Today we had an early morning programmed so we had to get up at 6:30 am, eat breakfast and leave by 7:30 am on a two and a half bus ride through the country to a city called Matagalpa. When we got there, the school program had been cancelled.
We decided to drop by a local orphanage so we could use the restrooms. When everyone got out of the bus, we encountered two little twin girls that were feeding each other at a table. The twin girls won our hearts immediately. We were all holding them and loving on them. It's no surprise that Amy asked Steve if they could take them home by adopting them.
After we left the orphanage, we moved into our new home for the next two days. We unpacked our bags into the Hostal El Rey, a little, yet cozy hostel run by a local Christian family. The hostel is a beautiful place with a patio and garden out the back that is perfect for team bonding. The only thing that we don't love is the cold showers…but at least there is soap and toilet paper (something our previous place did not have).
After settling into the hostel, we went to a pastor's conference that focused on leadership and making our priorities right. Simon, Tyler, Dave, Amy and Steve shared from their hearts. We got to pray for the elders and they returned the blessing and prayed for us. We also got to enjoy home cooked meals which where our first Nicaraguan authentic meals. For lunch we got chicken and white rice, for dinner we had tacos with cole slaw and ketchup.
Our last thing on the schedule was leading an adult service at a remote church up in the hills. When we got there, to our surprise, a bunch of young men were standing outside of the church looking in through the windows but would not come in. The girls on the trip felt disrespected by the comments these young men were saying to them as we all walked into the church. From that point on, we all felt uneasy because we were told to be careful with these young men because the situation had become very unpredictable at that point.
The service continued and we performed our dramas, dances, testimonials and preaching but we made sure to pair up each girl with a guy for protection. At the end of the service, the men on our team escorted all the girls out to the bus safely.
Our trust in God was tested through this situation. It took faith to know God's protection was over us during that service. God moved through our skits and testimonies given by Matt, Loren, Amy and Tyler's sermon during that service.
God has been good and we are so excited to see all that God has in store for us this week. Thank you for your continued prayers.
- Kelli Noecker and Kiersten Seaburg
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