painted a lot of the host house.
For one day I was also able to make house visits to bring food for the elderly and disabled. I went with one of the staff and my friend Bre as we entered these humble houses sometimes shacks and was able to pray for them.
People I met:
Because of COVID and how our host asked us to treat the Nicaraguan people we only interacted with the people apart of the ministry. However, as I am learning even with the limitations, we have no shortage of meeting and interacting with AMAZING people. Also we have great opportunities to get to know each other and pour into this community especially since so many of us have been community deprived for about two years. Thanks God!
- Dina and Reyna were the kitchen staff at Light and Salt. They are so fun and always willing to play around with us. Not only were the meals phenomenal, but the way they played around with us made it feel more at home!
- Jackie and Sarah-Katherine are on my squad, but throughout this month we often found ourselves isolated together. Through the hours of painting and waiting for paint to dry we grew a repour that was both fun and deep.
- There was this lady that I met on a home visit that shook my faith. We can into her home with dirt floors and no kitchen or bathroom where she lived alone. As we were praying for her she got on her knees and thanked the Holy Spirit for everything. She talked to us about her testimony of fighting cancer twice, being alone in a part of Nicaragua that can be scary, and not being able to walk. With tears in her eyes and conviction in the hand she raised to told us that even though she couldn’t walk or easily get on her knees, she would pray on her knees so she can run again. I ended up asking her to pray for us, because even I can see the difference of poverty in this world and the richness with God.
Places visited:
Again because of COVID we couldn’t adventure like a normal year, but no worries we still made it out of the compound!
- Our host asked a whole beautiful swimming pool to be reserved for us where we could get snacks and whatever we wanted! It felt like High School Musical 2!!
- Another weekend our host got us a van that drove us to an abandon lake (it felt like). There we bought the help of a boat “pilot” that basically floated us to an island for no reason and than around that island. The whole time we had no idea where or when we would come back. It was a blast!!
Travel: How and what type of transportation
From Jaco we took a bus to San Jose and spent the night (or at least a few hours) on the floor of a church. Woke up very early to get on a bus that was supposed to take us to Ciudad Dario, Nicaragua. What happened, we bussed on the coldest bus of my life to the Nicaraguan border where we stayed for 8 hours in no-mans land trying to enter the country. Of course, our original bus left us so we had to wait for another one. Finally, we made it in the middle of the night!
New Experiences:
- Washing my clothes by hand with a pila. I am convinced I want on for an outdoor sink.
- Catholic Worship
- Watering down paint to use
- Sanding the floor
- Paint thinner in water bottles
- Watering the wall because it was concrete
- $8 peanut butter
- Running and working out with concrete blocks and other materials around the compound.
Food:
- Every morning we had to eat our rice, beans, tortilla, and fruit in under 10 minutes because of when we received the food and when ministry started.
- Reyna is a great cook and we tried many different Nicaraguan dishes, but they always had some form of rice.
- Hibiscus tea (so GOOD!!)
- I never really had papaya, but I’m really starting to like it.
What I enjoyed the most:
Like I’ve said before I loved getting to know some of my other squad mates especially Jackie and Sarah-Katherine while also learning a lot about painting abroad. I also really enjoyed visiting these very humble homes and understanding a little more that God is so much bigger than the things we accumulate. Some of the people I got to know at the ministry would invite us to their home with all the pride of a mansion in the states. Their faith and love from God are not lessened by the American standard of living and happiness. Also, in this month our host’s father-in-law passed away due to COVID and being in the house that was mourning was very powerful to see God even in this. Because Jackie and I worked with them closer than others we were able to pray for them over their house, family and friends during this time. I loved being able to pair painting an actual physical work with interceding prayer. We prayed for the ministry, people back home, future time, but most importantly that we can know God’s more and teach others from this empowerment.
Memories, ASK me about them!: some of them might be funny!
- So many people’s sleeping pad were popped on the unfinished floor.
- I was attacked by the BIGGEST bug ever! (Read about this one earlier)
- Allergic to cats and specifically the demon cat.
- Claire Berry and Caroline Peevy just dug a giant hole.
- Having a boat “pilot” and charged us extra because he dropped us off a random island.
- Cass broke her foot tackling a kid playing soccer and gasoline was supposed to heal her.
- Throwing a huge birthday party for all the schoolboys. Also, for Cass, Kendall, and Molly (the host daughter).
- Nelson knew all the gringas because he had the closest ice cream shop.
How to pray for where I was and the ministries I worked with:
- While we were there our Beauty for Ashes girl’s setup this event for the ladies in this community to see and understand their identity as a daughter of God. Please pray that this would strengthen their bond with God and with each other.
- For the rest of the construction to finish well and funding for the rest.
- Their sewing program that they teach the women who have little skills they can sell and get up in the world to restart. It stopped because of COVID.
- The boys in the program to stay and keep going to school to learn English and more about how to end their cycle of poverty.
- Our host asked us that when we pray for Nicaragua to pray against revolution, because it happens so frequently that it keeps their economy in a state of unsettlement. In stead pray for their next election to change leaderships and that they can start to heal.
Go follow my very talented friend and teammate Dana Salesman!!
