I'll Be Back

So, I've officially been back for a week now, and I decided it's about time for a debrief.

By now everyone knows that I changed my flight to be able to stay an extra five days. The decision was a no-brainer, since I hadn't prepared myself to leave and the group that was here really needed my help. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made!

During that last week, the Indiana group had a lot of stuff planned, and although everything didn't go exactly as planned (since nothing in Nicaragua does), God was definitely glorified and we were able to minister in lots of different ways throughout the city.

I can't remember on exactly which day we did each thing, because I'm horrible at journaling and it all sort of blends together, but I'm going to try to sum up what we did during the last week:

- The Indiana group came prepared with three different bible school stories, which we did at the church, at La Grassa (where they are building the new church), and at La Resistencia. La Resistencia is a barrio where Marlon (otherwise known as Lito) is from. Lito used to be in a gang and was an all-around real rough guy, which is hard to believe given his gentle spirit. He found God and has since started a gang outreach program and comes back to the same area he used to live to minister to the people there. He has helped win hearts over for God and continues to do amazing things in that area.

- Two nurses came with the Indiana group, so we were able to hold two medical clinics. It is so neat to see how someone's career so directly enables them to serve God in different areas of the world. The first day we started a clinic (just for kids, except for vitamins and parasite meds for adults) in the area where we do the feeding line. The nurses had gone the day before with Freddy to the pharmacy to buy tons of medicine - mostly vitamins, parasite meds, antibiotics, rash cream, etc. We set up the clinic without any real notion of how to best go about doing it, and boy did we learn from that - the line (or lack thereof) was insane, and there was just no order to the day. After a little less than two hours and only having seen a couple patients, we called it a day. I could feel the sense of discouragement among the group, as the nurses sort of felt overwhelmed and we didn't know how to organize things to make everything go more smoothly. It's always hard when you have something in mind and it doesn't pan out. However, the pastor announced that we would be holding the clinic again the next day, but at the church. This way, the people that really needed to see someone would travel, and the ones who just wanted "free meds" wouldn't make the trip. I believe they also gave money to some people who seemed like they really wanted to come but couldn't afford the trip.

One reason I felt the clinic was going to go so well was that we had randomly met a Nicaraguan family at the hotel the group was staying at. They are Nicaraguan but have lived in Texas and are currently in Costa Rica. The family was there on the dad's business trip, and the mom and three kids were pretty bored during the day while he was at work. They met the group and talked with them a bunch and when they found out what we were doing, got really excited and said they'd love to come help instead of sitting around the hotel all day. What a blessing! They are all perfectly fluent in both Spanish and English, which was a HUGE help. Two of the kids also want to be doctors, so it was right up their alley. They helped out a TON that first day. However, we found out the second day that they weren't going to be able to come, as they are actually relocating to Chinandega and it was the only day their realtor could show them houses (and they wanted to check out the schools for the kids).

The next morning we went into the clinic not knowing what to expect, since we wouldn't have the help of the family, and since the day before had been so chaotic. However, God went ahead and set everything up for us. The pastor and church leaders had already set up a system, so when we got there we were pretty much good to go. As people came in the church, they signed in with Karla, the pastor's daughter. They then were called in order to go to a table to meet with two or so of the church leaders, who asked them their name, age and symptoms, and wrote it all on a piece of paper. They also took that opportunity to ask them about their faith and to give them copies of the book of John and other "literature". Then the patients came to us in order with their little paper with all their info, and we were able to quickly tell the nurses what was up and figure out what they needed. I was on duty as the main translator, which scared me, since I knew about zero medical terms before this day. However, Chris (the leader of the Indiana group) had his trusty dictionary, and boy did I use it. I often wondered if it scared people to see me looking up words in a dictionary when we're talking health here... Anyway, I learned how to say things like rash, bumps, itchy, and other much grosser words I don't want to share. Also Talia, who has been studying English for a while, was a HUGE help. Between the two of us and Sara, whose English is much better than she claims, we were able to see about 100 kids (and treat most of their parents for parasites), as well as give everyone that came through vitamins to last a few weeks. We certainly felt day two went extremely well, and I was so proud of the nurses, because it had to be very intimidating to walk into this knowing that they were in charge, and yet there was a huge language barrier there.

- We had promised the girls at the orphanage that we'd be back on Wednesday to play with them and have ice cream, and after a long day at the clinic (and most of the guys doing construction all morning), many people were exhausted and, I think, not too excited about going straight to the orphanage and acting like they had energy. However, when we got there, everyone's spirits were immediately lifted and they were so stoked, because these girls were SO happy to see us, and were expecting us. They had each made a handmade card to welcome us, and went around handing them out. We played outside on the basketball courts for a while, writing with sidewalk chalk, playing with a plastic bowling set, and eating popsicles. Then we headed inside to where the TV is, and the girls jammed out to random music videos. Current favs in Nica right now are Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, not unlike in the US, I suppose. It was hilarious to watch them all singing along to JB, even though they had no idea what the words meant, and also to see the guys from our group dancing and singing with them, screaming like little girls. It's so fun to see these girls so easygoing and carefree, because their lives are not easy. The ladies who work there take great care of them though, and they love on them a whole lot. It's just hard when the ratio is about 3 ladies to 35 girls. You can imagine how little individual attention each girl gets on a daily basis.

- At the last regular church service while we were there, the gringos pretty much took over. Brittany, who is my age, sang a solo (in Spanish, which was awesome), a boy Shane, who's about 21, gave his testimony, and Daniel, another man, preached. It was really interesting to see this group loving the Nicaraguans and showing them how they worship their God. Neat stuff.

- On Friday morning, the group headed to the handicapped children's orphanage. This is always the toughest thing (I think, anyway) that the groups do down there because it is so hard to see these kids. Most of them can't walk or talk, and some of them can't move at all on their own. Their families just couldn't handle raising a kid "like them" so they leave them here. The children are in GREAT hands, though. One of the nurses with our group said she had never seen kids taken care of so well anywhere in the States. I always bring bubbles, because many of the kids that lay on mats on the floor love when you blow bubbles over them, and just talk to them, brush their hair off their face, etc. They just love attention, and they eat it up like crazy. Lots of kids were sitting up in wheelchairs, and they love just racing around the building. It is a very tough emotional experience, and I'd dare say nobody ever walks out of their with dry eyes, including me with my cold, cold heart that has been numb to many of these things for the past several years.

- Friday afternoon's plans were that the group wanted to thank all the Nicaraguans who had helped us so much over the course of their trip, so we loaded up the bus and went to Paso Caballo, a local beach. We swam for what seemed like hours, and then we all sat (about 53 I think) at a long table and had a nice dinner together! The food was great (I had curry chicken) and the conversation even greater. You could tell the Nicaraguans really enjoyed themselves and of course, we all loved being treated to a great meal! It was a long day, and the ride home was very quiet. Swimming in those rough Pacific waves sure takes it out of you...

- Saturday was the group's last day, and in the morning we decided to take them to Leon, which is a very historical city (used to be the capital of Nicaragua) about an hour away. We stopped first, though, at the hot springs - Hervideros de San Jacinto. Because of the nearby volcanoes, these hot springs formed, and man are they cool. I long ago gave up on putting pictures into these posts, mainly because I'm super lazy, but I believe I put some up in my facebook album. There are lots of little kids who live in the area or whose parents work there, and they act as little tour guides. Two girls quickly took me by the hand and started showing me around, all the while explaining what each thing was and where the volcanoes were, etc. Too adorable. The kids also make pots and little trinkets out of all the fresh clay in the area, and they "give" them to you, meaning you are of course expected to give them a donation. It was a really neat experience, especially because at this point, I've seen almost everything else touristy in the area!

We then headed to Leon, which usually is full of cute little shops and people in the park. There is a beautiful ancient cathedral, and it's just a really pretty little area. This day, however, was very rainy, which brought most people inside. It is still always neat to see the church though, and a few people from the group were able to get some great souvenirs nearby. I didn't buy a souvenir, but instead a delicious cacao drink. Man, I miss that stuff!!!

On the way back from Leon, everybody was really excited because we were off to give a bed to a family that we had met over the course of the trip. This story is just one of many examples of how God works in mysterious ways and how we never know one-one-millionth (not sure if that makes sense) of his plan... During the first week the Atlanta group was in Nica, we ate at a local restaurant a lot, and kept seeing these two little girls who were hanging around outside. Jim kept playing with them and making them laugh, and one day we gave them a big plate of leftovers. Then they talked to the girls and found out they were out selling plastic all day for their mom (no, I don't know who buys plastic). We invited them to our bible school at the church. Turns out they didn't show because they were out selling plastic, but they did show up to church the next day. That night, Steve and Freddy took them home because it was late and dark out, and they met the girls' mother and talked and prayed with her. Turns out there are 5 kids all together, one being a tiny baby, with no father, all living in a tiny shack. The kids were all sleeping on cardboard on the mud floor. Just imagine. By this time the Indiana group was in town and Steve shared this with the group. God placed on the group's heart to buy this family a bed, a bunk bed, in fact, so that all the kids would have somewhere to sleep. The group purchased the bed and that afternoon we all went over to deliver it. They were surprised, but the crazy thing is, the day before at the feeding line, the oldest girl handed a note that she had written to Hannah, who asked me to translate it for her. In the note, she was basically asking for Hannah's help to get them a bed. I know that you might read that and say, "wow, I can't believe they would ask for that," and that is how I used to think, but when you are that down and out, and you see an opportunity to get something you need, any sort of politeness or courtesy go out the window. And I don't blame them one bit. So the neat thing is, the group had already decided to get them a bed and were actually already in the process of getting it, when this girl wrote Hannah the letter. God is so good!

It was a great time watching the guys set up the bed and seeing the glowing smiles on the kids' faces, as well as how grateful their mom was for it all.

Saturday evening the church had a little surprise for us. We showed up and they had a whole table of fresh fruit ready for us, and they had gifts for everyone. The women all got a wood bracelet and little purse/backpacks that have the name of the church on them, and the men got bracelets that say the name of the church. They are so sweet to think of giving us gifts like that. They said they wanted to show us appreciation, but in reality I think we all realize how much more they always do for us. We ate the fruit and said our goodbyes (even though some of us still had one more day), and I could really tell how much the Indiana group fell in love with these people. There were lots of tears and lots of "next year"s... I know they'll be back; in fact, I think they'll be back soon and with a lot more people!

That night Freddy and Lito came over to the group's hotel to share their testimonies. I have seen Lito speak before, and his story is ALWAYS so inspiring and such a great testimony to God's goodness and faithfulness, and I had never heard Freddy speak before. He is always just translating what other people say. Freddy is a really strong man of God that has endured a lot, and it was very interesting to sit and listen to my good friend share his heart. Definitely a great night.

I woke up Sunday with a heavy heart, knowing it was my last day in this city that has completely taken over my heart. It was a busy day spent with people I desperately wanted to see as much as possible before I left. It wasn't enough, but I knew in my heart it was a great trip filled with wonderful people and the knowledge that God was glorified, and that, of course, I'd be back.

This trip was definitely the most inspiring, the most life-changing, the most attitude-changing, the most amazing time of my life. This trip has made me question where and how I'll live, what I'll do, and what my life will look like. Most of all, it has made it very clear to me who I am and whose I am.