a Joy Filled Ending

Well, it has come. Our last day in Nica. I don't have much time to write, as it is our last few hours here and my heart is tugging me out to play with the kids. But I wanted to share with you some pictures from our day at Hertylandia yesterday. After a long, thought provoking week, it was a much welcomed day of laughter, water slides, nicaraguan go-karts, and a little bit of sun burn!













I want to thank you all for all of your prayers and comments as we have been down here. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel home tomorrow! See you in Virginia Beach!

la Churreca

I wrote this post yesterday morning only to find out that the internet is off on the weekends. Lucky for you they made an exception for us today!






It’s 7:30AM and I am the only one up. As I said in my first post, sitting outside on the patio of the team center is one of my favorite places. I just heard the rooster crow. I can hear the ladies in the kitchen chatting, laughing, as they so willingly make our breakfast for us. It’s hard to believe our time in Nicaragua is quickly ending. The kids are starting to ask when we are leaving, and the team is beginning to realize that we will be back in the states before we know it. One of the hardest parts about coming to Nicaragua each is saying goodbye at the end. There is something about this place and these people, they have the ability to find a deep place in our hearts in such a small amount of time.

Well, yesterday was another deep thinking day for the team. In the morning we had the opportunity to visit “La Churreca” the City dump. As many of you know there is a community of people who live in and live off of the trash in the dump. There are about 800 people, three generations, and close to 300 kids that are a part of this community. Our time began by stopping at a day care center right outside of the dump. This Day Care center was starting by a husband and wife team that saw a need for all of the kids ages 6 and under to be cared for during the day. Now three years after the start of the day care center they serve 38 kids a day, they provide food for close to 300 kids a day, and the woman has 7 kids live at her house Monday-Friday so they can go to school. As Jessica Carlisle said during porch time, this woman was “fearless”. She knows and loves the community of Churreca so well. At this Day Care center they also host church every Sunday, they are up to 180 attendees, and if you saw the space they meet in you wouldn’t believe it could work.



After that stop we then we into Churreca for just a quick visit. The school was closed for the day, so we really just took the time to walk around and see the community. Only a few of us brought cameras in because they are really trying hard to not make these people’s homes a “tourist attraction”. I was hanging back from the group a bit (even though I wasn’t supposed to) and a lady asked me up to her home to take a picture of her son. I think this was the hardest picture I have ever had to take. This little boy was probably close to one years old. His hair was as light as ever (light hair means severe malnutrition), his eyes were glazed over, and if I had to guess without the grace of God he might not make it to his next birthday. As I was taking this picture, I realized this could be the only picture out there documenting this child’s life. That was a humbling thought to have. In the US we have 1,000’s of pictures of our healthy children. But not this little boy. My heart was very heavy as I walked to catch up with the group.



As hard as it was to see the dump, the team left with a lot of hope. As some of you also may know, a powerful group of people from Spain has taken an initiative to really help clean the dump up. And even in just the past six months there has been a lot of progress. They have covered 75 percent of the dump with plastic in hopes to trap the methane and use it to employ the community at an energy plant. So with all of the trash around and the malnourished babies the hope is found in the feeding center, the school, the progress, and the woman from the day care center. It is only through our great God that change like this can happen in such a dark place.

We returned to the team center in time for lunch and then spent the afternoon putting the second coat of paint on the older girls house and unloading all of the donations we brought with us. It was a great afternoon. We were able to add the second coat in just under 2 hours which then gave us time to help the kids with English class again. As for the donations group, they were straight for 3 hours sizing and counting every article of clothing we brought. They used a system with phrases as “Large Big Boy Shirt”, “Small Big Girl Skirt”, “Medium Little Girl Pants”, “Large Little boy shorts”. After some laughter at the system, in total the team unloaded sorted and counted 1,356 articles of clothing and 166 pairs of shoes. Hopefully this will help clothe the kids at casa for the year!

To end our day we got to be a part of Casa’s Friday night devotions. Last summer some of the students started to learn instruments and know they have a worship band. We got to listen to them sing praises in Spanish and then they began to sing Might to Save in English. A huge smile came across most of the team at this point and we all belted out along with our friends. It was a beautiful picture. The kids did a fantastic job leading us and then we heard the story of Peter and Paul from the Casa Director, Jorge. After all of our goodbyes and goodnights to the kids we ended the day just sharing during porch time.

It was another glorious day in Nicaragua. Well, time to go. The team is starting to walk out of their rooms with sleepy eyes, its time for breakfast! Today we are taking the Casa kids to “Hertylandia” the Nicaraguan Water Country USA. The kids are excited and have been talking about it all week. It’s going to be another great day!

Compassion Day

6 am comes early even in Nicaragua. The whole gang was up this morning to join the Casa kids for breakfast at the orphanage. We were the first ones at the cafeteria as the kids started to trickle in with their freshly clean uniforms ready for their hot breakfast and then day full of learning. We sat side by side with our friends and enjoyed a meal of rice and beans, bread and a banana. This morning we were served a special treat of hot “café leche”, which was very similar to a latte. After wishing the kids a great day at school we headed back to the team center to load on the bus to head to the market. We split into 5 teams as the next step to our day of compassion. Each team was assigned a hypothetical family situation that ranged from a family living in the city dump to a successful “rich” family. Each team was given money according their family’s income and then asked to purchase the items that were on the needs list. This ranged from sandals to soap to diapers to school book bags. The teams were encouraged to work the best deal they possibly could in the market in order to purchase the most of their families needs. This was a really enlightening exercise in understanding the challenges that families in Nicaragua go through on a daily basis. Having to make choices between necessity items which we in the States often take for granted.

Once we brought our donations back to the bus, we headed back into the market to stimulate the Nicaraguan economy a bit (translation…18 high school students shopping…and a couple of leaders too! Winks) Everyone enjoyed finding special treasures for loved ones and finding a few neat things for ourselves as well.

With donations in hand and bellies starting to rumble a bit, we headed to Nueva Vida to visit a feeding center that Orphan Network supports. Nueva Vida is a community that originated as a refugee camp from 1998’s hurricane Mitch. After twelve years this camp has transformed into a community where poverty and unemployment run high. 1,100 children live in this community and Pastor Burman’s (Verbo Ministry leader) dream to feed all of these children has come true. Orphan Network partnered with Stop Hunger Now to provide a shipment of fortified rice meals to Pastor Burman and 4 other pastors in the community…in one year they went from one feeding center to 5! They are now on their second shipment of meals (285,000 total) which arrived just last week.



Our students poured off the bus at Nueva Vida into the eager hands of enthusiastic children ready to jump, pounce, grab, hug, play their way through the day. Half of our students served meals at Pastor Burman’s feeding center, while the other half hopped in a truck to venture over to one of the newly opened feeding centers headed by Pastor Alfredo. It was truly amazing to be with the children as they received their only meal of the day. We served along side the leaders of this program, each other and even those being served. It was a common site to see a 5 or 6 year old feed their younger companions, spooning a bite into the little ones mouth and then one into their own.


After lunch our students got a chance to hear from Pastor Burman’s youth group. Everyone was so moved by their stories and their commitment to serving Jesus and the people of Nueva Vida. After a quick scan of our group, you could see tears in several eyes as Jesus had truly inspired us through the words of the Nicaraguan youth at Verbo Church there in Nueva Vida. Several of our students also shared their stories, but naturally focused more on a message of gratitude for what these young people are doing in their ministry and in serving the Lord we so humbly share in loving.

During our nightly porch time we were able to share not only the memories from the day, but where we saw God…who did he speak to us through today? Nueva Vida was all that was spoken of. All of our students could identify a time or a place or a person that they saw God at their time at Nueva Vida. Real connections were made, real fun was had, and real lessons were learned. The most ironic thing? There was not one mention of the market…the time where we spent money on “treasures”. It was clear that the true treasure of the day was the gift we were provided when the amazing people of Nueva Vida invited us into their neighborhood to delight in God’s love for all of us through fellowship, stewardship, and the simple yet powerful strength of compassion.

Yours in service,
Chessney

Painting, English Class, and ICE CREAM

Hello all of our faithful readers! It has truely been a fantastic few days. I apologize for no post yesterday. We were up at 6 and did not return until dinner last night. I asked Chessney to post about yesterday (thursday), so you can read her words. But before that I wanted to share some pictures from Wednesday.



On Wednesday we had a great day at Casa. We did our work project in the morning, which included repainting the older girls house. We then had the opportunity to help with the private English Classes here at Casa in the afternoon. To end the day we decided to treat the team to a trip to Pops (the famous Nicaraguan Ice Cream Shoppe). It was a fantastic day of just "being" at Casa!

Enjoy the pictures!

thoughts from Katie

Hello Everyone! I asked Katie Thoma (one of our students) to share about our day yesterday. Enjoy her thoughts and thank you for all of the comments and prayers!

Katie here!

It’s been another glorious day in Nicaragua filled to the brim with laughter, joy, and love. Everyone’s really begun the process of digging into relationships, taking the steps outside of their comfort zone for a smile or a giggle. What a beautiful thing to watch!

We started the day with some yummy breakfast. Lots of fresh fruit and scrambled eggs included! After that, we journeyed into Vera Cruz- the town just outside of the Orphanage gates. It’s a far cry from the colorful building of the orphanage with actual beds, warm meals, and indoor plumbing. The winding dirt road takes you to tin shacks awash in rust and flies, starving dogs and horses roaming the murky streams in the street, and piles of trash crumbling and disintegrating into the hillside. This town holds a special place within my heart ever since my first day of my first trip to Nicaragua, because it was then that I met a girl named Grayson.

That summer, Grayson had just celebrated her 15th birthday and gotten married. I was a nervous rising junior in high school taken so far aback that the people I thought existed so far from my world, like the ones I saw on TV in those commercials to ‘feed a family for $1’, were now holding my hand, taking me into what they call home. In the hour we spent in Vera Cruz that day, Grayson not only gave me the earrings from her ears and a picture of her at her birthday party, she changed my heart. So much so that I made sure all the clothes I brought on that trip were given to her. Last summer in Nicaragua, I saw Grayson again. This time she was 16 and 3 months pregnant. She was still as lovely and generous as ever, taking a moment to introduce me to her elderly grandmother and seating me in the only chair in her dirt-floored shack.

And today in Vera Cruz, surrounding by 18 other teenagers from Virginia Beach embracing the children from this village, I saw Grayson, and met her beautiful son, Sammy. Grayson was wearing one of the shirts I gave her from that first summer. Hand in hand, we walked the town struggling to speak to each other in the few words that we know of each others’ language. Together we watched Owen and Jordan play 2 on 2 soccer in the street with two little boys they had just met. We watched Alex S. and Jessica give away baby clothes they had brought especially for all the new babies in Vera Cruz. We watched others making the same kind of friends that Grayson and I have in each other. It was a picture of God. With outstretched hands, these children run to us, strangers in their streets, wanting our love in return. And, in awe, we give it freely.

Leaving Vera Cruz is always difficult, but after we said our goodbyes to our new (and for a few, old) friends, we boarded a bus to get a quick history lesson on why Nicaragua is the way it is.

One of our translators, Raul, took us to the historic center of Nicaragua and gave us the 30 minute version of our beloved country’s history. We learned about its colonization, various revolutions, but mostly about the transition between the Samosa government to the Sandinista government and even got to see the president’s house and the old cathedral. Next, we boarded the bus again and went to the highest point in all of Managua where the Samosa government tortured those that threatened it. It was pretty graphic to hear, especially the parts about how they used to feed the prisoners still alive to lions.


Wiped and exhausted from our busy morning, all of us came back to Casa Bernabe and ate some delicious spaghetti for lunch and got ready to take all of the orphanage kids to the pool. After the bus ride, kids in tow, we arrived at the pool and……it started to POUR. And mind you, a little sprinkling isn’t a big deal, but this felt torrential! The kids got a kick out of it, and had a great time. There was lots of jumping, running, splashing, and chasing- the rain didn’t seem to affect anything at all. The 3 hours we spent there flew by. On the way home, all the kids were so wiped out. A little boy, Casoleen, feel asleep in Catherine’s lap. Many others were just as tired.

After dropping all the kids off at the Orphanage, we went back to the team center to take some much needed showers and eat dinner. At porch time, we learned about seeing the face of God not only in those we encounter here, but also back at home. It was the perfect ending to our day.

We are all so appreciative of your support and prayers! Thank you for taking the time to read about our day!

The below post was written this morning! I tried to post it after breakfast, but Nicaragua beat me and it wouldn't go through.

Thankfully all is good and you can enjoy our first post from Nicaragua!

And to give you an update, all of the luggages has safely arrived so Haley has fresh clothes! Also, we had a great morning today which included a tour of vera cruz and a trip to Managua to learn about the history of Nicaragua. I would say most of the team's heads are spinning right now from all that we learned about why Nicaragua is the way it is. So it's a perfect time for a fun afternoon!

Off to the pool we go with all of the Kids from Casa! Gotta run, the bus is picking us up in 15 min!

and FYI: The internet is only on from 8am-5pm. I will do my best to post each day, but those hours are quite limiting!

Bienvenidos a Nicaragua!

It’s 6:45 AM and I’m sitting outside at the team center sitting in one of my favorite rocking chairs just taking in Nicaragua. It’s a beautiful morning. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and it makes my heart happy to be here.

OK, so let me tell you about our day yesterday. Our flights were easy and we made it Nicaragua without any trouble. Everyone made it through customs and it was time to get our bags. We slowly but surely started to find most of our 30+ bags, but the bags were starting to slim and we were still missing about 10 bags. I decided it was time to go talk to the baggage claim desk, so I took all 10 of the kids who were missing a bag (only Haley was missing her personal, the rest were donation bags), and as soon as we walked up to the desk the lady said (in English, which was a huge blessing), “You from Norfolk?”. I was relieved at that point and said “YES!”. She proceeded to tell us our bags didn’t make it, but they would be on a flight down later tonight. Wow, problem averted. So our bags are now at the air port and will hopefully be delivered later today.

Well after we sorted the baggage problem out, we loaded up the bus for the 45 min ride to the Orphanage. Most of the team took in the sights and sounds of Nicaragua as we drove. We made it to Casa (the orphanage), ate some much needed lunch, and then it was time. It was time to finally reunite or meet for the first time all of the Casa kids that have become so close to many of our hearts.

The next two hours were just amazing. The students jumped right in saying “hola” to many of the kids they met last year or the kids they were meeting for the first time. There were lots of hugs, high fives, and then the fun began. You should have seen it. The kids were running around, playing soccer, riding bikes, throwing sticks at trees to get some fruit down, everyone just playing together. The funniest thing for me to watch was when the little boys were trying to put cockroach shells down the shirts of Catherine and Alex Garcia. Hilarious to watch unfold. Ultimately the team was great, they didn’t hold back anything. The hang time ended with a group of about 20 of us making friendship bracelets. The kids loved it.

I have to say Day 1 was a huge success and everyone is loving being here.

Our schedule for today is Breakfast at 8, a walking tour of Vera Cruz (the town around the orphanage), a bus tour of historic Managua, lunch, a trip to the pool, dinner, and we will end the day as we do every day sitting in a circle for “porch time”. It is going to be a great day.

I will leave you with this, thoughts shared from Jordan Wray during porch time last night. “When we saw all the kids and some of them remembered who we were, I realized that coming down here and building relationships with these kids is really making a difference.” (not an exact quote, but you get the idea). Lives are being changed this week, doesn’t get much better then this. Thanks for reading and keep us in your prayers today!

Packing it Up

Over the past weeks and months the team has collected donations from their families, friends, neighbors, and schools, and in the past three weeks Spring Branch members have graciously dropped by numerous bags and boxes full of clothes, school supplies, and much more.






Yesterday was the big day, we gathered together as a team and pulled all of this generosity into one room so we could pack it up to Nicaragua with us. We were all in awe when we saw it in the center of the room.We got to work sorting and packing and trying on a few of the more "interesting" donations...



When it was all said and done we had 32 suitcases full to their 50lb max, ready to go to Nicaragua. You may wonder how we are taking 32 bags when there are only 20 of us on the team. I was inspired by Andrew last year. Every time he goes to Nicaragua he takes as little as possible. So this year I decided to do the same, and to make it fun I challenged the team to do try it as well. You can see by the numbers that many of the students also took up this challenge, and now have the freedom to check 2 donation bags! We have an inspiring group of students going this year and I can already tell it's going to be a good, good week.

Our plane takes off from Norfolk at 7:25AM on Monday morning. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel.

Next post, Nicaragua!

six weeks and counting

Dear Family and Friends,

If you have found your way to this blog, you are probably a family member or friend of a student attending this summers Nicaragua Mission Trip! The team is already getting excited for the trip this year, and we have already seen God's blessings in the preparation. So far several students have raised all the support to cover the full cost of their trips plus some extra that we will use in Nicragua, and we have had students put on very successful clothing drives at their school to collect clothes to bring down with us this year!

Well, please keep all 20 of us in your prayers as we continue to prepare for the trip!

More posts to come as the trip gets closer!