.ten.days.in.

.ten.days.in.

It’s been ten full days now living in Nica and in full Nica style I might add. This week has been one of adventure and growth in many ways for me personally. Last Sunday evening me and the other two gringas went to the local grocery store called La Union and upon our return we were met by a rushing river where the road to the House of Hope once was. This road is called simply 13 but it was no longer a road. It was evening and quickly getting dark as in Nica there are not many street lamps…so here we were…three gringas sitting in a big truck waiting for a river to become a road once again. After a couple of hours the waters slowed and we decided to be brave and attempt to drive to the HOH. Once we tried to start the engine of the truck it would turn over. Again…three gringas on the side of the road now truly stuck. We called Oscar the on campus director of HOH. He came in boots and a motorcycle. We discovered it was the spark plugs. He asked us to flag a truck down to help us tow the truck off of the hill. It took us all of 30 seconds to get a truck. Oscar does not know the power of three gringas on the side of the road in Nica. Once we got the truck towed off of the hill it magically started! Horray! When it was all said and done it took us over 3.5 hours to get to the HOH…which under normal circumstances it takes about 5 minutes. Welcome to the rainy season in Central America…let the water stories begin.

This week has been one of humility. It’s been humbling to ask questions and how to say just about everything in Spanish. Wanting so badly to talk to the girls and the women and just not having the words. I am getting better at following stories and conversations. I am having a difficult time with putting sentences together and having it flow…so for now it’s two-three word sentences. I like talking with the younger kids…they can be a bit more patient sometimes.

Humbling also with just what the Lord has been showing me in my heart…where I view myself much higher than I am…than I should be. I have taken up running, as my way of stress relief and thinking time off campus, on one of my runs is when God spoke to me about how high I was putting my “righteousness”. I stopped dead in my tracks…sweat dripping from my nose…I lowered by body and just asked for God to forgive me for putting myself above others. The passage in Philippians 2 came to mind and I was reminded of how Christ lowered himself…to human form…in obedience walked to his death…for us. Undeserving love. Isn’t our God so good to bring things up to our attention to make us more like him. A jealous God. Oh he knows me…us…so well. How to speak to us. How to love us. How to show us himself.

Our God is great!

This week has also been a bit busy with the excitement of the medical team coming Sunday evening. The empty houses here at HOH have been transformed into make-shift doctor’s offices. There’s everything from an opthomoligist to a dentist and everything in between. This will be huge for the girls and the women who live here…but also the Tuesday morning women will be able to receive services throughout the week. The medical team will be here until Thursday servicing the women and children in the area. Please be praying for the girls as they go through the different stations. Many of the girls are fearful of new things and the unknown. Some of the girls will need to see they gynecologist…as you can imagine this is something that is terrifying to them. Please be praying that the girls who need to go will be brave and go. I am told that only one girl out of ten who needed to go last year went.

Also…every weekend some of the girls leave to go with their families on what is called “permiso”. The special little girl Lupe and her sister Anna left last Friday with her mother and they still have yet to return. My heart is heavy for them and I ask Oscar about them almost everyday. He said on Friday that he was going to attempt to go visit them and pick the girls up but he was unable to find them. Please be praying for my sweet little Lupe and Anna. It’s not the same here without them.

I know that many of you have been praying for me…I can feel them lifting me and holding me up. There have been a couple of rough days through this past week…but God has been good…and has been close; closer than ever since stepping into a relationship with him almost two years ago. We went to another ministry with some of the older girls last night called One by One and it was set up much like a middle school youth group…complete with flashing lights and awkward games. During the worship I was overcome with emotion of feeling God fill the room…much like at Blueridge on a Sunday in the Big Room…feeling God the same way there as I do at home. Made me miss you all…my Jesus family…but knowing that God is here too and he is looking more and more beautiful everyday.

I don’t even have to words to say how thankful I am to you all…my Jesus family…for your support in any form…I just love you all and my life will forever be changed because of your sacrifice.

As one of the girls here on campus loves to say “I love you forever.”

P.S. Funny story: I had a dream last night that I was a ninja and i was fighting people like in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon..and I was flying through the air to kick someone...and I totally kicked the wall in my room as hard as I can! My toes still hurt from it! Watch out people...I'm secretly a ninja!