Nicaragua by Mary

I don’t think I’ve ever been changed so much by a trip.  How to explain it?  It was fun, life-changing, eye-opening, heart-breaking, sweaty, exhausting, and I think we all got on everyone’s nerves at least a little.  Even though I came here and the first thought was, “When are we going home?”  Now that there’s less than one day left I can’t help but think, “Are we coming back next year?”  My entire life view has been profoundly changed by this whole experience; I mean I just spent a  whole week sleeping on the thinnest mattress I’ve ever seen, in a building with no air conditioning, after working in the heat and dust (needless to say, my clothes are going through a hard cleaning as soon as I get home).  Maybe next time I won’t complain about the air-conditioning not working in my car and I’ll stop to think about people who never really get a respite from the heat and they don’t complain about it.

I’ve also been struck by how happy people are here.  We visited the city dump of Managua and worked with children there coloring and playing in the water.  Even though they’re living in a dump in the second poorest country in the hemisphere, they are still as happy as anyone I’ve met in America, if not more.  Particularly the children, oh don’t get me started on the children.  It’s impossible not to fall in love with them.  I wanted to take them all home with me after playing with them; just the way their faces light up when you play with them, and the way they smile at you, it’s heart-wrenching in a very good way.

So, in retrospect, I had the best time I’ve had in years here.  I can’t wait to come back again.

Nicaragua by Jordan

Hello lovely followers,

Our trip has been a very life changing opportunity for most of us. Today we continued to make wonderful cement blocks for the soon to be pathway to the Jubilee House. I think many of us have a new respect for construction workers; I know I do. I have found myself many times pondering the conversations and observations of these wonderful Nicaraguans only to come to a conclusion that many of their points of view, I agree in. The second part of our day was filled with more cement making (luckily not blocks) for a sidewalk. It was very encouraging to make this sidewalk because it was the entrance to Nueva Vida’s clinic. I think most of the Wesley group has learned that cement making is not easy!!!!!!!!!!!! As we worked we also experienced the poverty around us including children with no clothing, no toys, and no food. It hits your heart when you know you eat three meals a day while an average child in Nicaragua may only have one meal. I have had a wonderful week and I think that most of the group has reached outside of their comfort zone. One main point I want to take from this trip is this; though these people have nothing and some of them literatally have houses built of trash, they take care of each other. Many Nicaraguans have mentioned that it surprises them that the richest country in the world could let so many people be homeless. Though it saddens the heart to see the conditions that these people live in, most of them are happy! Nicaragua has truly reached in my heart and made me realize that no materialistic lifestyle HAS to be the pathway to happiness. I have seen everything from kids filling dirty water into a hole at the dump and swimming in it, to naked children running around and playing. But every child enjoys waving and smiling and it brings a new sense of joy and respect in my heart. I hope that everyone who reads this can take a step back and think about this blog.  I don’t think complaining about air conditioning in my car not working will cross my mind after I have been on a hot bus all week for transportation. I won’t complain about washing clothes in a washing machine because here, they scrub them on a washboard and hang them to dry. With all the worries in the world, mine are little to the ones that these people face everyday. Keep us in your prayers as we head back to the States tomorrow.

Love and peace to you all -

Jordan