Our time in Nicaragua has come to an end! After four weeks of working at Light and Salt Ministries, we have finished with the projects that have been asked of us, and the ministry site looks really great! My team of painters has been able to finish the painting projects in the classrooms, the kitchen/ eating area, and around the rest of the ministry site. The construction team has successfully weeded the entire compound, dug holes, and started to fix up building projects for the ministry! The people that were in the classroom were able to teach English lessons to the kids and help facilitate lessons with the teachers. There have been other projects as well such as Mercy in Action (the food program that I wrote about in my last blog) and the women’s event that we put on during our third week here.

I have been so proud of my squad this month and I have loved seeing everyone work to their strengths and help the ministry in so many unique ways. One major lesson that I have learned from this month is that helping a ministry can look so many different ways! Sometimes this looks like working directly with the kids and being in the front of the classroom, sometimes this looks like behind the scenes work like painting/ construction projects, and other times this looks like supporting the missionaries in small ways to lighten their load.

Ministry just doesn’t always look like you think it will! Burnout is a very real issue that people on the field face, and because of that, we have been able to support our host, Tara, this month through other avenues such as putting on an event for the women in the community, developing marketing materials for the ministry, and even watching her daughter some nights. Our host doesn't often get help in this way, so it has been very rewarding to be the aid that she needs, and I have loved learning more about ways that international missionaries need help while on the field.  

During this last week, our work has been interrupted a few times due to thunderstorms and lots of rain. Some may see this as a setback, but it was actually a really sweet opportunity for us to look up and see all of the work that we have been able to accomplish this month. From the painted buildings to the construction projects, the “office space” that the marketing people used, and the classroom filled with the boys in school here, it has been really sweet to see how much work can get done when 20 people have the ability to support a ministry in this way. All in all, I am leaving this month so proud of my squad for the work we have accomplished, and I will deeply miss the friends that I have made here. Ciao Nicaragua!

With love,

Claire