Day1 : In Nicaragua was amazing and very challenging. We left Matagalpa at 7am in the morning to report to the Mission House in Jinotega. Once we arrived there we filled a small truck with wood pieces to build bunk beds. We could only carry enough wood for two beds so we took multiple trips back to the truck the mission to retrieve more material. The truck held four mattresses. We had bags filled with battery operated drills, coolers with water and Gatorade. The first installation went very well. Our trucks were able to make it pretty far up the Mountain so we carried the wood and mattress maybe 40 yards into the home. The second installation was the most challenging. Our trucks were unable to make the climb up the mountain. So we had to hop out and carry the wood up a very rocky and steep path to deliver the beds to children. All I could do was concentrate on carrying the wood and watching the ground. Two of the men who traveled with us took a tumble down the mountain while carrying the biggest parts of the wood. They're okay! It was all worth it once we reached the homes, built the beds and saw how happy the children were to have more space cleared in the small homes they lived in and provided a comfortable sleeping space. Many homes only had one bed that all the children and even the parents occupied at night. Talk about grateful! These babies were jumping up and down with joy as we put the beds together. They kept saying thank you.
Day 2: In Jinotega, Nicaragua at the old location of the trash dump there are about 18 families living. They have no electricity and no running water. The water that they drink is from a river and filled with bad bacteria. Today we delivered about 18 water filtering systems. They pour the water that they have collected from the river into a clay pot placed inside of the blue bin and it filters the water. I wasn't sure of all the science but I knew that these containers guaranteed that 95% of the sickness due to their drinking water would be reduced. That was so helpful. In these communities we encountered so many children that were so happy despite the circumstances of unclean water, lack of transportation and others things that we made seem so essential in America. On this day I learned a lot about appreciation and to stop being so materialistic charged. It taught me a level of gratitude. I so wanted the happiness that so many of them embodied and this taught me that surely that didn't come from things but from people.
When it was time to go, I cried my eyes out. I went there to serve them but they served me in a much greater way.
Day 2: In Jinotega, Nicaragua at the old location of the trash dump there are about 18 families living. They have no electricity and no running water. The water that they drink is from a river and filled with bad bacteria. Today we delivered about 18 water filtering systems. They pour the water that they have collected from the river into a clay pot placed inside of the blue bin and it filters the water. I wasn't sure of all the science but I knew that these containers guaranteed that 95% of the sickness due to their drinking water would be reduced. That was so helpful. In these communities we encountered so many children that were so happy despite the circumstances of unclean water, lack of transportation and others things that we made seem so essential in America. On this day I learned a lot about appreciation and to stop being so materialistic charged. It taught me a level of gratitude. I so wanted the happiness that so many of them embodied and this taught me that surely that didn't come from things but from people.
When it was time to go, I cried my eyes out. I went there to serve them but they served me in a much greater way.