Nicaragua 8/9/2012

Ok, well it’s our last day here in Nicaragua and I hate it!!! There are so many cute kids and I just want to take them all home. I got to talk with a few of the kids, short simple questions, and just make there day by smiling or just being awkward!! I can’t wait to see what God has planned for me back in the states and see my family. Also, Jason asked a question that really stuck inside and well he asked what has God told you on this trip?... My response was that he wants me to be content and just be humble with what I have. Well I will see you all when we get back Eric Hola. Mother, this post is specifically for you. I held a baby-two months old-yesterday AND today. He has a fluff of black hair, lots of black hair, on his head. No one could tell me his name so I just decided to name him Armando because that is a sweet name. And it’s a Spanish name, I’m pretty sure, so it works out. So, this is the awesome part about Armando. He slept in my arms today for like two hours. (Did you know that baby heads are super heavy?) And then when he woke up he gave me a huge smile and proceeded to pee on me. His diaper was made of cloth so I wasn’t protected at all. And also, yesterday I did things that I don’t do. I let a little girl swindle me into convincing me to let her paint my nails. And also, I sang in front of like a billion people. So yeah. There you go mother, you have my permission to be proud now. I love you. Maddie. (: This is the first mission trip I have been on and it has been an amazing, life changing experience. Getting to know my fellow team members has been great. I’ve made some friends that I know I will be in touch with for a long time, such as Justine, Tyler, Maddie, and Dylan. I never thought I would love kids this much. Even though we speak different languages it is so easy to communicate with the kids. I hope I will be able to come back to the towns and churches to see what God does with them. I hope we had as big of an impact on them as they all did on us. I’ll see everyone soon! - Jacob What a great trip :) Everything has been so great. These last two days for us have been spent at a local church in a village by the name of Tipitopa. It was awesome to spend the two days with a bunch of little kids who loved on you like crazy, but my high point of the last two days did not have to do with the kids. Over the last two days I have had the complete privilege and blessing of getting to know another girl by the name of Lilly (this Lilly is different from the one I blogged about before). She is eighteen years old and is so incredibly sweet. She was one of the translators that worked with our team. It took me pursuing a friendship with her for us to get close, but as soon as I pursued that friendship she completely opened her heart up to me. Yesterday I spent most of the day connecting with her, and today I spent most of the day getting to know her on a deeper level. This morning she shared her entire testimony with me, both the good and the bad in her life, and as the day progressed she continued to share and relate with me. I love Lilly so much, and today I had to say goodbye to her. It was one of the hardest goodbyes ever, and I hope and pray that through facebook and other sources we will be able to keep in touch. God is so good, this trip has been amazing, and I look forward to what He has in store for us when we get back. Love!! -Becca This trip has been absolutely amazing .I could not have asked for any more. The things I have been shown on this trip have been truly eye opening. One thing I really appreciated learning on this trip is the ability to let anger go. I have been struggling terribly with the concept of letting my bitterness go. On this trip I thought that God was telling me to trust in him, to trust that the point of this whole experience was to realize he can do all things. What I wasn’t expecting was that this was one of the turning points to turning over a new page in my life. With all that has happened on this trip I have also learned to listen. Sometimes when I am talking to someone I try to relate to them by sharing some of my story, what I didn’t pick up on was that I needed to just listen and understand, more than I needed to relate. I am extremely grateful that I was given the opportunity to go on this trip. Thank you Lord for the blessings you have given me. I can’t wait to start a new journey. Praying for everyone always, Allison ☺