Nicaragua

Before 13 bus trip to Nicaragua our group had a day we spent reflecting on our spiritual lives and sharing with the rest of the group. Listening to others and reflecting on my life I realized that I have never hit a rock bottom in my life. I have been so blessed in my life!!!! I am extremely thankful for my loving friends and family and all that God has provided me with, which is so much! However, with this I thought that because I have never had a hit rock bottom moment I have never really been pushed in my faith to its fullest potential. I simply cruised along living a "Christian life." I thought about praying to God to break me so I could experience His love on a different level but I was a little nervous about fully committing that prayer to God because I was comfortable where I was at.

Well God heard my cry and definitely worked in my life in ways I can't even begin to understand right now on my trip to Nicaragua. I can honestly say that Nicaragua was the hardest thing that I ever experienced in my life. I stayed with a pastor's family in the country's capital Managua. It was a very hot, poor and a dirty city, garbage everywhere! Before we left with our families we were given bottled water, a mosquito net, laundry soap, toilet paper and some medications in case we got sick. My house was connected to the church and it consisted of a dirt floor and pieces of metal connected together to form the walls and roof. There were holes in the roof and at times when it rained they needed to be covered. The living conditions were rough.

Needless to say the first day I was pumped!!! I was warned that it may be a tough experience but didn't think too much of it. I was ready to dive right in and engage with my new family. Falling asleep the first night there I remember listening to the rain pounding on the tin roof and thinking how cool and excited this was going to be. These emotions soon changed.

I never broke the ice with my family. They barely showed me affection. They had another missionary there so they paid her more attention because she could speak Spanish fluently. It was hard because I couldn't understand a word they were saying because they have a different accent than the Costa Ricans. And that was frustrating for me because I very much enjoy expressing my opinions, and feelings. So to sit at the dinner table mute and not have a clue what was going on felt so awkward. Never did I feel bored, lonely, or homesick thankfully. Yet I was always frustrated and uncomfortable. I am a very much so a task oriented person and there I felt as though I did nothing productive. I was just there, tagging along, like a bump on a log. It was so hard!

My mother was like the matriarch of the community. She was so intimidating, very cold and tough, barley smiled. At least that is the vibe I received and the rest of the American students in my group. Over the weekend I spent it with her, the missionary traveling to visit my host moms friends church...WORST THING EVER! We traveled 13 hours to get there! The whole time I had no idea where we were, what we were doing or what was to be expected! Not to mention it was boiling hot and couldn't understand them when they talked. We took taxi's, 3 different buses, and a canoe to cross a river. When we crossed the river there was nothing on the other side. We had to wait 2 hours for a truck to come and bring us to this farm where we would be staying the night, which would take 2 hours to get to, out in the middle of nowhere. Literally nothing was around besides a shack every half hour and farms. The truck was made for cattle and people packed in like cattle, it was ridiculous, this lady was practically sitting on top of me. There was a huge hog in the bag, pigs, hens and chickens packed in bags! So needless to say I was uncomfortable. Then we got a flat tire! That was my breaking point and I just wanted to cry!

When we finally made it, we had to trudge through this smelly deep mud into a wooden shack that didn't have electricity or running water! Their way of life is so different! I had to use an outhouse to go to the bathroom and take a hike down to the stream to bathe in the rain! At night we all slept on the floor together. And in the morning we woke at the crack of dawn milked the cows and headed to church and traveled back to Managua.

After that weekend I couldn't wait to get back to Managua and to my 3 other American students to talk to them in English! I thought things would get better but they only got worse. I got so sick from the cows milk I milked on the farm. I had bacteria in my stomach for a week and that was no fun at all! So on top of being in an uncomfortable place I was just not myself at all because I felt horrible and I was counting down the days to leave.

When we met up with our group in Granada it was the best thing ever, I was still sick but I didn't even care. I loved seeing everyone again and hearing all their different stories! Granada is such an awesome city, it has a very lively nightlife and beautiful architecture. We took a boat tour of the island on Nicaragua's lake which was cool, monkeys came right into our boat, we had lunch on one of the islands then we headed back in horse and buggies!