So when I was getting ready for this trip, I thought to myself, alright, this will be a calm, relaxing week. I’ll get to play with some street kids, hang out by the pool, maybe go to the market, but all in all, it’ll be chill. How wrong I was. I think I’ve done more in the past two days that I have all semester. First of all, getting down here was a miracle in and of itself, as my tickets weren’t registered with TACA and my connections were all 20 minutes apart. Once I got down here though, I soon realized that it would be an action packed five days.
After dropping off my bags, we went to lunch with the kids. I can’t even begin to explain what kind of experience that was. They completely blew me away in so many ways. I expected hardened young kids that lived a life of poverty and in need. But these kids were so incredibly joyous. I don’t mean happy to see us, even though they were, but I mean they had JOY inside of them. Sure, there were some moments where I had to go to my happy place and count to ten to avoid snapping, but that’s how kids are supposed to be. Their gracious attitude and love for Dyl completely floored me. Even the 80 year old grandmother on the street corner was elated to see him.
We went from lunch to the market, and holy cow, it was so awesome. I love those kinds of environments. I guess I’ve watched too much food network and travel channel. When we got home I crashed, and that nap felt so good!
Yesterday we went to Masaya, a town about an hour away from
When we came home last night, we got ready for the party. We went and picked up the kids and brought them back to Dyl’s in four taxis. The expressions on their faces when we pulled up and they saw the pool and balloons really made me think about their life and their situation. I can only imagine that this was the first time these kids have seen a pool or this kind of neighborhood. We played, they swam, and we ate more pollo frito. I’m sure Dyl will cover more of the details… but all in all it was such a mind-blowing experience.
Even though I was so exhausted mentally from the party, I had this unexplainable satisfaction deep inside. When I’m down here and I see the love these people have for each other and for complete strangers, I’m just reminded how powerful God’s love for us is. I feel as if I always thought of this kind of trip as me serving the Lord and sharing His love with others, but the more I do these kind of things, the more I realize that these experiences are instead His loving me, His people serving me in ways I could never imagine. As each day goes by down here, I’m reminded of the ever-present pain and suffering in this world, but almost instantly I see God’s love shining through the dirt and smoke to provide light, strength and hope for all His people.
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