Homeward Bound

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you so much for journeying with us via our blog for the last three weeks. It is evident that God has worked through and in our team during our time in Nicaragua and we look forward to sharing our stories with you upon our return. Please continue to uphold us in your prayers as we travel back home tomorrow. Our plane will depart from Managua, Nicaragua at 12:10 pm and we are scheduled to land in Portland at 9:07 pm.

Also, keep our transition process in your prayers. The team has been exposed to a significant amount of poverty and injustice and we have absorbed a lot of sights that will not soon leave our memories. What we have experienced for the last three weeks is drastically different from the life we have grown accustomed to in the U.S. Please be patient with us as we continue to process our experiences and as those experiences cause change within our hearts and minds.

Love and Blessings,
Kristine

fOtoS..... =D

Our team playing chess at the resort

Playing basketball in the pool
Enjoying the beach at sunset
Happy Birthday Jenna

Horseback riding on the beach

Laura and her caballito

Mark and Kaitlin riding
Granada
More of Granada
and more...
Half-way through the Safari ride and still surviving

Kelly, Jessy and Violet excited for the adventure

Irena loving the zip-line =)

Waiting on the platform

Laura coming to the end of the line

Post composed by Violeta :)

Winding down....

Hi Friends and Family!!!

I'm sorry we haven't updated you. Our team left Monday morning for the beach to debrief. We were there two days and spent lots of time resting, playing and processing. On Wednesday, we arrived to Granada where we will be staying for the remainder of the trip. 

Today we went on another zip-line tour. The most thrilling part of the adventure was bouncing around in the Safari for the 45 minute ride on a bumpy, rocky road while singing songs. Tomorrow, we will be enjoying a boat tour and kayaking. Please be praying for our team as we continue processing the last two weeks and as we transition back home and move forth with our summer plans!          ~Violeta

Picture Update

One of our many crazy bus rides

Some kids at the school in the dump

Crisbel y Jessy

Wendy y Kelly

The team

Brittany y Kristine

Mark, un amigo y Kaitlin

Betty y Laura

Perla, Elisha y Kristine

Violeta y Martha

Post composed by Violeta :)

It's Jessica!

Hey ya'll,
So we have gone to La Chureca to do research these past two days. It has been both growing and challenging, but God has helped make the process smooth and helpful for all of us to get to know the girls that are still living in La Chureca better. It was really hard for me to leave them today knowing that it was the last day that I would be with them for the rest of our time there. I feel uncertain about most of their futures, but I feel hope for some of the girls there who might be coming to the Villa once the next houses are built.
After going to La Chureca we came back, ate dinner, and spent time with the girls dancing on their porch. Kelly taught them to hula, and I got to dance with Monica, Martha, and Perla to their traditional music . They taught me a foklorical dance that they had made up. They love to dance here! It is one of the best outlets they have for expressing themselves. After our great night with the girls, a few of us gathered together for a devotional. It was another great day in Nicaragua!

Babies, market and research

Yesterday, we went to a baby orphanage. Initially, we did not know what to expect but were pleasantly surprised by the conditions of the buildings and children. There are current 28 babies there and most have some kind of malnutrition issues. There was one three month old baby who still only weighs 5lbs. It was fun to play with all of the kids and try our best to make them laugh and smile.
In the afternoon, we went to a market to see what we could find. The market was huge and there was a lot to see. It was honestly a little overwhelming but fun to look for treasures as a group.

Today, we headed back to the school in la chureca. We set out to begin our research with some of the girls there. Unsure of how the girls would respond to the questioning, we prayed for God's hand to be over our time. God really showed himself today and the research went well. The girls were willing to share with us and they really seemed to understand some of the more difficult portions of the assessments. As a group, we are overjoyed that the Lord seems to be blessing this time. Tomorrow is anothey day of research and we pray it will again bear fruit.

Posted by Christa

Day 9, you are so fine.....

We had a "day off" today which means we got to do several super fun and exciting things that weren't work related. First on our agenda was the Potter's House, which about 1.5 hrs. south east of Managua.  The man there gave us devotional using clay and the process of pottery as an illustration. Many team members found this to be encouraging and insightful. After that we moved on to a canopy zip-line tour. It was great to see all of the team members gliding through the jungle.  There were even monkeys! We closed the day by spending time talking and playing with the beautiful girls here at the Villa.  Friendships are being formed, relationships are being strengthened and ignorance is being challenged. Today has been a blessing. Thank you for all the prayers ad support.    :) Buenas Noches! (this post has been brought to you by kaitlin wood)

a fUn dAy!!!

Kaitlin working with the artisan.

The artisan explaining Christ's love for us through the analogy of pottery.

Irena at the wheel.

The Canopy zip-line tour.

Jessy forgot to wear closed-toed shoes so our driver, Jose, got creative and used his shoe laces to create a new and improved flip-flop shoe.

Elisha (nina) and her special helmet. :) 

Laura ready to begin the journey!

Aling on the zip-line.

Mark and Kaitlin on the ride back.

Post composed by Violeta. :)

Photos from TODAY!!!

Susie and her little friend. 

Alex hanging out with his buddy.

Cute little girlies.

Sara spent a lot of time with Kaitlin.

Jenna and Jessy dancing with the

 girls.

Kelly and the baby B.

The tough boys.

Elisha playing ball with the children.

Angelica and her little brother.

Jenna and her novio. :)

Post Composed by Violeta. :)

Our time at the Foster Care Facility

We spent our day at a government run Foster Care facility referred to as "HAT".  We began with a tour of the buildings, followed by a series of work projects, and ending with a party, complete with piñata and dancing!

As we approached the facility, the contrast of the buildings there and at the Villa Esperanza could not be more striking.  Several remarked that the buildings reminded them of a prison.  Most of the buildings were a dull gray; the grounds were not kept up; even the rooms where the children slept were in disrepair.  Yet, in the midst of these dismal surroundings, the people who worked at this orphanage were pleasant and reflected a sincere concern for the well-being of the children entrusted in their care.  There were about 28 young people ranging in age from 2  to 24 years old.  Many had mental problems.  A number of them were a danger to themselves or others.  All of the windows in the rooms had been broken bt certain young people there with the purpose of hurting either themselves or some one else with the glass.  

One young girl who was between 14 and 16 years old was locked up.  Our guide explained that she had tried to run away several times, often engaging in illicit activities when she was out, and for that reason she had to be locked in this room.  The fact that our guide was explaining all of this to us as the girl was leaning against the gate in our presence made us feel both sad for the girl and awkward that she had to bear the humiliation of us hearing all of this right in front of her.  A couple of the younger children came up to our group and wanted to be held, which we gladly did, bringing the children with us as walked on our tour.

We worked in teams on projects ranging from clearing a basketball court of dirt and leaves, to picking up broken pieces of glass, or cleaning toilets.  We worked about 3 hours, and it felt good that we could contribute to the needs of the children in some tangible way.

Finally, we had a party with all of the children and staff.  The music played; people danced and smiled; and a pinata provided some candy for the children and some laughs for all.  It was a brief moment of happiness that the children could experience.  Several children asked us when we were going to return. We answered that we did not know, thinking that it may be never that we return.  We ended our time with short speeches expressing thanks for our group's attendance, and thanks from our group for being allowed to visit.  Then prayers were offered for the children, the staff, and our group.

It was a day of numerous highs and lows.  We were thankful to see that there was some place for these children to go, that they did not have to remain in abusive situations or live on the streets, but we were saddened to think of how bleak the future looked for these children. 

Please join our hearts in prayer for these children.

-Alex

P.S.  As we debriefed that night, we were informed that one of the staff members mentioned that the children were in need of clothes.  We decided that we would use some of our group's funds to buy good used clothes and bring them to the children later in the week!

The end of our first week!

Juliette taking her try at the Cinderella pinata

Today can be summarized in two words - long and rewarding. We started out the day by all piling into the van and the safari (the team and the girls) to go to church. The girls were even more precious looking all dolled up in their church clothing. l had been looking forward to church in Nicaragua for quite awhile and I enjoyed the service despite the intense heat that left most of us uncomfortably sticky and wet. After church we resumed research with the younger girls. I was blessed to be paired with Maria Celeste one of the girls which I had previously not been able to connect with yet. Afterwards we played ball until it was time to watch a movie (this gave the house moms a break). Tonight we all had dinner together family style and then celebrated Jenna and Kaitlin's birthday by breaking open two giant pinatas. When they brought out the cake Jenna and Kailtin were told they had to take the first bite which resulted in their faces being pushed in the cake and soon after led to a very extended frosting fight between the girls and us. It was the perfect way to end the week with lots of laughter and hugs. It seems like the girls have grown very comfortable with us and we have reached a point as a team where we have become very invested in them.

Love,
Kristine

Xochilt blessing us with her beautiful smile

MoRe PiCtUReS!!!

Right now it's almost 1am and everyone else is sleeping. It's taking forever to upload the photos so I guess I'll just write. I'm sitting on the patio and as I look around I see about twenty flying beetles lying on their backs, paralyzed. One just flew in, hit me on the chest and fell to the floor. I can't tell if it's dead. Finally!!! Upload is complete and my blogging ends here......

Laura and Irena sharing a hammock. We do a lot of this here in Nicaragua!

Kaitlin teaching Ana how to make a bracelet. Kaitlin is AMAzING, she's always teaching us how to do something!

Playing in the pool while at the beach.

Christa and Brittany speaking the language of love.

Our team after the hair and nail night!

Composed by Violeta
Photos taken from Kelly's camera :)