{ WEEK ONE }

This week has been absolutely amazing.  It’s been nothing I expected but also so much more than I ever expected.  God is amazing.

From working with Tammy to traveling to the worksite/village with the team to helping at Taellor’s House in all kinds of ways, God’s started showing me just why I’m here.

First, let’s talk about how fun the classrooms are at Taellor’s House.  If I had any doubt that God was calling me to teaching, it would have been gone within a few days.  The teachers here are so fun, and the kids are awesome.  Tae’s House is filled with so much joy all the time.  I absolutely love helping Yassira in her classroom with the 6-12 year olds.  SO MUCH FUN.

But here’s what I’m learning about myself: I love serving people who are already serving.  Maybe it’s because growing up, all the mission trips I went on were to serve missionaries and people already serving, and maybe it’s just because I’ve seen the impact encouragement can have in the past.  Whether it’s because of either of those or not, serving those who are already serving is where God is calling me here in Nicaragua.

One day, Alena and I packed almost 300 bags for Mothers’ Day gifts in a hot room with not air circulation, and it was probably one of my favorite days here this past week.  I loved being able to help the Project H.O.P.E. team and serve in a way that would help them out the most at that time.

This week has been so extremely growing for me; I cannot wait to see all the rest that God does over the next two and a half months.  I started the week with quite a bit of homesick feelings, and those haven’t completely gone away, but it’s getting a whole lot better.  The other interns have really welcomed me in, and it already feels like we’re a family.  They’re seriously a blast.  Denise and Tammy have made me feel so at home here, and I love knowing I have to women that I can go to at any time, and they’ll be there for me.

Wednesday was hard this week.  It was day four (which is apparently a hard day for a lot of people).  My introversion really kicked in that day, so not only was I pretty wore out mentally and socially, I was also really starting to come to terms with the fact that I wasn’t leaving at the end of the week.  That was (and is still, even though the week is over) a really weird feeling.  The other two times I’ve come to Nicaragua, I’ve only been here for a week.  Wednesday was filled with “I promised someone I would get a picture of this before I left,” and “Wow, I can’t believe this week is half over; I’m not ready to go home.”  But those were followed by, “Holy cow, I’m not going home at the end of this week.”  Sometimes, thinking about staying for another two and a half months is super scary and makes me a little nauseous.

Then, other times, I seriously can’t imagine leaving.  I’m loving it down here.  Like, how in the world am I supposed to find leche con cacao when I get back to the states in August?  That milk is my morning (and sometimes afternoon and sometimes night) pick-me-up.  It’s delicious.  Anyways, so much more often than not, I absolutely ignore the fact that I have to leave in two and a half months.  A few nights this week (including tonight), it’s absolutely downpoured here.  On this tin roof that we have, it’s seriously the most beautiful sound (even if it is super loud).  I cannot imagine not having these other interns here with me.  They bring me so much joy; they challenge me to find joy and to have fun, even when I may not want to.  Tonight, they convinced me to run out into the thunderstorm with them and play in the freezing cold rain.  And it was seriously some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time.

Sure, it’s not easy being down here, being away from my family, acclimating to the heat, learning to live in Nicaragua, but it’s seriously one of the best experiences I’ve had so far in my life.  I wouldn’t trade this for the world.  God is doing so many amazing things, and I wish I could tell you all about them, but I don’t think I even understand all that’s going on yet.  Keep praying that many lives would be changed and that He would work in amazing ways.  Pray that He moves in me as well as through me.  I cannot wait to see what all He has in store for the rest of the summer!

¡Hasta la próxima semana!

Nicaragua: DAY ONE

This morning, I woke up in Nicaragua.

I never thought this day would get here.  Even Friday, as I was packing and shopping and running around with Mom to tie up all the lose ends and finish all the things I’d forgotten about, it hadn’t set in that I left the next morning.  Every day leading up to the trip felt like two or three months before the trip started, even if it was only two or three days.  It’s insane how quickly this trip popped up.

I got to Taellor’s House last night, to my new home for the next three months, and the homesickness set in.  It’s weird to be so far away from my family and to know it’s going to be for so long.  On campus, I was always a quick drive away from my family (or a quick walk over to Dad’s office).  Here, I can’t get hugs from my mom or tell Molly goodnight or go visit Dad in his office at work.

But what I’m learning is that that’s okay.  It’s okay to be homesick and to miss my family, and it’s okay to be nervous about the next three months.  It’s what I do with those feelings that matters.  Am I holding on to the worry and the uncomfortableness and helping them build homes in my life, or am I focusing on looking to Jesus and why He brought me here?  Am I letting my negative feelings sit and fester, or am I talking to Jesus about them and finding my peace in Him?

Peace.  That’s a big word for only five letters.  I still have little idea how to define peace, but God’s been teaching me what it’s not.  Peace is not equivalent to joy or comfort.  It has nothing to do with my circumstances or how I’m feeling at any given moment.  Peace is something that comes only from Jesus.  I’m still working on learning just what that something is, but (at least in my opinion) ruling out what it’s not is a pretty darn good start to allowing God to show me what it is.

Anyways, back on my original train of thought.  I was pretty homesick last night.  But as soon as I pulled myself off of my bed and stepped outside, it was as if all was well.  Simply smelling the Nicaraguan air and feeling the Nicaraguan heat took away so much of my homesickness; I can’t really even describe it.  God really is good, calming my fears and worries and doubts in some of the most unexpected ways.  He’s pretty cool.

Today, I visited the homes in the village where Project H.O.P.E. has been building for the first time.  I’d been to this village once before, but I’d never seen the homes or the work and building PJHOPE was doing there.  It was pretty amazing.  Tomorrow, I’ll get to head to the worksite with the team that’s here now and see them in action.  For the first time, I’ll get to see what the majority of the teams who work with PJHOPE do.  I couldn’t be more excited.

In short, today was an amazing first day in Nicaragua.  I cannot wait to see all that God does in the next three months.  Hopefully, they won’t fly by as quickly as I (sadly) know they will.

Also, I didn’t cry at all on the flights yesterday, so that was awesome.

Okay, well, that’s all for now!  ¡Hasta luego!

Freshman Year is OVER

The other day, a friend of mine made the comment that, “Wow, we’ve changed a lot in the past year.”  It does not feel like a year ago that I moved into my dorm room at Missouri State; sometimes, it feels like yesterday, and sometimes it feels like I’ve always been here.  But I have changed a lot.  A lot has happened in the past year.

I’m sitting at my desk one last time as I write this, (again) procrastinating on the online psych homework I know I should be doing (it’s actually sitting next to my computer right now, and I’m still not doing it).  My desk and walls are bare again, just like they were the day I moved in.  All my stuff is packed up in Dad’s truck and on it’s way home, and I’ll be home in just a few hours.  It’s crazy.

Looking back on this year, all I can do is smile and see all the ways God has blessed me.  I spent a lot of last semester in my room, not really leaving much – except to go home every weekend or to watch movies in the living room with my suitemates.  But at the same time, I was finding out that I would be going to Nicaragua this summer.  I remember the exact spot on the Potter’s House front porch where I was sitting when I found out.

Ever since the spring semester started, I’ve been praying for God to bring Jesus-loving friends into my life that I could do life with.  And guess what.  He gave me a desire to spend time with people and actually go out and make some friends.

And I couldn’t be happier.  I seriously have found joy in leaving my room – I know, shocking sometimes.

As this semester and year come to and end, I can’t help but look back on all the things God has done.  He’s brought a second family into my life through dorm community and Bible studies.  {INCOMING COLLEGE FRESHMEN:  Let God lead you to the people who will become your second family.  They are seriously amazing.}  I cannot thank those people enough for all they’ve done for me, even in the last couple months.  They’ve supported and comforted me during the good and the bad times.  They’ve rejoiced with me and cried with me.  God blessed me tremendously when He brought us together as a second family.

I’ve officially dropped my Global Studies major and added the Latin American Studies minor in its place.  I have plans to study abroad in a couple years.  This semester, I’ve gotten involved in Cru on campus, and I couldn’t be more thankful for the friendships God placed in my life through Cru.  In August, I will join Cru leadership, and I cannot wait to see how God uses me to change my campus and other students, just like He used my leaders to change my life.

But first, Nicaragua.  I leave two weeks from tomorrow!  It’s getting so close!  My goal now is to be thankful for the year God just gave me at college and all He did here, but more than that to look to the future as He takes me on my next journey to Nicaragua.  I cannot wait to see how God works in Nicaragua, and I cannot wait to see all that He does when I get back to Missouri State next year.

This year has been amazing, and a TON has happened, but I cannot wait to see all that God has next!

See you in August, second family.  Have a great summer!