Nicaragua 2017

Y’all. I can’t even put to words how much I love Nicaragua and how if I had the chance, I would drop everything and go back right now.

In summer 2017, I went back to Nicaragua to serve with the same people I did the summer before. Here is my thank you letter to supporters of the trip.

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A huge THANK YOU to everyone who took part in this trip. Whether you contributed financially, prayed for the trip or even just asked me about my experience, I am grateful for all of you!

I apologize for anyone who is tired of hearing me rant and share my entire experience in Nicaragua but here I go again... A year later, I was once again blessed enough to go back to my favorite place on earth, Managua, Nicaragua. God is so good and intentional with everything.  While a very different trip than last year, Nicaragua will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Our mission partners in Nicaragua are Open Hearts Ministry, and within that ministry there are three different organizations we work with, Ruby’s Ranch, Casa Havilah/ Robles and Club Esperanza. Ruby’s Ranch is the rural, farming community of Managua and here we run a kids camp with kids from age 3-12. Casa Havilah and Robles are rescue homes in “downtown” Managua with kids 10-15. Finally , Club Esperanza is a pre-school in the dump community. I formed relationships with kids from Ruby’s Ranch and Casa Havilah and it was an indescribable feeling as the kids told me that they remembered me. My love for all the kids is so deep and it’s difficult only being able to see them once a year for three days. The relationships I have with the kids stems from my ability to speak Spanish. All these kids drive me to pursue being fluent one day.

Being a returner, I took more of a silent leadership role this year. I was one of the three graduated seniors. We were not officially “alumni leaders” but we also are not going back to high school in the fall. Being more of a silent leader showed me that next year, I would love to be an alumni leader for the trip.

Besides knowing the ropes this year, I also painfully learned that not everything was going to go my way. On this 10 day trip, I got sick the third day in. And then had to stay back one day which seriously broke my heart. It was the third day at Ruby’s Ranch and it was incredibly hard knowing that I could not say goodbye to the kids. Luckily, other team members were able to tell some of the kids I was sick and they delivered my family picture to the kids (family is a huge part of their culture and the kids love seeing your family members). Despite feeling under the weather, I still loved the trip.

From torrential downpour leading us to build a road, to the kids calling me “May-gan”, to getting baptized again, and experiencing God in new ways and becoming closer to the other students on the team, I loved every moment.

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xoxo,

Megan