Nicaragua 2016

Posted by Anna Kristine August 06, 2016

Nicaragua 2016

The full team from our church.

Wow! What a whirlwind this year's trip to Nicaragua has been! I feel very keenly the emotional weight of all that we did, saw, and experienced during our time in this country that is so near to my heart. Throughout the trip, I saw God's deep, wide, powerful, and overwhelming love. At the same time, I had the privilege to stand on the very front lines of the spiritual battle between sin and salvation and to see the profound effects that sin can have. This trip was definitely one of triumphant highs and deep valleys, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the universe.

After a long day of travel on Thursday, we hit the ground running at full speed. On our very first full day, we headed over to Nandaime to visit a pastor friend's church and the school that they run. We did a mini Vacation Bible School for the kids of the city, and attended church there that night before heading back to Managua for supper and bed.

The very next day we headed out to Santa Elena, to get started with our sister church there. We jumped right in with and evangelism and prayer walk through the village, as well as construction and spending time with the children. The following four days (Sunday through Wednesday) were dedicated to VBS and construction, as well as evangelism. Then, on the following Thursday and Friday (our last days in Santa Elena), we focused much more on the construction aspect of the trip, while some of us still had the opportunities to spend time with the children, keeping them occupied and away from the construction.

The following Saturday was our "tourism" day. We headed to the city of Granada, one of the oldest cities in Nicaragua, to take in the beautiful architecture and sculptures. Then we stopped by Lake Nicaragua, which is known for it's freshwater sharks, and headed to the Apoyo Lagoon for lunch and some swimming. After that it was off to the Masaya Market Castle for souvenirs and up to the Masaya Volcano for some lava-viewing before we headed to the retreat center for some much-needed rest and several days of debriefing, as we tried to process the trip together and prepare ourselves to adjust back to our lives in the U.S.

After a day of debrief, we were supposed to leave early Monday morning. That was postponed, as the majority of our team came down with food poisoning. We finally got going on Tuesday morning, only to be side-tracked once again in Miami by a cancelled flight, which was a result of poor weather. After spending a night on the airport floor and spending a morning at the Miami Beach, we were finally up in the air once again on Wednesday evening, and made it back to church by about 2:00 Thursday morning. This trip has taught me so many different things, and grew and stretched me in ways I could never have foreseen. I am so thankful to have been able to be a part of the team once again this year!