I Guess It's Friday Already

We are guessing some of you parents might be wondering why we haven't blogged in a day or two but since we are in Nicaragua for only a week we are packing in the days with activities with the kids and the community. It has also been a little difficult to find internet service around the orphanage during the down times because the orphanage has been limiting the internet hours for the kids because some were sneaking out during the late hours when they weren't supposed to.

So, let me give you a glimpse as to what we've been up to...

The team began a work project here at the orphanage on Wednesday. The family trip from Springbranch had begun this work project to construct shallow boxes lined with plastic bags. Our job was to fill those boxes with a mixture of sand and charcoal and rice to be used as a fortified farming system. We were able to fill all of the boxes, and today we get to begin planting all of the produce! Including tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. The produce will be eaten by the kids at the orphanage as well as sold for a profit.

Wednesday afternoon we had the opportunity to take a tour of Vera Cruz, the community that surrounds the orphanage. I was so proud of the students as they really engaged with the people they met. Some went into their homes and got to see where they lived. In the middle of the tour there was an intense down pour (we are in the middle of the rainy season so it has rained some everyday), so we all just paused in the middle of the town and spent time under the coverings of the houses. It was such a beautiful moment. After returning from the tour we spent the rest of the day hanging around Casa Bernabe with the kids.

Yesterday was a long one for the team. The day began with a trip to the feeding center at Nueva Vida (New Life), a refugee camp that was set up after a hurricane that hit in 1998, and has now become a community of 15,000 people. The feeding center we visited currently feeds 300 kids a day, however with a shipment of meals that is coming from a partnership between OrphaNetwork and "Stop Hunger Now" in October, they will be able to feed 1100 kids a day (all of the kids of Nueva Vida). SO AMAZING! Our team had the opportunity to actaully serve the kids their meals, it was a bit chatoic - especailly when another down pour hit during the middle of the meal. But just imagine 150 kids in the center, 30 people from our team trying to gather their plates and bring them thier meals, all while it is pouring rain all around us. The team really enjoyed this hands on opportunity of physically serving the kids of Nueva Vida.

We arrived back at the team center just in time for a 30 min break for lunch before we took the kids from Casa Bernabe on an Educational Field Trip. We divided our group into two, and one group took the younger kids on a boat tour of lake Managua. The other group took the older kids on a tour of an unused prison in Managua. This is the first time I had participated in an educational field trip, but it was such a cool thing to be a part of. The staff of Casa Bernabe is really starting to think strategically about challenging and educating the kids while they are here. And who doesn't love a good field trip?

Needless to say by the end of the day our team was pretty wiped, so we spent the evening yesterday just chilling and debriefing at the team center. Well, we are up and at it again today as the team is now planting all of the produce into the boxes we put soil in on Wednesday. So I must go...pictures still aren't uploading. But I will try later today as we have free time at the orphanage all afternooon today! I hope all is well with you back in the states, and thank you for all of your prayers!