12/11/10 Boarding in One Hour: TO NICARAGUA WE GO!!!!

So, here we are! One year in the making, one group in the planning. One team, one mission, one heart…on a mission. The preparation for this trip seemed endless: shots, passports, paperwork, fundraising, meetings, packing, planning…and did I say planning? Kaley Campbell, our 21 year old team leader, came to Nicaragua a few years ago, fell in love, and yearned to return. Kind of like I yearn for Guatemala. But I never planned a second trip. I guess I was all talk, on a mission “high,” so to speak. But not Kaley. For 4 years her heart has longed for the children at Hogar Belen. For 4 years Jesus pulled on her heart strings asking her to return to His people. But she couldn’t go alone. So we said, “we will go with you!” 12 of us. No pastor. No church. No tour guide. Just 12 friends that are in LOVE with Jesus and are consequently captivated by the beauty of His people. Every tribe. Every nation. I pray whole heartedly for a heart like Kaley’s, for a heart like Jesus. I want to be so filled with passion for a people that I would stop at nothing until I can be with them again. Loving on them. I want to see what He sees, hear what He hears, and feel what He feels to the best of my tiny human ability. The more I think about it, the cooler the idea of this trip is! 12 friends all with a similar heart for the Lord, going to a foreign country to help build up an orphanage for mentally and physically handicapped children. Children that will most likely never be adopted. HOW WILD! While every other college kid is vegging out in front of their TVs or getting sucked into facebook, straightening their hair before a big party, or getting cozy with their family by the Christmas tree- we are going to be in a place with no running water, minimal electricity, who have never heard of facebook because they have no access to it and are slaving away at their family trade to make ends meet (and not MEAT because chicken is way too expensive for them). They will never be able to get cozy with their family because they don’t have one. I pray the Lord will keep me humble through this. Lord, don’t allow me to think I am high and mighty through all this because only YOU are the Lord most high and only YOU are mighty to save. Strike down our pride when we think the toothbrushes we bring them is from our hands when only YOUR hands are fully capable of true healing and YOU are Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord that provides. Instead, I pray that I realize the importance of my hands moving so you can work them, my mouth moving that you would speak to them, my feet moving that you would guide them on their journey to their promised land. Their milk and honey. They deserve it too.


SO, our group question is: How do you respond in the face of tragedy? This is what I feel like the Lord is telling us this before our journey begins: Have compassion, but not pity. Look them in the eye. Provide for them everything you are possibly capable of, and realize that You Can’t Save the World. But God can. And He will. He provides for His people by the second, in ways we will never be able to see or comprehend. We have to remember that, or else, our hearts will never be healed from this heartbreak. Trust that all this is true, and REJOICE that one day every tribe, every tongue, every nation will sing HALLELUJAH! Who knows, maybe you, reader, will meet these beautiful kids one day. Oh, that special…special day.
I’M SO READY FOR THIS ADVENTURE!!!

12/12/10 We are here!!!

The trip went great! Our flight left ahead of schedule, I think, but we didn’t get here any earlier. Weird, I know. In the airport we got to take a picture with a tan Santa in the U.S. and we met a team of 4 girls who are going to Leon, Nicaragua and helping out the community there. THEY are brave. Four beautiful, young, Hispanic girls from Florida International University with a similar heart and a similar story as us. God, please protect them and bless their journey as much as you have blessed ours. And then some. Amen.

Nicaragua is beautiful!!! I’m sitting on the back balcony. Yes, I said balcony. Much to our surprise, we have our own 2 story mission house JUST for the missionaries who come to help the orphanage! I am officially a missionary! My dream come true! There is electricity and the cottage is way more modern than I would’ve ever imagined. The showers and sinks only drip water, so I am glad I came prepared with lots of wipes and wisps (toothbrushes that don’t need water)! We have beds and sheets and fans if we get hot (but last night it was freezing!). We are staying at the new orphanage for the older kids, not at the one Kaley stayed at when she came here before. We are actually really really fortunate. So far, so great!

On the car ride to Diriamba last night, I saw WAY more things right off the bat than I was prepared for. It was dark so I couldn’t see much, but what I did see was tragic. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, next to Haiti. And not much better. I can definitely see why. Merchants were selling their products out of literal torn down shacks. Small shoeless girls would beg us for money as soon as we got off the plane. Later, Julia, the administrator of Hogar Belen, told us that they were going to take the money we gave them and give it to their pimps; the money wasn’t for them. Apparently this is really common in Nicaragua. Slumdog Millionaire to the Max. It’s going to take me a little while to get over this. But in the meantime, we are going to church, so I have to go!

We went to a Catholic mass in Spanish that reminded me of the Spanish old school Lutheran church I used to go to. The songs were really similar, the kneeling was similar and the even the priest looked similar!! There was incense and the priest didn’t know we wanted to go up there for a blessing, not the communion. The priest tried shoving communion into Hillary’s mouth, but all we wanted was a blessing. So we crossed our hands across our chest, bowed, and walked away shamefully. Embarrassing! Haha. After mass we put minutes on the Go phone so we could call Will’s mom so she could email all of our parents in the states and let them know we got there safely. Afterward, we played in a 500 year old park, or was it 150 years old? Something was definitely lost in translation! I need to work on my Spanish because when Julia isn’t around to translate for us, Sabrina always has to be front and center and ready to translate… No pressure.

My biggest dream is to be in a foreign country where they play music in the streets. Guess what was happening when we got back to orphanage??? MUSICA EN LA CALLE!! For those that didn’t catch on: they were playing music in the streets!! A dream come true! Music, dancing, yard sale, blistering heat, and sweat dripping down my back, PERFECT!

We met the kids for the first time tonight. It was really hard, I’m not even going to lie. I liked them, but what is love at first sight? Hardly. Some drooled, some peed on themselves…and on you. Some vomited on you, unintentionally of course, and some BIT to show affection. Not something you fall in love with right away, but I pray that the Lord captivates my heart and that my perception of beauty, love and cleanliness would become completely changed. We will see tomorrow. It’s the first day on the job and we will be painting the administrative office!

12/13/10-12/14/10 Monday and Tuesday

It is SUCH a beautiful morning! The hottest it has been is in the mid to low 80’s for 2 hours max. Then it is beautiful and breezy morning and night. The birds sound as if they are literally singing. Such a sweet sweet mystery our Lord has created. They sing because of Him and to Him. No two species the same, whether in song or appearance. It’s kind of like us. No two species alike whether in song or appearance. Similar, yes. But there are distinct features and qualities about each one of us. Sort of like our Social Security Number, each different by at LEAST one number. Only, much more interesting than a number: physically intriguing and spiritually captivating.

It is Tuesday and I have not written since Sunday! There is so much going on around me that it makes it nearly impossible to try and stop and write everything down! So while I am waiting for day two of painting to begin, I will try my best to fill you in.


Monday was day ONE of labor. Other missionaries before us have constructed a beautiful administrative building for the workers here. A two story building with offices, beautiful staircase, conference rooms, kitchenette , physical therapy room, and even a clinic! The people at Mustardseed and Hogar Belen are thinking long term. Within a few years it will be up and running and they’re going to need a doctor and a nurse. I’m making connections already! I am not totally sure if this is where I’m supposed to be in the future, but we will see. Anyway, it is our job to paint it (inside and out).

We got the whole inside painted in one day, and even started on the second coat! We will finish coat two on Tuesday. Painting was so fun! We sang songs, told jokes, and bonded over monotonous, yet…ever so meaningful manual labor. The paint was much thinner and way more liquid than we are used to in America. The brushes are cheaply made and there was not enough newspaper to put down on the floor. We have to be extra careful and skillfully paint with super liquidy paint without it dripping all over the floor. Tough…but manageable. You take tiny things that that for granted every day. Please allow me to go off on a tangent for a minute…
We take A LOT of things for granted every second of our lives!

Let me give you some more insider on the orphanage here.
-we cannot put toilet paper in the toilets because they use the septic tank.
-only flush every three uses because there is not enough water to go around.
-showers were military style (wet yourself, turn off water, lather up, rinse off, done)
-no hot water, EVER. (even for washing dishes)
-what’s a dishwasher?
-water must come from a huge jug at the front of the orphanage
-drinking water is delivered weekly. If you run out, you run out.
-if you are a missionary without a wisp for a toothbrush, your drinking water becomes your rinsing water.
-tortillas are made fresh
-clothes are washed by hand
-chickens go from friends…to food.
-a guy cuts the grass with a machete
-what’s a lawnmower?
- they grow all their own food
-no windows, only slits so breezes can come through.
-what’s an air conditioner?
-alarm system= three wild dogs
-scaffolding for painting= homemade ladder made out of wood.

These are only SOME of the things that are economically different from us!

3:00pm reflection with the workers and kids from Hogar Belen:

Everyone comes together to sing songs, praise the Lord, and read His word. My favorite sound: clapping hands to joyous melodies, both kids and workers alike. No matter how “disabled” they are, they know exactly who their Lord is and what it feels like to praise Him. Some might argue that “they” are simply responding to the music and they are enjoying it because that is what most kids do. Except the fact that “they,” the kids, were singing their songs of praise. Some looking to the sky, and some touching their hearts. Some bowing their heads and some closing their eyes. It was not merely a game of “monkey see monkey do,” they know who their Heavenly Father is and they know who provides for them. They know His love more than we could ever fathom. Someone who cannot remember their mother’s touch knows what it feels like to be held by their Father. Someone who gets ignored by the world is always heard by their Lord who cares. It is so beautiful to think about. Their eyes, ears and hearts are open to His voice. Man, I wish I were more like that.

Our first time playing with the kids by themselves was so FREEING!! Seeing the kids run outside to play with us was so…humbling. They didn’t care that we were sweaty, gross and tired. They just wanted to be held, loved, and played with! They didn’t care what we looked like or that we sounded ridiculous trying to communicate with them. They didn’t care that we couldn’t understand them. They communicated in a way that everyone understood: with love. The more we saw that they didn’t care, the more we did the same.

We embraced the drool, the pee, the acid reflux. Some of them just wanted to grab us by the hand and go for a walk. They wanted to share their world, their home, with us. They took us around and showed us these little baby chicks that had just hatched a few days earlier. They told us through Spanish, show and tell, charades, sign language- however they could get it across, we heard loud and clear! Every step they took was an adventure. Some of them, every step they took was another miracle. Every hug was like chains being ripped off my body. They were so FREE!! It really showed me what really matters in life. Your occupation, although it pays the bills and some are fortunate enough to love what they do, could never fill you like the joy of the Lord! All the money in the world could not buy the glow around these kids when you said their names! When you held their hand. When you played a silly game of patty cake where you didn’t know the rules and you could never ever win. When you spun and spun and spun until YOU could throw up too! When you kicked around a soccer ball and missed it, and they laughed. When you stink at the games they play, but they let you play anyway, and make you feel like the best player on the planet. Gosh, I think I am falling in love. Thank you Lord, thank you.

12/14/10 Wednesday, Dig Up the Dirt.

Today we dug up dirt around the mission house. Apparently, it floods too much around the house so they needed to even out the land around the house. So who better to do it than 12 strong, young, able-backed missionaries??? Actually, I am hyping us up way more than we deserve! We are so weak compared to the guys that do work around the orphanage. What took us 30 min to dig took Marcos 5 minutes! That is hardly an exaggeration either! Can you believe it?? We had to bust up concrete, and we did not have a jack hammer. We used pick axes and lots of back power. Marcos came in and with a few hits was able to pull up the entire slab of concrete!! Our pride is constantly being broken. I guess my prayer worked. Every time we thought we were high and mighty and doing something good for them, they would humbly show us that they were perfectly able to do it on their own. We were just there to help. A few of us would dig up dirt, shovel it into buckets, and others would grab the buckets and walk it allllll the way to the dirt pile 100 miles away, and bring the buckets back to be filled again. The others would shovel the broken concrete into a wheelbarrow and the one with the most energy at that particular moment would walk the 100lb wheelbarrow 100miles to the rock pile next to the dirt pile. Which was next to the garbage pile that they burned every evening. (Side note: the garbage man does not go to small villages to pick up trash and bring it to the dump, they had to burn all their trash in the “back yard” which was right next to their fresh vegetation. Can you say "carcinogens??" Not healthy for the environment, and not healthy for the body. But they have to do what they have to do, right?) Okay, so maybe the piles were not 100 miles away, BUT the orphanage was on about 2 acres of land, and the piles were about ½ way between the acres. Everything seems farther when you are exhausted and have been carrying bucketfuls of rocks back and forth. However, even though we were all exhausted, none of us ever complained!! It was incredible to feel needed, wanted, knowing that we were working for God’s kingdom, and we were working HARD.

The trek to the piles weren’t so bad because the view was absolutely beautiful!!! I WILL REMEMBER THAT SUNSET FOR AS LONG AS I LIVE!! The lush green leaves in the green bean field beautifully reflected the warm rays of the setting sun. The air was fresh and lightly breezy. It was as if Angels were softly stroking my dirt-streaked cheeks and lifting my weak arms to carry the bucket all the way to the finish line. I talked to God the whole way, each time, and all I could do was thank Him. All I could do was marvel at His majesty. His beautiful workmanship with the people, the orphans, the plants, and the sun. He is such an artist. The maker of Heaven and Earth, the mastermind behind humanity and the universe. And the great planner of this awesome trip. I am so thankful.

By the end of the afternoon, we looked like we were the finalists of SURVIVOR! We get to choose the ONE night we want to take a shower, and I’m pretty sure we all agreed that tonight was shower night. Marge had a sweet bandana on with war streaks of dirt across her cheek bones. Our sunglasses all had little chips in them from protecting our eyes from projectile concrete! Our shirts were nearly black, no matter their original color, and stretched out from carrying rocks in them to the Great Piles. Though beaten, bruised, cut up, and exhausted, we had great satisfaction. This was the work of God’s hands, and it felt GOOD! For the record, I was a BEAST at busting up concrete with a pick axe. Too bad I really hurt my hand . After we thought all was said and done, here come the kids. Running to us after dinner. Every day at the same time. IT’S GAME TIME!!!

We played and played until our bellies busted with laughter and our cheeks were stuck in the smiling position. We ingested more dirt, got more bruises and cuts, but MAN it was worth it! Another night of freedom. Thank you, Lord. Thank you.


Tonight, we invited Julia and Guadalupe to worship with us! We worshipped with them in Spanish during the afternoon devotional, but we wanted to show them how we Americans get down in the Spirit! The Spirit was so thick! We sang “Mighty to save.” We sang the verses in English while they sang the verses in Spanish at the same time. It was so cool! It reminded me of Acts in the second chapter when the Holy Spirit finally came down and everyone was praising the Lord in their own tongues (languages). MAN that was cool!! We always came together on the verses in the Spanish and it was SO GOOD!!! We sang LOUD and proud, shaking the Heavens and the Earth (and there was no one there to call the cops)! It was so inspiring, so uplifting, so…spirit-filling

We all talked about what was changing in us, and there was definitely a common theme.
SLOW DOWN
LIVE IN THE MOMENT
LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE
THIS IS WHERE GOD WANTS US

Julia said some really meaningful things to us tonight. She began to tell us about the dump we are going to see tomorrow. She kept apologizing for her broken English, but she spoke for about 45 min. straight, no exaggeration. There were so many words of wisdom; I thought I would share some with you all.

1) God is making His work here (Nicaragua).
2) If you don’t have passion and love for what you do…leave.
3) Let’s see where we land.
4) Don’t stop dream, and to get to them, you are going to cry a lot.
5) You never really know
6) I wanted to be a lawyer, I even got my degree and license, but there is only one problem, I like my job (here)!
7) All your life you want to accumulate things, and then you die and people have a party with your things.

She is just so wise!! I could write for hours about how she is a mentor to us, a mama hen. I will tell you the story of Hogar Belen orphanage a little later. But for now, off to bed. We go to the dump and the sewing center tomorrow. NIGHT!

p.s. I hope I’m not sore!!!!

12/15/10 Thursday: La Chureca (the dump) and Hogar Belen Managua

WE WOKE UP SO SORE!! Every bone and muscle in my body hurts. I have never been so proud of my scrapes and bruises (thank God I got my tetanus shot before I left!) There is something so fulfilling about working with your hands. REAL service. But if I love it so much, why don’t I do it more at home? I want my life to be a living sacrifice. I want every single day to be a part of one long mission. The problem is: not expecting a Thank You. That is my prayer: to receive so much joy from service that the art itself would be my reward.

We visited the dump, also known as La Chureca, today. I have literally stared in the face of poverty. Poverty is so bad that the people of Nicaragua built their own homes and started a community in the largest LANDFILL in Latin America. The “houses” were made of cardboard, aluminum scraps, and literal pieces of trash. No electricity. No food source, besides the trash. Children were naked. 12 year olds pregnant. Horses with ribs clearly visible. This is how the families make their living: they dig in the trash to find as many recycle-able items they can. They then take their findings to a small make-shift, run down, “recycling center. They receive a certain amount of money or each recycled material. No digging in trash, no money. No money, no food. These people live of less than $1 per day ($2 if you sell your daughter to prostitution). They pick through trash 24hrs/day to make $1. Please take a moment to wrap your mind around this concept.

If they get hungry throughout the day, which they probably do because they are ALL malnourished, they pick through and eat anything they can find. Yes, I said, they eat the trash. The community goes into a riot to grab the 1st pick of spoiled meat. No doubt they get parasites. The really sad thing is: there is constant smoke from burning trash. In the pictures you will see, it looks like there is just open gray land behind the inhabits; however, it is actually a wall of smoke. Inside the wall of smoke are hundreds of people digging in mountains of trash for miles. Think about how many respiratory diseases they experience.

The comforting thing is that there is a health center and a school that was built in the heart of La Chureca. The health center was started by a missionary, and the school was started by a Florida State Alumni!! I so proud to be a Seminole! We finally got out of the van to go into the clinic and spoke with the nurse on site. The health care team are actual educated medical professionals who commute to La Chureca daily, working under extreme conditions to provide care to the inhabitants of the landfill. There, the women receive contraception and sex education so they won’t have more kids than they can bare/afford. There are families with at least 6 kids in each, most of them bastard children from rape. The health center is pretty legit, but expensive to upkeep because it is free to the community, of course. They run on donation only. It only costs $1 for one month’s worth of penicillin for one person! So, I left $20 with the nurse there. Now they have 20 months worth of penicillin. Not much, but such an easy fix!! They truly care about these people here and are doing everything in their power to help these people. But neither the people nor the medical team get enough help. Maybe I want to come back to help. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be here, but I am certain that my medical mission work dream is becoming more of a reality. God is showing me so many possibilities!!! It’s not longer a fantasy, now I have a pretty good idea of what I am up against. A people in need, hearts willing to help, but a government that is nearly impossible to receive help from. Oh man, what will my family think? Needs more prayer. Anyway, my heart shattered today, and I have seen almost everything I have learned in nursing school so far on this short trip!
- Cerebral palsy
- Multiple sclerosis
- Down Syndrome
- Bi Polar Disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Depression
- Sexual Abuse
- Physical/Mental Abuse
- Abandonment
- Cognitive Developmental Delays
- Sensori-neuro Delays
- Severe Malnutrition
- Kwashiorkor (only seen in malnourished countries)
- Marasmus (only seen in malnourished countries)
- HIV/AIDS
- Skin Cancer

It makes me wish I had paid more attention in class had I known I would encounter all these things first hand! I took many pictures, but some things I left off camera because it was way too graphic for anyone to see. I will forever have it etched into my mind. At least it will push me to spring into action! I’ve finally seen what I have been so passionate about all my life. I have been shaken in a way that EVERYONE NEEDS to be shaken. My family won’t like the pictures I have taken because there is disaster and heartbreak written all over them. But please look passed these pictures at face value. You might see horror, but I see hope.

Some missionary women began a sewing center so women from La Chureca can have a place to learn a trade and make an honest living for their families. The idea is: teach them how to sew, bake, and make jewelry, and they will make enough to get out of the dump. So far, it has worked!! The first graduating class was of 30 women, and now they have had over 150 women graduate from the sewing center with an amazing trade and another shot at life! We visited the center and bought LOTS of merchandise!! One purse fed a family for about a month. THAT is what I call a Christmas present that keeps on giving!! I got most of my gifts from the sewing center because it was so inspiring and the women were so talented!

We went to Hogar Belen Managua today where the orphans age 0-10ish stay. Moises lives there. He is the child that Kaley, our trip leader, fell in love with four years ago. We get to meet the little boy that brought us all to Nicaragua!!! Moises is now 5 years old and has really really skinny legs. He was told that he would never be able to walk. However, when we walked into the orphanage, he was running around and getting into trouble!! When he saw Kaley, he ran to her and embraced her!! We ALL got tears in our eyes!! Here was this little boy that stole Kaley’s heart. Our little miracle in so many ways. Below is a picture of Moses! All of the kids were living miracles!! Elvira has cerebral palsy and she was destined to never move around. However she is able to scoot around the floor on her stomach to get to the people she wanted to hold her. MIRACLE! All of these children have tragic stories, but they are all coming out as champions. The caretakers of Mustard Seed are so patient with the kids. They work with them one on one and have Jesus’s healing heart and hands. I have witnessed 32 little miracles on this trip and, once again, my life will be forever changed. Hogar Belen is a little taste of Heaven amidst the other orphanages in this world.

Our last night with the kids at Hogar Belen Diriamba
Tonight was so bitter sweet. Each night, it’s more and more of a joy to be with these kids. Such a change from when we first got here. All of my pictures are of everyone playing with the kids on the first day but I was not in many of them. It is because I was the one hiding behind the camera so I didn’t really have to get near them. The one picture I had was with the “normal” kid. But now, EVERYTHING IS CHANGED! I honestly wouldn’t mind spending every day with them and watch their progress. Little Sara pulled me aside tonight just to “talk.” If you knew Sara, you’d know this was strange. She is usually going so fast, and is so bossy that it’s hard to keep up with her. But she pulled me aside tonight and brought me to this little corner in the yard. We sat on a huge tree stump and shared our stories. The Lord was blessing me with the ability to say Spanish words I have never learned before! She told me that she is 15 years old, even though the orphanage estimated she was about 12. She told me she lost her mother a few years ago and that is why she was at Hogar Belen. When I asked her if she loved it here, she began to cry. Tough girl, Sara, balling her eyes out. She misses her home and wants to go back but she doesn’t realize that her family didn’t want her. I decided that was an issue I was not going to press or explain. But what I did emphasize was God’s love for her and how He kept her safe by bringing her to Hogar Belen (Bethlehem Home). I am not sure how much she understood, but I know a seed was definitely planted. Sara and I share a special bond in which none can come close to having. She lost her mom and so did I. But our God didn’t stand by and leave us drowning in misery. OH NO! He worked quickly and graciously put people in our lives that, wouldn’t replace our moms, but definitely make an amazing substitute! We are dearly loved. Always given affection. Always provided for. Always nurtured, mentored, and we will always prevail because of the people that care enough about us to answer God’s call to do those things. The more I spend time with them, the more I realize how similar we are. Yes have handicaps, but don’t we all? Pride handicaps us from accepting advice from others and avoiding preventable mistakes. Selfishness handicaps us from providing help to those who have one last hope left and might never receive it again. Gluttony prevents us from cherishing the “little” things in life that are so huge in God’s eyes. And hatred, grief, guilt, and shame handicap us from living a fully meaningful, joyful existence!

My heart is breaking just thinking about leaving them and knowing that I might never see them again. Especially my little Sara. I was so sure I was going back to Guatemala and never followed through. So who knows what I will do with Nicaragua? The country doesn’t interest me much, but the kids have each of their little faces and eccentric personalities etched on my heart. I don’t know, but somehow, I feel like this trip was different. I’m excited to see where God leads me.
Lagoon, Market, and JUNGLE CRUISE tomorrow!!! Hasta Manaña!

12/16/10 A Day in the Eyes of a Tourist!

Today we spent the day doing the tourist thing! We went to the local markets and bought lots of awesome gift for when we return. I tried to get almost everyone that donated to my trip a little something with an interesting story behind it. I could not have come here if it weren’t for those who prayed and donated. Therefore, it would only be right to get them a small token of my gratitude. For those I couldn’t afford to get gifts for, I wrote in this journal just for you!! I want you to experience what I had the incredible blessing of experiencing. I want you to fall in love with these children almost as much as I have fallen in love with them.

I SWAM IN A LAGOON TODAY!!! If you do not know what a lagoon is, PLEASE look at these pictures!! This large area was once an inactive volcano. Then, over the years, it hallowed itself out, it rained a lot, and BAM! LAGOON!! Usually I would be very reserved about going into water of a foreign country. I would be afraid of bacteria, amoeba, paranas, WHATVER! You name it, I’m probably afraid of it, or allergic to it. But not this time. The beauty of this place completely captivated me. And next thing I knew, I was jumping off a deck on the side of the mountain and CANNONBALLING straight into the water! TALK ABOUT FREEDOM!! There is something so liberating, yet, terrifying about free falling. You feel free to do anything, yet, gravity has total control. I guess you could compare this to your relationship with Christ. It can be totally terrifying jumping straight into the arms of Jesus, straight into a life unknown. But while you are jumping, while you are in the process of living your life for Him, this free-falling feeling gives you the ability to completely place your life in His hands. You have no idea what is going to be waiting for you, but you know exactly where you will end up: SAFE. Safe in His arms for eternity. Just like gravity, Jesus has it all under control. He knows exactly what time you are supposed to hit the water, according to the laws of physics, and just like the water, He will be right there to catch you before you hit rock bottom. Ah, the beauty of having a savior like mine!

This place was huge, tropical, wonderful, and the lunch was delicious!! I mean, who else can say that they swam in a volcano while listening to the sweet melodies of WILD MONKEYS in the trees all around them?!?!? Not many, I can definitely tell you that! This is a place I would love to return to, even if only for a moment…… Oh man, time to leave!! Next Stop: JUNGLE CRUISE!!

This cruise was AWESOME!! All 12 of us, plus Julia and the boat driver all got on one little boat and took a cruise down the river. The plant life was gorgeous!! The birds were so majestic! There were houses IN the river that you could rent out during holiday seasons. That’s right, I said, IN the river!! You needed a boat to get from one house to another because they were on tiny little islands that barely came above the water level. There were even SWIMMING POOLS that came just above the water line where if you stepped out of the pool, you could step right into the river. Weird, huh? Apparently, this is one of Nicaragua’s main attractions. You can rent a river house for any occasion for the same price as a hotel room in the United States!! How cool is that?

Best part of the jungle cruise: WE HUNG OUT WITH A WILD MONKEY!!! There is an island in the river that is home to many different species of monkey, and each boat tour stops by the tree so the tourists can look at the monkey. Well, there one female, her name is Lucy, and she is the most comfortable with humans. So when the boat stops by the tree, she will HOP ON THE BOAT to see what the tourists have “brought her.” It did not matter if you meant to bring your sand which as a gift to Lucy or not. It was hers once she jumped on the boat! She took bread out of the mouth of my friend and she took my bread out of my hand! She hung out with us, sat with us, talked to us with her little monkey squeak, and then went back onto the tree after we drove around for a bit. IT WAS INCREDIBLE! A real, live, WILD monkey! That’s some National Geographic stuff right there!! Ahh, we are exhausted, now time for dinner!

When we got off the boat, we went to a local restaurant that is famous for its DIRT floor. In America, the dirtiest you can get is throwing peanuts on the floor, and even then you might be facing FDA and CDC code violations. But not here. It was all dirt, all the time. No AC, just fans. With a straw roof. Top of the line here in Nicaragua ;). That wasn’t even the worst part. Some of my friends are Pescatarians. Which means, they are vegetarians, but they still eat fish. Therefore, they ordered fish on the menu. Julia advised them not to get it, that they didn’t really understand what they were ordering. You see, in the US, you order fish and your local restaurant, and it comes out grilled, or fried, or at least…dead. Not here!! The fish was dead, but still had the scales, the eyes, and even the smell of the water they came from!!!! And they were about 2ft long!!! I nearly passed out. I am NOT a seafood girl, ESPECIALLY when it is STARING AT ME!! So Julia, being the loving mother figure that she is, kindly explained to the waiter what we meant, and they took it back and had it cooked, American style. Poor things! Their confidence was shot down because they thought they were doing so great!! The waiters, not my friends ;) Haha. Anyway, after that whole incident, the food was wonderful! And no dirt got into my food!! After dinner, it was back to orphanage and into the mission house to sleep. Best. Last. Day. Ever.