Hey everyone! It has been a few days since I returned back from my week long trip in Nicaragua. Our group of 14 staff and interns from SharpTop Cove left last week Tuesday and flew from Atlanta to Miami. It was there that we met the 10 people from Windy Gap who were joining us and then we all flew out to Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua. After we cleared customs, we all headed across the busy highway to our best western hotel stay. It was a nice place to rest up after a long day of travel and a busy week ahead...
On Wednesday our group went through an orientation meeting with Ann Sharpe, one of the American leaders of Vida Joven (Young Life) Nicaragua. Ann was an amazing blessing to our group as she guided us through the days at camp and surrounding cities of Nicaragua. She also often translated between the Spanish language of the Nicaraguans and our spoken English language. During the orientation we learned a brief overview of the country of Nicaragua and the ministry of Vida Joven in Nicaragua over the past 20 years or so. The camp used by Vida Joven is called La Finca (The Farm) and was located on the outskirts of Jinotega and Matagalpa, Nicaragua. This is where we would be spending the next five days of our trip.
After a two hour ride North on the camp owned school bus, our group was warmly welcomed by some of the Nicaraguan Vida Joven leaders. We entered the camp by going down a zip-line over the small lake. Then, after a small tour of camp and our first lunch of the week, we started our first afternoon of work. A normal workday for us during the week at camp began right after breakfast and morning devos at 8am. We would get a short break at 10am for juice and crackers. Then, work again until noon, and start back up after lunch until 4pm. Some of the projects our group worked on included: digging a trench to lay new pipe in for a bathroom that was being constructed, digging a different trench (about 200 yards in length or so) to remove and replace a broken pipe that carries water from a well to the "beneficio" where the coffee beans are washed, painting the game room and gym, constructing a Frisbee golf course, and building ten new bunk beds. The two main jobs that I focused on during the week were in the trenches.
Even though it was hard physical labor, I really enjoyed the opportunity to work alongside SharpTop staff, Windy Gap staff, and Nicaraguan leaders. It was great to share intern experiences that have been similar and different with the interns at Windy Gap and also very rewarding trying to communicate with the Nicaraguans. The language barrier was difficult to overcome at times, but both the Americans and the Nicaraguans were able to appreciate each others efforts to learn more about each others' lives.
I think one thing that stood out the most to me about our relationship with the Nicarguans was that even though we have different cultures and languages, we all share so much in our desire and worship of the Lord. It was so powerful to sing the same songs together with them at our evening worship session and have the same song sung both in English and Spanish at the exact same time! It was a foreshadowing of what I believe our worship in heaven may be like. Also, we saw that the way Nicaraguan Vida Joven and American Young Life put forth clubs are very similar. On Thursday evening the Nicaraguans showed us what a Nicaraguan club looks like and then on Friday evening the SharpTop and Windy Gap staff put on an American club for the Nicaraguans. We both love using songs, skits, games, and laughter to open up hearts for the gospel. It was just a slight difference in cultural setting and language that made the two clubs different.
Similarly, we saw unity at church in Matagalpa on Sunday morning when almost all of the songs that we sung were songs that I was familiar with back in the United States (only I was used to singing in English). Along with unity, I also saw hospitality as the pastor had his son come up to the front of the church to translate the sermon into English so us Americans could understand it too. This theme of the Nicaraguans going out of their way for us continued as our group split up into pairs to go off to our host families for a day. My friend and fellow intern Mike and I stayed with Reynaldo (Condor) and his wife Daysie. Even though their living accommodations were modest in comparison with what we are used to in the United States, they were both always willing to share what they had with us. We shared three amazing meals with them, and Condor even allowed us to watch a bit of the Ohio State vs. Purdue basketball game on television (in English)! Later on in the day we all met together to see an actual Nicaraguan Young Life/Vida Joven club with the children of Matagalpa. Not only did we get to watch what happened, but many of us were asked to participate in some of the games as well. It was a ton of fun!
But, more than just being fun, I was amazed to see the transparency of the Nicaraguan Vida Joven leaders. Just like at the end of an American Young Life club, some of the leaders shared apart of their story and then they shared about Christ. Condor was one of those leaders who shared and it was incredible to hear how God has transformed his life from one filled with drugs, alcohol, gangs, and living on the street to one who vibrantly lives to serve Jesus with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength. He actually first gave his life to Christ at La Finca, the exact same camp we just had spent the last five days. I know God is going to use Condor to affect so many lives of the youth of Matagalpa!
Our trip concluded with a trip to Massaya on Monday. First, we stopped at Massaya Volcano National Park and saw very large craters of the surrounding shield volcanoes. The most surprising aspect to me was that these volcanoes looked much different than my envisioned mountain top with lava pouring out image. Instead, we actually were looking down most of the time into craters where steam still steadily rose into the air. Still a pretty cool sight though. Then, after seeing the volcanoes we went to the marketplace which exists in a square shaped fort looking complex. Many crafts and goods made in Nicaragua and other places were on display here. Some of the items included hammocks, machetes, cigars, rum, paintings, sculptures, etc. Finally, after an hour of shopping we all headed back to the hotel in Managua and rested up before heading home the next day.
Overall, it was an amazing trip. Being my first ever international mission trip, I certainly appreciated many different aspects of the journey. I liked the warmer weather, the culture, and seeing sights like the volcanoes and gorgeous skies from a mountaintop. However, more than any of that, I fell in love with the way God has united his people through his son Jesus Christ despite differences of culture and language. These people shared the same passion we had of sharing Christ to the youth. As some of the people in our group rightly pointed out at the end of the week: God does not just exist in America. His presence is felt throughout the nations. How great it is to think about what God is doing through people in other countries, just like what we saw in Nicaragua!
