Nicaragua on my mind and in my heart

To those of you reading this who are at the very beginning of spring break, Happy Spring Break! Woo hoo!

It seems that especially in college, spring break was considered a highlight of the year. :)

I know that I always really looked forward to spring break. Not just because it was a much-needed respite from school and work. And definitely not because I thought of it as a week to do nothing but party on a beach and get crazy drunk every night.

No no. Spring break was way better than that. It was a week to go somewhere to help and love on people (a.k.a. a mission trip).

This time last year and the year before, I was headed for Nicaragua with a church group. The first time, my good friend Jennifer was on the trip with me. And last year, my good friends Amanda and Lauren went to Nicaragua, too. It was so great to share those experiences with great friends.

So guess where I'm in the mood to go right now? Yep, the tropical land of delicious pineapple, palm trees and paz y amor (peace and love).

Unfortunately, Nicaragua is also a land of very poor people. Poor in the sense of wealth. But they are rich with love. That was my experience, anyway.

I have such fond memories of getting filthy dirty with happy, adorable children.

Amanda took this amazing photo; I love it!

I named this boy Mono (Monkey) because he liked to climb trees....and on to my shoulders. Hey, nice sunglasses (gaffas in Spanish, not graffites! haha) you have there, Mono. Hmm, they look familiar.

The kids loved us being there. When our bus left at the end of the day to go back home, they chased us for as long as they could. (This is another one of Amanda's fantastic pictures.) During the day,we had fun singing songs, playing games and making crafts together. And when we weren't doing that, they became our tour guides and hairdressers, adorning our hair with crowns of flowers.

Good times. Sigh.

One of my favorite aspects of being in Nicaragua was worshipping God with the local people. They're not afraid to belt out the Spanish praise songs while dancing with tambourines! And neither was I. :)

It's amazing to be praising God with your brothers and sisters of another race and culture. It's amazing to exchange smiles and hugs with them and learn from each other.

It's amazing to share God's love, no matter where you are. Period.