We have two weeks left before we’re back in the States. It seems impossible that two and a half months are gone; I’m so accustomed to life here now. I feel as though I could stay much longer. We have our daily routines, our nicknames for each other and the people here, all the banter, and birthday parties for each other and the kids. We know the restaurant owners, the taxi drivers, and the people in our neighborhood. It’s home now.   The past few weeks have been filled with strengthening relationships with the children, staff, and each other. We get along with the...

We have two weeks left before we’re back in the States. It seems impossible that two and a half months are gone; I’m so accustomed to life here now. I feel as though I could stay much longer. We have our daily routines, our nicknames for each other and the people here, all the banter, and birthday parties for each other and the kids. We know the restaurant owners, the taxi drivers, and the people in our neighborhood. It’s home now.   The past few weeks have been filled with strengthening relationships with the children, staff, and each other. We get along with the...

Take a deep breath in, now let it out. Some mornings after breakfast before our daily ministry a few girls and I have a stretch session. We often repeat those words as we do various stretches.  Take a deep breath in, now let it out.  Since my plane landed in Nicaragua almost two months ago, I started doing that. In the moments of newness,  after conversations with people, in the excitement, after a long day, when I’m exhausted, when I’m frustrated, after worship, when I’m happy, and out of relief, I breathe in the moment and let it sink in. I take a...

Take a deep breath in, now let it out. Some mornings after breakfast before our daily ministry a few girls and I have a stretch session. We often repeat those words as we do various stretches.  Take a deep breath in, now let it out.  Since my plane landed in Nicaragua almost two months ago, I started doing that. In the moments of newness,  after conversations with people, in the excitement, after a long day, when I’m exhausted, when I’m frustrated, after worship, when I’m happy, and out of relief, I breathe in the moment and let it sink in. I take a...

Living with 18 other women was one of the aspects of the trip that I was most apprehensive about. Will we get along? What if I don’t like anyone? How will all our talents mesh and work together? I’ve been pleasantly surprised and I now want to live in the way team does with everyone in my life. We have built a community that encourages one another to be more Christ-like and supports each other in everything we do. One thing I love in particular is that, at the end of day, we all come together for team time. We start with out by praying together and then have time to give each...

It rains here in Nicaragua, quite often, almost every day, and about half the time it rains, it pours, hard. So one night, a storm came right before dinner and we were all at the eating area. It thundered, the little kids screamed, lightening cracked, the rain pounded so heavily on the metal roof you could hardly hear, and the electricity went out. We made lanterns by putting our water bottles on top of our phone flashlights, illuminating the table in blue, green, and orange. After dinner, no one wanted to go out in the rain so we played BS (also known as lies when played around...