Sunday

Dressed up ready to go to church!

The potter and his wife

Sunday has been such a blessing here in Nicaragua.  We first experienced the worship service at Hosanna Church – Masaya this morning, followed by lunch and a time of fellowship at the church.  We then traveled to a town called St. John of the East and went to a potter’s house.  80% of the town makes pottery for a living, and the one that we went to see loves the Lord dearly and shares about how each step of his pottery making process corresponds to Jesus’ illustration of he as the potter and we as the clay.

George at the wheel

After getting a chance to try out the potter’s wheel, the kids were able to buy some of his pottery.  Then we headed back to the base, where we are having a fairly free night to catch up with life and get ready for all that’s coming in the week ahead!

Excursion Day!

Ready to head to the zip line!

Yesterday was full of fun for the team as the kids were able to get out and have some adventures, while getting to see another side of Nicaraguan culture!  The day started with the kids being able to sleep in a little bit before breakfast, then heading to either the zip line canopy tour or the volcano hike.  Following those, we got a little bit of a break, followed by lunch.  Then, we headed out for an afternoon/evening in town.

Adventures!

In town, we first stopped at the Microfinance house in Nindiri, where the kids were able to do some souvenir shopping that would support the ladies in the Microfinance site who make arts and crafts to support their families.  Then, we drove to Fort Coyotepe, where a guide led the team through the different underground levels of the fort, sharing about the darkest time in Nicaragua’s history under Samosa’s reign.

Learning about Fort Coyotepe

We ended the night having a lot of fun shopping in the Artisan Market, having dinner in town, then walking around the center of town and getting ice cream.  The kids had a great day, making many memories and experiencing many new things!

Taylor going upside down

Quick Note:  One of the SI staff has been taking some pictures throughout the week of the different sites and has been posting some of them on the SI Nicaragua Facebook page as well as the SI Nicaragua Instagram (si_nicaragua).

From a watchtower of the fort

Education Site Update!

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"The education site in Nicaragua is amazing because of our leader, Elianor.  She is so loved by everyone in the community, and she genuinely cares about everyone as well.  She goes above and beyond to meet the needs of every single child in the community.  She is a great role model for young kids because she radiates the love of Jesus.  All of us in her site are really going to miss her when we leave.

So far we have been working alongside Elianor by making home visits and helping out at the school.  On Thursday, we hosted a Mothers’ Day celebration for the children’s mothers of Valle De Volcan and Cocal.  All four of us have already built up great relationships with a lot of the kids, such as William, Carla, Camilla, Rosa, Roxanna, Derek, and Dani.  Our Spanish has improved as well as our knowledge about their culture.  We can’t wait to work more this next week, and we are going to be very sad to leave."

~Kelly, Kensy, Arianna, and Katie

First Full Day in the Sites

Sorry for not updating yesterday!  It was a very full day, and all of us were trying to get to bed early to make up from the late arrival on Monday night.  Yesterday, the SI staff gave us an orientation in the morning, the kids met their site leaders, and we were able to go to our sites for the first time in the afternoon.  Then, last night, a couple of the national SI staff led the kids in “Culture Night,” where they introduced the team to marimba dancing and many of the local foods (especially many different fruits and candies).  The kids enjoyed trying all the new things and learning more about Nicaraguan culture!

Today, the kids were able to have their first full day in the sites and returned with stories of what they’re seeing, what they’re doing, and the people they’re meeting!  Even though they came back hot and tired, many of them loved jumping in the pool and cooling down, then talking and hanging out before dinner, where we also had fun celebrating Peter’s birthday with chocolate cake. We just finished team time, where we were able to hear more in depth how everyone is doing and some of the cool things that God is showing them; and the kids are doing really well!  We will be featuring each of the individual sites at some point over the next week and a half, where you will be able to hear and see more of the particulars.  Please keep us in your prayers!  God bless!

We're here! Safe and sound!

The team has officially made it to Nicaragua! After landing in Managua and getting ALL the luggage through (praise the Lord!), we loaded up into vans and trucks and drove to the SI base in Masaya. 

The kids are all tired, and it's been a long day. However, we're so thankful to be off the plane and to be able to sleep in a little tomorrow before having orientation and getting to visit our sites for the first time! We would appreciate your prayers that we would all be able to get a good night's rest and be refreshed for tomorrow!

Team Nicaragua: Countdown to Departure

Thank you to all of our supporters! The time has finally come for us to take off on our mission trip to Nicargua! We have officially made it through security at LAX with all of the suitcases, which was a huge blessing! We only lost one jar of Nutella, so not too bad!

The kids are chilling at the gate or grabbing food and water before we take off at 2:15. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel as well as over the next two weeks as we strive to glorify the Lord by serving the people of Nicaragua! We will try to let you know (internet permitting) when we make it in to Nicaragua tonight. Then, we will update as we are able as to how the trip is going!

Here we go!!