A trip to Leon and Rocking Out till our Arms Fall Asleep

(first bathroom stop, just a little sketchy) Today our team was given the opportunity to visit and love children at a feeding center in the North, up near the city of Leon. We left bright and early this morning at 7am, with the expectation of a 2.5 hour bus ride to the church that hosted the feeding center. However, we did not account for traffic (yes, there are enough cars/busses/trucks in Nicaragua for there to be traffic) AND the fact that when a team of 60 travel together, bathroom breaks can take a while. So our 2.5 hour trip quickly turned into a 4 hour trip.

(at the church/feeding center) Unfortunately due to our schedule, this only gave us a little over an hour to spend at the church/feeding center in Leon. However, rolling up in our busses to over 300 kids and the pastor welcoming us from a microphone and LOUD speakers, made the trip completely worth it. For that hour our team ROCKED HARD and taught songs, shared a bible story, and brought four piñatas for the kids. We also as a team brought 40 pounds of chicken to add to the kids meal for the day. Currently this is one of the newest feeding Centers ORPHANetwork partners with, and right now they don’t have enough funding to supplement the rice meals with chicken and vegetables (like they do at the feeding center we have been at all week). So as a gift to the church today we brought chicken and vegetables! Some of the girls on our team (Baily and Vicky) helped the cooks dice up the vegetables and were given the opportunity to cut off the chickens head! They both respectfully kept to the chicken, however they shared that it was quite an experience! Needless to say, it was a long day of travel, but it was totally worth it. I never once heard a student complain about the seven hours on the bus for just one hour with the kids. That’s when you know you’re in a good place.

(las pinatas) We ended our day worshiping with the kids from the Orphanage. And even after the long day of travel we definitely didn’t let that keep us from rocking out. The coordinator at the orphanage has pulled together a band to lead worship and our team was dancing and worshiping with the kids like you wouldn’t believe. Jumping, singing, dancing, laughing, smiling, and all while worship our king with beautiful Nicaraguan children. It was a piece of heaven on earth. During the amazing chaos, a sweet four year old boy named Taylor fell asleep in Raegan’s arms. He slept through the entire program. So to end our day, I walked over to the orphanage with Raegan as she carried Taylor all the way to his bed. Her arms fell asleep, but she wasn’t going to let anything stop her from loving this sweet boy. Our team has been absolutely amazing the whole trip, parents…be proud. Well, it’s time to call lights out. Buenos Noche from Nicaragua, Natalie.

(Raegan and Taylor)

Sorry for the Delay...Thoughts from Drew

Hello faithful blog readers! So sorry for the missed post yesterday, we had one ready for you but when I went to upload it, internet had been turned off for the day. Sometimes Nicaragua throws a curve ball at you and you just run with it...so for day you get two posts! First I'll share thoughts from a senior on our trip, Drew Teora-Sexton. She wrote this for you from yesterday... Hello everyone from Nicaragua! As a senior member of the team, this is my third trip to Nicaragua and I am always amazed at how my life is changed each year. There is never enough time to spend with the children, never enough time to reflect on everything we see, and never a moment I feel at a loss of emotion or awe. Today, both the Spring Branch and Trinity teams took a tour around the capital building of Managua, learning all about the history of Nicaragua, from its humble beginnings until now. Coming straight from someone who has lived and breathed Nicaragua their entire life, the passion and pride emoted from his speech gave me an insight on the country I had never had before. After our tour, we headed straight to Nueva Vida, to have our last feeding day and final VBS. Our theme for the day was “No matter what happens in life, you can trust God.” This simple phrase went along with the story of Jesus’ resurrection, the most important story ever told to these children, or anyone for that matter. Today was an important day. As we arrived at the Guillermo’s church, I couldn’t help but feeling a layer of sadness over my heart. The three girls I had come to know and love over the past two years, Karen, Maria, and Naxta, had moved from the small village we would be serving and I was informed that they would not be attending the VBS today. As I walked out of the bus, I was attacked by three small children and nearly brought to the ground. It was the girls! The pastor of the church informed me that the girls had walked from their new home, many towns away, just to see me that day. In that moment, I was struck by God’s grace and love. It was these girls who had made me who I am today and I was beyond thrilled that I could teach them the most important story the world has ever heard. After a long day of skits, new songs, feeding hungry children, and dancing inside of Guillermo’s small church, our team spent about 20 minutes praying for the kids, Guillermo and his church, and the community of Neuva Vida. We all took time to pray for the kids who had touched our hearts the most and reflect on what opportunities the week had presented to us. As I walked down the road to the bus, my three girls trailing close behind, I realized how blessed I was to even have had the chance to know the children of Nicaragua. For us in America, the world is at our fingertips. When we come down here, even for just a week, I feel as though we get the chance to give the world back to those kids. I know that three years won’t be enough for me. If I can, I have to do more for them. Andrew Farthing challenged me on my first trip to use the tension we feel in Nicaragua for the greater good. I will do my best to do just that…for Maria and her sisters, for Guillermo and his church, and for the beautiful country of Nicaragua, who will forever have my heart. Until tomorrow, Drew Teora-Sexton

Hola from Karson

Hello Blog Followers! Thank you for your sweet comments, thoughts and prayers! Keep the comments coming! We love to embarrass your kids with your sweet words. Well today our post is from a Rising Senior Boy on our team named Karson Kopecky! Enjoy his thoughts on our day...

(The Whole Team at the Top of Tiscapa today!) Hola amigos! Day two in Nicaragua was a blessing for all of us. When we woke up the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the bugs were buzzing. After enjoying a wonderful breakfast we boarded the bus and set off for Tiscapa, a national park looking over Nicaragua. There we learned about the Nicaraguan hero, Sandino, who to this day stands as a symbol of hope for the people of Nicaragua. Once we completed our tour of Tiscapa we headed for the feeding center where we were greeted by only a few children since most of them were still in school and wouldn’t get out until 12:30 PM. Once 12:30 came around though, a smile became permanently engraved on my face. The sight of 100 kids playing and laughing and running around was just simply awesome.

(Catherine Hauser reunited with her girl from last year and her 8 month old baby brother) Last year I bonded specifically with a 10-year-old boy named Dixón. He was always smiling and was a very nice kid. Yesterday I did not see him though because he was at school. Today when I got there I was looking for him but he was nowhere to be seen. I was disappointed but I was still hoping he would show up later in the day. As more kids started showing up with their bowls and cups in hand we started getting ready to serve them lunch. I was in the kitchen waiting in line to get the food for the kids and as I was about to pick up a tray of plates I turned around and in front of me stood a young boy with a huge smile on his face staring back at me. It was Dixón! I ran up to him and he gave me a big hug. I was ecstatic that he remembered who I was. For the rest of the day he was glued to me. We laughed and played with each other for the rest of the time we were there. He even taught me some Spanish and I taught him to say some things in English. At the end of the day we said our goodbyes and as we drove off he ran after the bus waving and smiling.

(cruising Nicargua style) Last night an enthusiastic man named Eddie talked to us. He’s on staff with ORPHANetwork. In his talk he stressed the point that we can’t change 3 million lives at a time, but we can change one life at a time. And that is exactly what we are here to do. Each child we hug, each child we feed, and each child we put on our shoulders and run around with, we are hoping and trying our hardest to help change their life. That is our goal. One meal at a time, one child at a time, and one life at a time, we hope to change for the better. With much love from Nicaragua, Karson

Andrew challenging the team to "Rock Out" at our first porch time! Hola from Nicaragua! We have arrived and had an amazing first day in country. Last night at our first porch time (the time where we sit around and discuss our day) Andrew challenged the team to “Rock Out” this year, just like you would “Rock Out” at a concert. Well our team sure did “Rock Out” today. We spent our first day at the feeding center in the community of Nueva Vida (meaning New Life). We got there early so we had time to hear the history of the church, and then walk around in the community for a bit. It really helped the team immerse into the community we were serving. On our walk kids started coming out of the woodwork and joined the party. By the time we made it back to the church we had at least 20 kids and a parrot with us!

Brittany, her new friend, and the Parrot! Shortly after we returned we started the feeding center and fed about 100 kids and then did our first Vacation Bible School with them. Today we taught the kids that no matter who they are…they can trust God! We made masks for the kids to represent themselves, it was a huge hit! My favorite part of our 5 hours in Nueva Vida today was the free time in between the feeding center and the VBS. At one point almost every boy on the team and a few girls had a kid either on their shoulders or on their back…and then they proceeded to dance and run races for a good hour. Everyone was dripping in sweat, covered in dirt, and truly “Rocking Out” Nicaragua Style.

"Rocking Out" Well now it’s my favorite time of the day, right at dusk, back at the Orphanage. As I look out over the place I see our team playing soccer, looking for mangos, running around chasing kids, and just having a great time loving on kids. We thank you again for your love and support for our team, we are truly experiencing God’s grace in our trip and have already been challenged! Till next time…Adios from Nicaragua!

Nicaragua 2012

We are just 39 hours away from our 2012 Nicaragua Trip. To give you some numbers this year we are taking 30 high school students (our biggest trip to date) and 4 leaders from Spring Branch. We just finished packing all of the donations and as a team we donated 161 spiral notebooks, 139 combs/brushes, 73 boxes of toothpaste, 50 pre-school bibles, 32 sticks of deodorant, 22 backpacks, countless articles of clothing, and so much more. BUT our focus this year is not on those numbers. Our focus this year is on just ONE. As a team we read a book titled "Kisses from Katie" by Katie Davis. The first paragraph of the book has really set the tone for our trip to focus on just ONE in Nicaragua. Take a read... "People who really want to make a difference in the world usually do it, in one way or another. And I've noticed something about people who make a difference in the world. They hold the unshakeable conviction that individuals are extremely important, that every life matters. They get excited over one smile. they are willing to feed one stomach, educate one mind, and treat one wound. They aren't determined to revolutionize the world all at once; they're satisfied with small changes. Over time, though the small changes add up. Sometimes they even transform cities and nations, and yes, the world." So as we prepare for our trip in these remaining hours and as we spend a week in Nicaragua, please pray that we are focused on the one. The one child we hold, the one hug we give, the one mouth we feed. Pray that we would find the significance in the ONE. Thank you in advance for all of your love and support for our team. We look forward to sharing our stories with you! Sincerely, Natalie Farthing - 2012 Trip Leader