I know it has been way tooooo long! I just got back from Somotillo Nicaragua last Saturday night. It was amazing! Since it has been so long since I have made a post I thought what better thing to write about other than my trip! :)
My heart is torn. My whole thing of walking without shoes has an entire different meaning now. I knew there were people in the world who didn't have shoes but WOW! Nicaragua is the second poorest country beside Haiti being the first. All that "poorness" aside though they are one of the richest countries I have ever seen with LOVE! They stole my heart! Now that I am back I feel like a piece of me is missing. I also felt a piece of me missing while I was there since my boys were home. The funny thing is that no matter where I am I guess I will always have a sense of brokenness in my heart. My father always used to say to me "Megan! Never give your whole heart away" I am finding that more and more hard to do the older I get. I have bits and pieces of my heart in many different places but the one thing that makes it feel whole is to know that God has placed these places and people in my life for a reason and that my heart has become a puzzle for a reason. I guess my whole puzzle piece of a heart can be placed back together again when I get to Heaven. :) Seeing the whole picture one day will be one amazing site!
While I was in Nicaragua it was so refreshing to not have to ever think of all the judgmental things that people always talk about here. My past and just being a creature of habit tried to bring all that negativity with me but I was quickly taught that its not like that there. Or at least what I experienced wasn't. We looked different from each other and even spoke a different language but we both still felt the language of love and music. I did learn a few words in Spanish and some of them knew a little bit of English. Enough to get me by to; one be able to communicate that "Jesus is the light" (Jesús es la luz) to the people in the villages, and two; to be able to haggle with the shop keepers at the airport after all our interpreters had left us.
While I was struggling to handle holding the glow in the dark tattoos I brought them and the water and cloth to put them on their arms at the same time a young lady said no words. She just saw my need and began to help me. She would pour the water on the cloth when I needed it and would open the tattoo packages when I needed it as well. She waited patiently while all the other children got one and then it was time to go. Since she showed me such kindness I couldn't leave without giving her one so while we were praying I quickly gave her one! (sshh! Don't tell anyone I wasn't paying attention to the prayer that one time!)
At another village called "Ojoche" I got to sing during a Sunday afternoon church service. I was very nervous and just knew it was going to go terribly. I was so wrong! They liked my song just as much as I loved theirs. There were some boys that were clapping along to all the songs that were played that day and they were reallly getting into it! I loved knowing that even though we couldn't understand each others words we could understand the wonderful feeling that music has to offer us.
As the week went on I began to get very sad. I didn't want to leave these beautiful people behind. We had so much to offer each other. At one point on the van going back to Managua we stopped to let one of our translators out so he could catch another bus back to his home town. I didn't realize we were saying goodbye to him before we got back to the city. Since I was already sad in the first place when he got out of the van I just broke down. His name was Roger and he is a wonderful guy! So willing to help whenever and wherever needed. He always made sure we were all together keeping a head count on us. Making sure we didn't forget anything and just truly a nice guy! I enjoyed getting to know him in the little bit of time I did even if wasn't his whole life story I learned enough about him to know I gained a friend. All the interpreters were AMAZING people! I came to love them all and can not wait to see them again next year!
I hated leaving but was VERY happy to give my boys a HUGE hug! Now that I am back in the states I can't wait to go back to Nicaragua and give them a HUGE hug! I guess this will be a beautiful never ending circle of life, love, and compassion. I have only just begun to tell you about my trip but there is just no way to get it all out in one go so till next time I leave you with a few of my favorite pics from the trip. Hope you enjoy!
