The three weeks we spent in Nicaragua absolutely flew by. This was our last ministry in our first teams, and we worked with a child protection center on the island of Ometepe in the middle of the big lake in Nicaragua. The island is also home to two big volcanoes! You can almost always see at least one, if not both of them, from anywhere on the island. 

Our ministry was a mixture of things. We would rotate between helping with cleaning and cooking in the kitchen, helping in the garden with watering plants and weeding, repainting an old mural, and helping at the school with cleaning or English classes. They kept us pretty busy, but the best part by far was hanging out with the 9 kids that live there. 

The ministry used to be considered an orphanage, but the government didn't like that term or how they had to help pay for things, so they made sure any orphanages were shut down or were called something else. Because of this, our place was renamed as a child protection center and only 10 kids are able to live there at a time. On top of that, since it's no longer considered an orphanage, the kids can only stay on the property Monday through Friday. So families from the community and the church have stepped up to be host families for the kids on the weekends. 

It's been cool to see how God is opening doors and providing for these kids and the people who care for them. Some kids have parents who aren't able to care for them financially, while others have a parent, or both, in jail. The staff and host families have taken in those who can't take care of themselves, and they are living out James 1:27:

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

It was a fun few weeks filled with numerous birthday parties with piñatas and lots of cake, adventures to see the volcanoes and go kayaking, and getting to love the amazing staff and kids.

There were many sweet moments as we closed out our time as Team Selah before team changes, and I'm so grateful for this amazing group of women. Honestly, I'm pretty sure I've learned more from them than they've learned from me. They truly were a gift to me from the Lord. 

The ministry there needs more help. They haven't had any groups come in the last two years because of covid and fear of the government, but God brought them hope by bringing our team there just at the right time. If you feel led to do a mission trip, short or long term, and this ministry catches your interest, please reach out to me and I'll pass along their info. The director is an amazing woman of God with an incredible testimony. She needs people with willing hearts and hands to come serve, teach, and love the kids. Please be praying for God to bring her the right people.