Well I made it through my first Christmas and New Years out of the
country, and although I missed my family (especially my adorable nearly
year-old nephew Ezra), I was well taken care of by two of many
surrogate families I have been blessed to be a part of.

When I came to Nicaragua last May, I told my parents not to expect me home for Christmas.  I have visited twice since then (the first trip a joyous celebration at my friend Melissa's wedding and the second a sorrowful time with family when my grandmother passed away.)  Come December I decided to stick to my original plan and do Christmas Nica-style.

 

In May I had no idea that I would be so involved with Young Life and certainly no inclination that by the end of the year we'd be taking kids to camp; but as I have been repeating to myself lately, "My times are in Your hands Lord," and it's so obvious that he had plans for my Christmas time that I never even would have considered 7 months ago.

I had planned to spend Christmas in Nicaragua for my own reasons and much later discovered that we were to leave for Young Life camp the 26th.   Who schedules a camp the day after Christmas?  I don't know. What I do know is that the Lord intended for me to go and had much in store for me while I was there.

 

I have been in the process of Young Life (Vida Joven) training since last July, and I think it's actually quite humorous (yet as it should be) that I am one of the only leaders in the whole country that isn't Nicaraguan.  It's hard enough as it is trying to fit in with teenagers.  Throw in a foreign language and culture, and you're in for a real ride!  Nevertheless, I am feeling more and more comfortable in this role, and I'm so happy to be getting to know kids on a deeper level.

 

                 

 

When we were at camp, we had some time as a group (leaders plus the 11 kids we brought from Granada) to share some of our life stories.   I sat there with my hands over my mouth and tears streaming down my face as our friend Yelba described some of the many disappointments in her life, the least of which included going through birthdays without one single acknowledgment from friends or family.

 

It was heart-breaking to hear some of these kids reveal their brokenness and yet incredible at the same time to cry with them and pray over them in the midst of their pain.   Now that we are back in Granada, Oneyda (the area director's wife), and I have a plan of discipleship in place, and we want to regularly meet with these 6 girls as they continue to figure out what it means to have a relationship with Jesus.   In fact, I'm meeting with 3 of them today at 4:00.