It’s now been a week since I left Nicaragua and I have thought a lot about the time there and have tried to come up with words to accurately describe it. So far, I have been unsuccessful. Why?
Jane Austen said:
“And sometimes I have kept my feelings to myself, because I could find no language to describe them in.”
That’s why. Words aren’t sufficient. My sentences and paragraphs will not come close to capturing Nicaragua. However, my commitment was to recap each country and document my journey in this way. I hope that as you read this, you understand that these words can only offer a surface level description. Nonetheless, I will do my best to give you a glimpse into country number three.
Location: REAP Granada
Arrival: March 16
Departure: April 7
Days: 22
Team: Emissary – Amanda, Zachary, Ericka, Zach, Me, Jenna (TL), Kevin (SQL)
Living conditions: For the Race, it was bougie. We had a giant room with about 12 bunk beds, hard wood floor, nice mattresses, air conditioner, a bathroom with working showers, a covered outside area with hammock swings. It was truly SO nice.
Best Food: Every single meal. Lots of variety, flavors, veggies (some of them grown in the REAP garden), fruits, eggs, soups, plantains cooked all ways. If you know me, you know I thrived with this diet.
Worst Food: Nothing. Honestly.
Ministry: Our host, Scott Esposito did orientation with us on one of our first days in Nicaragua & listed the ministries they do, following it with the statement: “but that is not the point.” Scott is very passionate about the motivation of ministry & has implemented this focus in every crevice of the the program that he built from the ground up. What does it matter if we do a lot of good works if our heart is not in the right place? Our first several days there, we spent time training with the following theme: Focusing on the Lord & spending time with Him fills us up, & out of the overflow of the love of God, we cannot help but love those around us. I learned so much about ministry in our time at REAP & had the privilege of watching the example of Scott & everyone on staff there. They exhibit what they teach in a beautiful way.
Discipleship is a main focus: pouring into each other & holding each other accountable.
There are groups that go out into the surrounding neighborhoods & visit people to check in & pray.
Several times a week, a group is gathered to go to the hospital & visit the sick & pray for them. There is a prison ministry.
The farm has sports fields/courts where people come from far & wide to play or watch.
Once the garden is done, it will teach women how to grow food & allow them to work for the produce grown.
There is a women’s bible study.
And, it keeps going. The ministries are endless & we had to opportunity to watch this program work like a well-oiled machine. Most of the people doing the ministry are Nicaraguans, working out of a desire to share the love of Christ with their neighbors.
Best day: Ok, picture this. You wake up at 5am to pray as you watch the sunrise (5-6 is set aside for prayer & everyone at the farm participates). After that, you go back to your room & get ready for the day along with the 16 girls you are living with (a Gap year was there at the same time as us). You go for a nice little walk with your bestie, coffee in hand. You go to breakfast at 8 and eat gallo pinto & eggs & fruit, and you talk to your friends Isamara & Felix about what the plans for the day are. You go back and lead a book study with 6 of the Gap year girls & hash out theological concepts & share stories & laugh a lot & pray together. You put on some sunscreen, fill up your water bottle & head out to the REAP garden where Felix & Isamara are waiting. They tell you that today, the 4 of us are going to construct some garden beds, so that means hauling dirt. You start shoveling & wheelbarrowing & exerting every ounce of strength you have, then shape the beds with rakes & measure them until they are just right. You have music playing & joke around with Isa & Felix & Amanda. You all take a few breaks because Isamara says “I don’t want to take care of you if you faint.” She offers you a flannel to wear because a little more sweat is better than sunburn.
You go hard until you hear the bell for lunch & walk over to the “comedor” & are served squash from the garden, rice, some other veggies and some form of plantain, plus a cup of cold Tamarindo juice. You eat & sit & rest for a while in the shade, then go back over to the garden. In the afternoon heat, you sit in the shade & plant seeds in a starter tray, again just enjoying time with these friends. As it gets cooler, you move out into the garden & do some weeding, watering, transplanting, tying up plants. The sun starts to set & the breeze is magical. You are covered in dirt & tanned by the sun. The sky surrounding the volcano is pink & the atmosphere at the farm calms down as people get refreshed after a full day of ministry. Everyone congregates for dinner and it’s tacos with all the toppings. You sit at the table for a long time, talking & laughing & joking & trying to say tongue twisters in Spanish (tres triste tigres tragaron trigo en un trigal). You make your way back towards your room, journal about the day, shower, & climb into a comfortable bed in a cooled-off room and fall asleep immediately because of utter exhaustion.
So that, above, is what several of my days looked like. Can you understand a little more why I LOVED this place?
Also, let me introduce Felix & Isamara because I mentioned them several times.
Felix works at the farm as an agricultural engineer of sorts and vet/caretaker of the 14 dogs. You will always see him around, directing workers or harvesting something or problem solving the latest issue with at least 3 dogs closely following him. He’s 28, speaks some English, loves dogs and is usually taking about his cooking hobby or the latest news of the farm.
Isamara lives on the farm as well & helps with whatever odd job needs to be done. Her main passion is the garden, & she puts blood, sweat and tears into that project. The future of the garden is that it will be a place where women of the community can come & work to make money, & just learn how to grow things. Isamara is always joking about something, laughs a lot, makes fun of everyone but she also has a serious side that is so dedicated & focused on what is important. We bonded so much in the time we spent together & I soaked up every minute we had together.
Worst day: The day we left.
A person: Ugh. There are quite a few unforgettable people I would like to acquaint you with & I really don’t want to have to choose. I will, for the sake of a blog post that isn’t the length of a book. You already know Felix & Isamara, and they were the people that I spent the most time with & will miss the most.
Someone else that made an impact on me was Julio!! He is married (to Carina who is another incredible person) & has 2 kids in their late teens. He is in leadership at REAP & carries a lot of responsibility in planning, driving people places, directing whatever groups are going out, discipling several men, and probably a whole other list of things that I didn’t even see. He is so kind. Kind-hearted, concerned & caring. That is what I will remember about him. He listens so well, is understanding, & points to Christ. He’s fatherly to all he comes in contact with. He’s also quite hilarious & speaks English and follows pretty much every sentence with “You know?” I wish everyone could know Julio.
Weather: It definitely was HOT where we were, but the constant breeze changed the game. Super different feel from Honduras & El Salvador because of the wind. Night time & early morning was pleasant.
Favorite memory: A sunrise hike to the top of a random, stand-alone mountain. Left at 4:30am and got to the top in time to see the sunrise. Felix & Isamara took us. If I lived there, I would do that every morning.
Shoutout: TO GAP G!!! This is a World Race group of 18-21 year olds that does 3 countries in 9 months. Their last country is Nicaragua. We LOVED crossing paths with them, hearing their stories, sharing experiences, & doing life with them. Seriously, love this group of humans a ton.
Ok fam. This is my longest post yet & I still feel that I have not even come close to describing this month accurately. Here are some pieces & maybe one day I can tell you more in person. Thank you for reading & being a part of this journey!!
