Saying Goodbye

Well, I only have 4 days left here in Jinotepe, and I have mixed feelings about it...but more on that later.

On Monday, we went to Francisco and Erica's again, but not for the Children's Church this time. Instead, we had another job to do. Their family lives in a small two room home. Pretty much all homes here are made out of concrete, and theirs is no exception. The thing is that their house has never been painted, leaving the bare gray concrete walls throughout their home. So, our job on Monday was to paint! I don't have before and after shots posted quite yet, but let me just tell you that it looks amazing. The paint job completely transformed their living area, which serves as their bedrooms and living room. Their 3 year old son, Caleb, kept coming to check on us while we were painting and kept saying, ''Tan bonita esta casa!'' It means 'This house is so beautiful!'' He, along with his brother and parents were super blessed by it...as was I because Erica made fried chicken, rice and tostadas for us for lunch. Yum!

While we were there a couple of the girls from the Children's Church stopped by, Lea and Karin. Karin needed help with her English homework and I was more than happy to help. However, by helping her I realized how weird our language is. Her homework was a fill-in-the-blank-with-the-correct-word problem. The correct word was 'neighborhood', and I didn't have the heart to make her sound it out. But, even with all of English's exceptions, I was able to help her finish it. Lea's  homework was to do conversions between metric and American units, so I got to brush up on  my numbers in Spanish. It was a great time to spend with the girls. It was a little difficult for me to keep up with them because they spoke so quickly, but it was a fun time for me for sure.

Later today we will go back there again, probably for the last Children's Church I will go to...which brings me back to my opening statement about how leaving will be bittersweet. Although I do miss all the people back in Kenosha, if I was given the chance to stay in Nicaragua for the rest of the summer, I would take it in a heartbeat. I would love to have more time to really get to know the kids at the Children's Church and to really be able to connect with them on a different level. Also, when I think about leaving in just a few days, it almost feels like I'm leaving home again. The Euceda's have come to be like family to me. They've poured into my life while I've been here, probably more than they realize, and I'm going to miss them greatly.

However, upon returning home I know that my life will never be the same. My Father has taught me so much in the few short weeks I've been here, it's impossible not to be changed. I'm also really excited to get plugged back in with all that's going on at Prayer House this summer, and to be reunited with my family there. I thank the Lord all the time for all the support I've had from my Kingdom family throughout my experience here. Thank you all so much!

As I only have a few days left here, this will probably be my last post before I return home. I will return to the States on the 20th, but I won't be back in town until the 27th. So my first Sunday at church will be July 3rd. I look forward to seeing all my church family then. :)