Day 2: Nutrition Training Part 1
Hello All!!!
We have had an incredibly packed day and I am just getting the chance to post. Tonight's Blog Recap was written by Cape Henry Junior, Ashlyn Kale. She describes our last 24 hours and where God has shown up. Tomorrow will be Part 2 of Nutrition Training. We hope to post tomorrow night as well.
Post your comments and well wishes and I will read them to our students during "Porch Time". Embarrassing comments are encouraged.
Thanks for your prayers and patience :).
Talk to you soon,
Kevin
I wouldn’t say that arriving at the
airport at 4am on little to no sleep knowing we had a full week ahead of us was
easy, but for the next almost 24 hours, the only evidence of any lack of energy
was in the naps we all managed to catch on the plane and bus rides. The
excitement of the people around me was contagious enough to calm my anxiety
about my first trip to Nicaragua. Luckily, contrary to most of my previous
traveling experience, we had no major setbacks getting down here. A four-hour
layover in Miami gave us plenty of time to eat, sleep and enjoy each other’s
company, and lots of us watched movies or TV shows as well as embraced our last
taste of free WIFI on our second plane.
I expected it to take a while for
the new culture to set in, but I guess I forgot that everyone speaks Spanish.
So as you can imagine, customs was interesting, and it didn’t seem like 5 years
of Spanish class was doing me much good. It took some time for our bus to leave
the airport since half of our flannel graph donations ended up in New York, but
we had time to get to know one of our translators, Josiah and play music. Once
we left, we were immediately surrounded by the poverty you always hear about.
Most of the homes here look to be about the size of a bedroom with dirt floors,
broken roofs, things like that. Everything is really close together and
surprisingly Americanized. In fact, our first meal was at a sort of spin on chick-fil-a
called Tip Top where the ORPHANetwork crew treated us to lunch. It was also
surprising to me that nearly all of the adds used American people. Trash and
rundown buildings aside, there is so much beauty in the green, mountainous landscape
and the smiling faces we passed by all the way to Casa Bernabe.
There, we split into cabins, ate a
yummy dinner of fish, rice, plantains, and salad, and had “porch time.” We
sang, talked about the day and planned for the next. We also read Romans 12 and
talked about how America is broken in different ways than Nicaragua is broken.
In a country known for its opportunity, we grow up learning that anything is
possible as long as we work hard. Through this, we learn that we need only rely
on ourselves to find success; that our fate is in our own hands, and many see
faith as simply unnecessary. However, in a country like Nicaragua where success
is not so easy to come by, faith is often all the people have, and so you find
it everywhere. The wealth of America comes in its material value, but Nicaragua
is wealthy in faith.
We woke up this morning well rested
and enthusiastic about finally seeing the kids. We began our day by visiting a
sewing shop that employs single moms to sew shirts and create homemade jewelry
and accessories. Our purchases went directly to the women we met to help pay
for their next meal. Afterwards, a bus took half of our group to Pastor Guillermo’s
church and half to Pastor Alfredo’s church.
It was wonderful to see returning
students be reunited with their friends when they got off the bus, and it gave
me high hopes for the week. We spent the first portion of the afternoon simply getting
to know and (attempting to) talk to the kids. They were all thrilled to play
tag, dance, and be held. We sat with them as they ate lunch or took plates home
to share with their brothers and sisters. I loved that they all treated each
other like family, always willing to give up a seat or share food with each
other.
We took a short break to eat our
lunch and gather our materials before we let the kids back into the church for
lessons on nutrition. We engaged with them with the help of a translator in
skits, games, and coloring activities that we’d been preparing to teach them
about having a balanced diet. Nutritionists explained to us that it is common
for kids to live off of coke-a-cola and candy, simply because it is available,
and when they are older they haven’t learned how to make good food choices. So,
we taught them about the 4 main food groups and showed them how much of each
should be on their plate. It was amazing to see how the many laughs we shared
with the kids about all the Spanish words we didn’t know or mispronounced are
actually part of what bonded us. They were all so respectful, patient, and full
of joy and love the entire time we were there. After spending the day with
them, it was heartbreaking to watch them walk back down the dirt road to their humble
homes.
We are about to head to the
Orphanage next door to sit in on their weekly bible study. I haven’t met these
kids yet and I can’t wait to do so and hear from their leaders. It’s been a
wonderful, humbling first day in Nicaragua and I’ve already learned so much
just by watching the kids interact with each other. I hope with all my heart
that the nutritional information we brought will hold significance in their
futures and that God uses the love in our hearts to build lasting, impactful
relationships in all of our lives.
