Graduation Day & The Waterpark (Hertilandia)
Greetings from Nicaragua! We are doing great and have had a great week so far. Today's blog was written by Collan Hilfiger, a Junior at First Colonial. I hope you enjoy!
The second
and final day of nutritional training had come to an end, but our day had not.
We all unloaded off of the buses in a hurry to get everything completed. Together, we gathered at the tables to fill
out nearly 100 graduation certificates and make congratulation cards for each
of the 8-14 year olds involved in the training. While some of the group was
tearing off colorful pieces of paper, some were folding and decorating, and
most were writing one of the four phrases that our translator, Baker, had
written for us, I loved seeing the way we could all work together. Although
a few people from the team go to school together and know each other from
church, there are a handful of people that came into this trip knowing one or
two people, me being one of them. God
brought us here to work together and build new relationships as a group and
that is exactly what is happening.
Even though
we had yet to finish the cards for all of the sweet and loving children, dinner
was being served. We all stood up and
gathered around the table as Cat, one of our leaders, led us in prayer. After
we thanked God for the food he was giving us and everyone around us, we grabbed
our water bottles and a spot in the dinner line. As I got closer and closer to receiving my
plate, I couldn’t bare the smell of the stringing spaghetti and chunky meat
sauce anymore. I’m sure it wasn’t just
my favorite meal while being here in this beautiful country of Nicaragua.
Everyone
slowly finished their dinner and brought their plates back up to the kitchen
window where girls who stay at Casa Bernabe clean and organize dishes for our
next meal. Once again, we headed back
over to the pavilion where we had shared bible study the night before to share
some Worship with some of the children at Casa. The walk over on the dirt trail
was short but it made me realize that we take simple things like concrete for
granted. The only concrete here in Nicaragua are the main streets people drive
on, everything else is dirt and dust. It
made me think of what Kevin and Eddie had talked to us about the night
before. That none of this was in God’s
plan. He didn’t mean or want for any of
this poverty to happen, but he does make a plan for us to end it. We need to make a change and a mark on this
world by ending this terrible poverty.
Marisol,
one of the orphanage leaders opened us in prayer for the night right before
five of the teenage Casa girls shared a dance they choreographed. After, Kevin, with a translator, explained
that we were going to share our way of worshipping the Lord with them. We all stood and began with three Spanish
songs and finished with three English songs.
I looked around to see everyone clapping, dancing, jumping around, and
having fun. Leslie prayed for our worship time and Kevin started demonstrating
a very strong message. He brought out an
empty jug, a filled jug, and a water bottle.
He shared stories with us and told us about how he found God and began
his relationship with the Lord. The
empty jug represented us without God.
There’s absolutely nothing in it because we are nothing without God. You
can continue to try to be filled up by it, but it was never meant to fulfill
you. You will always have an empty
feeling, a feeling of incompleteness without the Lord. He fills that empty
space with his love, the empty jug with clean water. Once you accept God into
your life, you start to feel complete, that your jug is full.
Kevin
finished with his wonderful presentation; we all jumped out of our seats, and
rushed to the back to take pictures, dance, and just hangout with the kids of
Casa Bernabe. We were given cinnamon
rolls and soda right before we headed back to the team center. Again, we all gathered in a circle to sum up
our day and prepare for the next, and of course for some more of my favorite,
“Remember that time in Nicaragua when…” (It’s a Nicaragua tradition)
Waking up
at 7:00 on a summer morning seems impossible, but here, it’s like I never want
to go to sleep. I grabbed a bowl of
cereal just like everyone else and sat down to enjoy my fruit loops. I quickly ran back into my room with
excitement to get ready for the day along with the five other girls in my room.
It was waterpark day!!!! I had heard so many different stories about this
amazing water park and all of the fun I was going to have. I walked on the old
white bus and grabbed the third seat right next to the window. I was ready to head out and start the day
with the kids from both churches.
I was on
the bus to Pastor Alfredo’s church, the church I had been at for both nutritional
training days. I took advantage of the
quiet bus ride to go over some of the bible verses Kevin talked about the night
before. I knew that this was one of the few times I would get the chance to
since I had a full day ahead of me. I
looked out the window and I remembered my surroundings, I knew we were near the
church. Then I heard this ear piercing
screaming coming from the bus beside us.
It was the kids from Alfredo’s Church who were supposed to be waiting at
the church for the graduation ceremony!! There was a little miscommunication
about where we were meeting but once Leslie and Josiah had everything sorted out
with the bus driver, we drove to the church, ran off the bus, and made their
ceremony quick but memorable.
I sat in
the third row of excited children, with one of the many precious girls I met on
my lap, and two other girls holding each of my hands. Josiah called each of the
boys and girls names out while Cat and Hayden handed them their certificates.
After they grabbed their certificates, they headed over to Leslie, where she
snapped a picture of their smiling faces.
It took about twenty minutes for us to go through about fifty kids and
celebrate each and everyone of them graduating Nutritional Training. But when we finally finished, we all headed
out holding hands and jumped on either of the two buses. I could definitely vote our bus the loudest
with all of the screaming excited kids jumping, dancing, and banging on the
sides of the bus. The music was blasting and I didn’t see one kid sitting
down. The three buses all pulled in at
Hertilandia. I don’t think I’ve every seen any child more excited or appreciative
than I did when we put the pink wristbands on each of their tiny wrists. Those children ran to that pool faster than I
ran last night when one of the Casa boys threw a cicada at me. (I ran faster
than I ever have)
We played
and played and played some more, then we saw the water slides. A little boy
came up to me and asked me if I would please take him on them. Of course we started walking up the stairs
and five little girls ran up and begged for me to take them too. On the way up
they were all talking to me asking if I could swim? Of course I could swim I thought. And then I
understood why they continued to ask me, none of them could. I knew ten years of swim team would pay off
some how. We all tumbled down the slide
together and each of them gripped my arms to where it hurt. We splashed into
the deep end. It was about 4.5 feet, so most of the girls could touch but the
little boy, Issaias, and one of the 9 year olds, Roxana grabbed onto my back
until we got out of the water. I went
down the slides at least 15 times until they called us for lunch.
Each of us
enjoyed two pieces of doughy pizza and an ice-cold soda. When they called for extra pizza, the
12-year-old girl, Francesca, that I had been with grabbed two pieces and
wrapped them up in plastic wrap. I asked
her why and she said one was for her sister and one for her mom who were unable
to attend the trip. My heart melted at her act of selflessness. Just two hours later and we all said our
goodbyes to not only the water park, but also the children from Pastor
Alfredo’s church as well since it was our last time seeing them. Saying goodbye
is definitely a weakness of mine but I always remember my sister telling me,
“Its never goodbye, it’s always I’ll see you later.”
Three days
with these children and I’ve made bonds and relationships that I will cherish
for the rest of my life. I feel as if
I’ve known each and everyone of those children from Pastor Alfredo’s church
since they were born. As I saw their hands
wave as their bus drove off, I got the chills. The love each of those kids has
for each other and us is incredible. And the fact that I was able to be apart
of their lives for even a short period of time gave me a feeling of purpose of
what I am doing here in Nicaragua. God
has put me here for a reason; it’s a part of his plan to end poverty. You are
where you are for a reason; it’s all a part of God’s plan for you. I pray that
God continues to guide me throughout my life and I cannot wait to see what he
has in store for me.
