The Kids Here Call Me Sol

Nicknames are a beloved thing here on the farm, at this point I have a few, but my favorite has to be Sol. Sol means sun in Español. They say my hair looks like the sun. On my walks around the farm I’m greeted with calls of “ hola sol!”. I find it so precious because as Christians and missionaries that’s what we’re called to do. Reflect the son. We’re supposed to be a bright light in a dark world. This calling is obviously very different and deeper than the color of my hair, but it made me think about how I want to be seen. Just like my hair is light and very different from most of the others around me, I want to be seen as different because I’m shining for Jesus. I want my heart to be attractive because when people get to know me they are pointed to my savior. 

 

 

Only one week left in Granada, Nicaragua. 

The past few weeks here have been full of experiencing the beautiful culture here. I met so many strong believers in our Lord Jesus Christ! Worshipping with the church here has been so encouraging. 

 

The people here are beautiful.

The take on life with so much joy and strength even though so many of them have so very little. 

As we drive through the town of Granada I can’t help smiling at the families I pass. People here are so good at doing life together. Families stick together. Grandparents, children, grandchildren, even great grandchildren all living together under one roof. What happened in the US. Where did our families go? Although I am so thankful for the United States and the blessings we all have there, I believe there is so much To be learned from the families here. 

 

Phone Service hasn’t been great here, so I haven’t been able to post as much as I would like to, but here’s what’s been happening over the past 2 weeks!

 

One of my favorite memories from these past few weeks is hearing John’s testimony. John is the children’s pastor at the church we help out on Friday mornings. 

John’s story is rough. It’s full of heartbreak and disappointments. It’s full of betrayal and those who were supposed to protect and love him abandoning their duty and becoming the ones who he needed protecting from. So because of this he become one of those people that others needed protecting from. 

But God sought after Him and turned his life completely around. John is now one of the sweetest people I’ve met on this trip so far. He is so full of love and a strong desire to protect those around him, especially the children from evil. 

God redeems broken ugly things and makes them very beautiful. John’s life is a testament to that. He now leads the children of this church with so much joy and passion. It has been an honor to work alongside him and the rest of his team over the past three weeks. 

Revelation 21:5

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

A few months ago John had a dream. He dreamed that a group of people from the United States would come and help him with his children’s ministry. He then brought it up with his lead pastor, and it just so happened that Leslie has already been talking with Scott, our ministry host here at REAP, so have us partner with John this fall. I think it is so precious that God put us in John’s mind and then allowed us to come and partner with what the Lord is doing here! 

 

I keep getting asked what I’ll miss the most when we leave Nicaragua and move to Costa Rica. I will miss the people. I have built so many beautiful relationships while being here! People that I am so thrilled to see every day. I’ll especially miss the kids here. They are so patient with me as I’m learning Spanish and are so willing to teach and correct me. Even though I came here to serve them, they bless me every day with their smiles and joyful spirits. We already have so many inside jokes. I love when I get to lead Bible studies with the kiddos here. Even though they don’t always want to pay attention, I keep telling myself that I’m planting seeds. 

 

The people here are so open to encouragement and prayer. On our prayer walks we are welcomed into people’s homes abs they share their desires and hurts with us without knowing who we are other than we are part of the same heavenly family. We are brother’s and sisters in Christ. We have prayed over families suffering from the death of a loved one. We’ve prayed over cancer. We’ve prayed over widows. We’ve prayed over people who feel lonely abs forgotten. Seeing people in such rough places in life yet still with such a strong faith in Jesus is such an encouragement to me and my faith. If they are able to trust God with everything when they literally have nothing. Then why can’t I trust Him when he’s blessed me so immensely? 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Highlights from the past 2 weeks! 

 

— helping out in the kitchen last Saturday! The women who cook for us are the sweetest. They do so much for us! So I was thrilled that I got to help out by chopping veggies and setting up for our meals with them. Even though the language barrier is hard to navigate I loved getting to know them better! 

— Day trip to San Juan Del Sur beach with 3 of my girls. Kylie, Lauren and Marilyn are the best adventure buddies!  San Juan Del Sur is a small touristy beach town filled with cute restaurants and shops. Those of you that know me well know I’m a beach girl through and through 🙂 so it was such a treat to visit one of Nicaragua’s most famous beaches! 

— Laguna De Apoyo! This is a beautiful lagoon hidden between two volcanoes. We spent the day here swimming and hanging out. It felt like we were at a resort 🙂 

— Volcan Masaya! Got to visit an active volcano! Didn’t see any lava, but wow it was impressive. Our God created some pretty crazy stuff! Turns out a long time ago Volcan Masaya used to be considered the entrance to Hell and so indigenous peoples would sacrifice humans there to appease the gods. A Spanish priest then decided that the volcano needed to be washed clean from the devil and so a cross was put on the edge of the crater. I got to stand by that cross and watch the smoke pour out of the crater. 

— sunset walks down our property. There are 13 dogs here on a farm and so usually a few tag along. We have a full view of Volcan Mumbacha and so watching the sunset as it floods the sky with color is such a testament  to God’s love of beauty! 

— playing futbol with everyone on the farm.

— Team Time with team Salt and Light! These girls are such a blessing! 

— hearing the beautiful sounds the wildlife makes here! 

— discovering my favorite Nicaraguan Candy! 

 

Anyway, life’s pretty cool here. 

 

Here’s to reading a good book in my hammock

Here’s to fling conversations with friends

Here’s to drinking smoothies on the beach

Here’s to rice and beans 

Here’s to sunshine

Here’s to tan lines 

Here’s to early bedtimes

Here’s to pickle ball matches

Here’s to having living family to miss back at home 

Here’s to learning how to love and be loved

 

Here’s to the King!