And when I say adventure, I do mean adventure! Nicaragua was a stretch for us in ways that even being here in El Salvador for two whole months couldn't be. We are thankful for that, but we also found ourselves saying "I'm glad to be home" when we got back across the Salvadoran border (and yes, home being a foreign country is a crazy concept!)
Firstly, the trip TO Nicaragua was a stretch of faith. All the other passengers said it was never so difficult, but to make a long story short, a 13-hour bus trip turned into a 4-hour wait for a lost bus plus a 16-hour drive, complete with a power outage at one of the customs offices. I'm so thankful God put English-speaking natives on that bus with us to translate what we couldn't!
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| Nicaragua sure is a beautiful country though. |
Then, when we arrived at the King's Castle there, we found out we would actually not be staying at the camp but traveling with our teams to different Nicaraguan "states." We had no idea we would be separated for most of the week! Again, I am so thankful for people God placed with us. Our teams were welcoming and were great workers, so while we missed each other, we were not alone. God grew our comfort zones and our faith through that experience.
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| I mean, look at this! |
Finally, while we were out with our teams, we stayed in "actual" Nicaragua, not the North-Americanized camp! We slept in buildings where there are no glass windows--to let air in, but that also let lots of bugs in. We had cold showers and authentic meals cooked over a fire. Our t-shirts were hand-washed and air-dried. None of this is uncommon in El Salvador, but we had been totally spoiled by our beautiful apartment here! There were also fewer English-speaking Nicaraguans off camp, which meant that at least in Brittany's case her Spanish improved a lot! We are so thankful for the authentic Central-American experience and the new perspective we gained. ...But it was still a stretch of comfort. :)
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| The best stew I've ever har, hands down...cooked via fire. |
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| The typical rural Central American street. |
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| The typical rural Central-American home (this is the special missionary house in the backyard, facing the pastor's home) |
Now...that's all great, but comfort-zone-stretching still sounds kind of negative. I don't want it to sound like we didn't enjoy ourselves at all while we were doing all that growing! So here are some of our favorite parts of our trip:
(Brittany)
As I think back on Nicaragua, I think of all the amazing people I got to interact with. When we first got there, we were both in new territory and didn't know how anything worked or where anything was or who anyone was. From the moment we arrived at the bus station and at the camp, we were bombarded with hugs and help from other staff there, and I felt comfortable so quickly. My team from North Texas, as I said, was full of fun-loving and prayer-relying people and I loved getting to know them. And then there were the Nicaraguans themselves. My new goal is to make a "buddy" at every program, so that I know for sure at least one child was intensely and personally loved on that day. It's not hard! Oftentimes, they find me!
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| Look at that face! |
(Matt)
Being in Nicaragua for a week was a wonderful and needed experience. It showed me some of the non-romantic side of mission work, like being in a completely new place with people you have only met four hours ago feeling completely alone; but that was all worth it when I got to know our team and staff that we worked with. In Nicaragua, they have pastors from the different cities come in to work with the teams, and each one of these pastors has a heart of gold for people, and specifically children. Both pastors we each worked with had young families, and it was awesome to see husband, wife, and child involved in the work of showing people the love of Jesus. I was challenged and honored to see their top priority of telling people about Jesus.
From both of us, thank you for praying for us especially hard during our adventurous week. We are back in El Salvador again, already working with a team from Florida, and though we are back to "normal" we still need your love and support. We are grateful for you!
All our love,
The Copelands
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