Sunday: We started the day out strong with a message from a guest speaker at church! He spoke so boldly and powerfully of what he believes in, and I’m so grateful that we had Raquel to translate for us so we could understand what he was saying!
After lunch, I spent my Sabbath in my hammock, listening to worship music and taking a nap, in the trees behind the church we’re staying in. I woke up just in time find out our squad was going to play volleyball with some of the locals! I’m not much of a volleyball girl, but I still had fun sitting and watching everyone and being the DJ!
When we came home after volleyball, we had squad church! I was super excited because I was helping lead praise and worship, which is kind of out of my comfort zone. We sang “Washed by the Water” by NEEDTOBREATHE, “Holy Spirit” by Francesca Battistelli, “Pieces” by Bethel, and “Battle Belongs” by Phil Wickham. After praise and worship we did a silent prayer, which is basically just sitting in silence and hearing what the Lord has to tell you. Normally I don’t get a whole lot out of doing things like that, but it was a little different that night. I saw a picture of Jesus dancing with me. As someone who is in a constant struggle of feeling unworthy of love, it touched my heart to see that and remember that I have a Father who loves me constantly and will always embrace me.
Monday: We woke up and got ready for breakfast and had the best surprise! The guys in our squad (precious, precious souls they are) got up super early, went out and picked flowers, and made little bouquets for all of us girls for Valentine’s Day! It was such a small gesture, but made us all feel so special and loved!
The mood was brought down around 20 minutes later when Shanin’s taxi came to pick her up. She’d told us a few days prior that she would be leaving the race to go home for injuries that wouldn’t be able to heal if she stayed with us. We all knew it was happening, but it really didn’t stop the hurt when it finally happened.
For ministry, we spent the day cleaning up litter by the sides of the roads in our community, and talking and praying with people we met along the way! While we were out, we met a beautiful girl named April. Her grandmother told us that April doesn’t really want anything to do with God because of an accident with her dad, and because of bullying at school. We loved her from the moment we met her, and invited her to spend the rest of the day with us! She tagged along as we continued to pick up litter, ate lunch and fruit with us, and joined in on our Valentine’s Day activities!
After walking April back home, we had the rest of the evening at the church. I used that time to FaceTime my parents and see how they’re doing at home! After that we ate supper and just spent the evening doing whatever.
Tuesday: ADVENTURE DAY! It’s finally our day off and we were so excited to go explore! We drove 3 hours away to Libya, and took a tour to see La Leona Falls! We hiked and hiked, in and out and up and down over all kinds of terrain and caves, and swam through at least 3 different places until we finally reached a chasm with the most magnificent waterfall I’d ever seen! The powerful waters rushed down like nothing I’d ever been around before. On the hike back, we stopped at a mini falls that shoots you under the water and through a little channel (I use that word very lightly) before you come back up. It quite literally took my breath away.
After eating lunch back at the base, we had to decide what to do next so, naturally, we chose more water! We went to a place off the river with lots of natural swimming holes and places to explore! We jumped off of cliffs and swam until we couldn’t swim anymore. The water, oh the water, it was the bluest water I’d ever encountered! It was just beautiful!
On our way back home we had to make one more pivotal stop at (you guessed it) MCDONALDS! We were so excited to get some nuggies and mcflurries! By the time we got back home we were all BEAT! We crashed and didn’t wake up until the next day.
Wednesday: I woke up extra early today to help make breakfast with Abigail and Pastor.
For ministry, we were thrilled to find out we’d be building a fence for Abuela J! Abuela is the sweetest, sassiest, most entertaining little old lady we’ve ever met, and we all love her so much!
We dug about a dozen holes, all around 2 feet deep. It doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re doing it all by hand, it does in fact take all day.
After ministry, we came back home, and the praise and worship team at church practiced until it was about time to go to bed.
Thursday: For ministry, we finished the fence at Abuela’s. We filled all the holes with fence posts, and nailed barbed wire to it! She was so grateful and we stayed to pray with her before we left to go home.
We went home, cleaned up, had team time, ate supper, then watched a movie!
Friday (today): For ministry today we did ATL (ask the Lord). Our squad leaders, Raquel and Victoria, left to take a much needed couple days off, so we were left to decide what to do for ministry on our own (and with God, of course). We prayed about it and decided to make little cards with verses and pass them out in the community, and do some prayer walking! It was super different than anything else I’d done, so it was a fabulous experience for me! With the leaders gone, we decided what to do for the rest of the day on our own after ministry was finished. We cleaned our area of the church, had team time, and decided on a chill evening. We watched Tangled, and afterwards, called it a night.
So yeah, this is a pretty common week in our lives right now, and I’m so glad to be able to write about it and share with you all!
Prayer Requests:
- That Nicaragua’s borders continue to stay open
- Health for the team, lots of us have not been doing so hot.
- Energy for ministry in the weeks to come
