Nicaragua Mission Trip

Nicaragua is very unique in many different ways! It’s located near the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Honduras and Costa Rica border this country. “Nicaragua’s land of beaches is lapped by sparkling seawater, deep forests, long winding rivers, colonial cities, ancient sites thousands of years old, and a huge freshwater lake- the only lake in the world with sharks in it” (Shields 9). This country includes beautiful landscapes, mild climate, republic form of government, low finances, distinctive culture, and many interesting facts.

Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, but is also full of history, tradition and life. It is known for its great folk music, deep heritage and culture. Nicaragua is hidden jewel with warm, gorgeous culture and breathtaking nature. It is surrounded by its incredible history, culture and nature.

The following week, we spent most of our time in the poorest parts of the city. There we went door-to-door sharing the love of God and had Vacation Bible Schools for the kids. This is when I realized how blessed I truly was. For the first time, I got to see the privations and penury environment that the citizens of Third World countries had to endure. The unpaved streets were covered in trash. Many houses, made of tin sheets, had collapsed on themselves. The people had to share wells, where they drew their parasitic water. Men, women, and children sat on the sides of the roads begging for money, because they were sick, hungry, and needed money for food and proper medication. The site of these atrocious states of living broke my heart, and showed me how blessed I really was for not having to face these problems.

While going to college I got to have the experience of a lifetime. Myself, and a group of 15 others went on a mission trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. We all got to see many cultural differences and help people in need. Helping people in need just

The country was foreign, a first for me. Dilapidation and ruin scattered the horizon as far as one could see. Guatemala is a place where poverty has a strong grasp on its people. We traveled tirelessly for hours to reach the poorest of the poor. Upon arrival old, young, and natives of all shapes and sizes formed receiving lines, eager to welcome us with gifts of smiles and gratitude. It was an experience that forever changed me. This was the first time I had stepped outside the boundaries of the American culture into a world where nothing is taken for granted. Each day spent on my mission trip brought a fresh awareness of gratefulness. Any pre-trip reluctance quickly became a vague memory as my emotions welled within bring a fresh change to

Too be fair, I had just returned from Guatemala, where the coldest temperature had been 50 degrees at night time but raised to the 70s or 80s by afternoon. I had nearly forgotten that in the same moments my dad and I were sweating in jeans and t-shirts, my mom and sister were back home, freezing under three layers of clothing. However, despite my lack of preparedness, I glanced down at the pink shoes on my feet in joy and gratitude for the experiences and memories I had gained on my mission trip to Guatemala.

My parents have always raised me to be grateful for what I have. I live in a safe and wealthy town with a superior education system, I have amazing friends and family, a roof over my head, and proper food and clothing.

Going to another country can be a little bit scary, especially if you are going to a third world country and you don’t plan on staying in the safe touristy areas. With this blog, I hope to appeal to others who are going on a mission trip to Nicaragua for the first time. Through my personal narrative, I hope to calm those first time jitters that people are inclined to get before doing something outside of their comfort zone. It can help when you have an idea about what you are getting into, but there are some things that no one can understand until they have been there, and that’s okay.

On one sunny day, I was helping my mom doing chores when she pulled me over to talk to me about something important. I was confused why my mom would want to me about something important, but I listened to what she said and followed her. What she told me was what her life was like back in Vietnam. She did not have much of an education. Instead, she stayed home with her mom to sell Vietnamese yogurt every day for a living. Since I was born in America, I never thought of life was like for others in developing countries like Vietnam. Hearing from my mom's experience, it stuck with me. I learned the importance of being grateful for what I have since they are a lot of people who do not have what we have in America and it made me want to help those who are in need. I was also inspired to do whatever I

In the city of Samayac, Guatemala was a small town where I traveled to last summer for a mission trip. Our intention was to teach kids about the bible, and the many aspects of it. My group visited many kids and adults in their villages local church, and played many games along with activities. While we were there it was a hot tropical day with a 90 degree temperature. It was something hard to deal with, but we still found a way to enjoy the time there. Around noon my group was supposed to do a church activity outside with the kids then later have a spanish service that I had no clue what they were saying. About halfway through the day it started to rain. It rained so hard that the street looked like a river going downhill and the church had

I have had multiple experiences in the past few years of my life that have greatly impacted me and changed the way that I go about life. During my Junior year, I learned that I had been granted the opportunity to attend the California Boys State program. This program took place during the summer after my junior year, and it was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. I met hundreds of new people from all across the state. During the program, I made many great friends, and I still talk to a group of around fifteen people from the program. While talking to other people from what seemed so far away, it really opened my eyes to the scale of the entire country, or the world. For once, I truly realized that everybody has their own problems and their own life. Every person that I talked to had a different story and it was very stunning.

The mission trip to New Orleans. I had let Jesus into my heart but I started to get this desire and passion to want to start following him, but I didn't know what that looked like or what that meant or how to do it. And so I prayed and longed for him to show me that. As we headed down to New Orleans, the back of my van started to get into really good conversations about life and each other and Katie Thul asked the question that forever has changed my life. “What has been the hardest part of your life so far?”. This might not seem like to bad of a question, but the fact of the matter was that I had never told anybody about the dark and gritty parts of my life before. I had always bottled it up, to scared to tell anyone because I feared what people thought of me, to afraid they’d turn away. And as people went around sharing, it came my time to share and I knew I couldn't do it, so I said I didn't want to share, and as they went around deep inside me I was being told I needed to. I needed to let it out and just speak. And so they came back to me and I let them in, I told them about what I had gone through and as I was in tears I looked up and saw this kid looking back at me from the front of the van. He wasn't apart of the conversation we were having but you knew he was listening in and as our eyes met, he was in tears. I then realized that this was Anna’s brother. This was the kid. That week I embraced my past and used it to help and grow and evangelize this kid, Jackson. I knew what to say because I was in the exact spot he was in just a year earlier. The Lord showed me that I can make a difference in people's lives through him. God opened my eyes to the people I had around me. He put Sydney into my life, someone who on this trip poured a tremendous amount of wisdom, truth, and love into me and essentially pushed me to love and follow Jesus recklessly and at all costs. So many people, from Ally to Zach, to

Viva Nicaragua combines two of my passions in one experiential learning program. I have always loved traveling and exploring new places, to have the chance to push past my comfort zones. Furthermore, I am incredibly passionate about service and the health care industry. As someone who has shadowed doctors in America, as well as had surgery and required hospital stay, I have experienced both sides of the aisle when it comes to medicine. However, this programs offers me a chance to see outside the “American bubble” and gain a new perspective. I have never been to Nicaragua before and I look forward to the challenge and inspiration from being in a new country and the honor of shadowing doctors in another setting.

Volunteering at a community health center in my hometown, Santiago de la Frontera in El Salvador changed my perspective on choices. Growing up, I thought that people chose to not brush their teeth. At the age of seven, I immigrated to the USA and didn't have a chance to understand that concept in El Salvador. I went back last summer and assisted an orthodontist. This opened my eyes to realize that some families have to choose between a tooth paste and food. In life, we are not given the same advantages and therefor, we can not make the same choices.

During the week my church evaluated one of the temples we visited in order to determine what materials would be needed to build the new temple. For the next year my church would be working to provide the Haitian congregation with a strong and secure temple. Little after the new temple was built hurricane Matthew came over Haiti. It was of great joy to receive the news that the temple we had built survived the hurricane and served as refuge for the congregation as well as surrounding communities. There is no doubt everything happens for a