AACS Nicaragua Trip 2017

Today I made many friends. I woke up fairly grumpy because I hadn’t slept too well and my lotion had exploded and my suitcase was wet and the bathrooms weren’t quite what I wanted. But then the pastor who spoke to us this morning reminded me why I love this so much. Later in the day we went and did home visits which was quite the experience considering the vehicle and the roads and the soccer goals hanging off the back of the tiny pickup. But we reached our first destination and left the goals in the church and in there we met with the first family and immediately I began translating despite the fact that we had a translator standing a few feet away from me. From that point on I was translating for the rest of the day, not by necessity but because of the pure joy that it brought me and it made me feel at home. The father from the first house and one of the 9 year old girls walked us to the second house. On the walk down we talked to these two becoming friends and when we arrived at th

Today’s experiences were incredible (to say the least). One thing that stood out during our home visits was how hopeful and thankful these families were. Both families I met with were persistent that our Lord has a plan for their life and that they relied fully on Him. One lady in particular was single with 6 children; she was out of work and she poured out the joy of Christ in her words. It was inspiring to see how much she loved the Lord. These ladies were strong women of the Lord and it was inspiring. 

The first full day of camp is officially done, and I could not be more proud and full of joy. Today I met a sweet old women who we believe is over 97 years old. We are not sure of her exact age because she does not know how to read or write. Even with her age, her mind was sharp. She was able to recite Psalm 91 to us by memory because someone had cared enough in the past to help her memorize it. Every time she said a word, she would look at all of us. She looked us straight in the eye. In her eyes I saw more joy then I could imagine. Though she was an old frail woman, she was full of joy and compassion that I had never seen before. God was truly able to bless me and show me how He can work in so many ways in so many different situations.