I'm sitting here at Charles and Sarah's house (the AIM missionary base leaders) in my room... let's just say it's an indoor/outdoor house and so my room has a balcony and as I step out I see the mountains in the distance. then walk up some stairs and back down a billion stairs in order to reach the first floor. the first thing I see downstairs is the pool... It's a long walk to the back of the house and an even longer walk to the front. It's huge and beautiful. I'm in Nicaragua and living wayy better than I do at home. Don't worry, I'm only staying here until tomorrow. Then I go join the rest of the interns and AIM team at El Puente (a gated 2 acre property in the city with a little dormatory and everything else)...


3 days later:
and I never finished that post. Now I'm at El Puente... it's a ministry base in the city. kind of like a private mini camp in the midst of lots of hustle and bustle. There is two acres of land with 9 foot walls all around. This is where everything happens. During the week there are numerous bible studies, Young Life, Church service, Bible conferences, children's bible lessons etc.
What am I responsible for: still working that out. Right now I am going to all the ministries to see where I should spend my time this summer and I am praying that God will put something on my heart as to where He wants to use me. I am learning to trust Him and be obedient in His leading.
I do think that I will be starting a children's library/reading/bible program with another intern. Because we are located right outside the barrio, there are many children here who have no education and do not know how to read. Nicaraguan government says that if you can't afford a uniform, you don't go to school. Walking through the barrio, I can't even explain the poverty that these people experience. And every time it rains, when I run for cover, when it downpours, I think of the people who don't have a concrete floor, who don't have a solid, waterproof roof over there heads... and that's life for them. When there is a meal that I don't like (for instance, Gillo Pinto, aka rice and beans), that's all they have. The other day, I was walking out of a coffee shop and was just finishing my 2nd coffee frappuccino and a little boy asked if he could have the rest of (I had two sips left) - I was obliged to give him it, but that could never fill even a hint of hunger.
The Barrio:
Where chubby bellies and blonde-haired children is not necessarily cute - it means malnutrition.
Where getting a high on shoe glue is not just to get high - it suppresses hunger.
Where people come to the dump every Monday and Tuesday to shift through the new trash to get a bite to eat.
Where dirt floors are the norm - swept and slept on.
Where all the homes have cable TV which blasts in American influence - giving them a taste of the opposite of reality.
Where labor is cheap and jobs are few.

I write of the poverty, but I forgot to mention how beautiful it is here. The people are an incredibly sweet, quiet people. And the Lord is doing a work here. I am excited at the opportunities I have, at the passion that is being stirred in the hearts of the believers here, the willingness for people to come and serve - the promise of Hope in our Great and Majestic God.

Peace :)