My last week in Nicaragua was a great wrap-up week. Tuesday was a full work day - we decided to push our charla on lice back to Thursday because school was out (another random Nicaraguan school holiday). Of course, I ended up digging for about an hour and then going to hang out with one of the Chonco kids, Guadalupe, and her family. We stopped to buy tortillas at another house before heading to her home, where she lives with her mom and dad, a baby brother, two older sisters, and two baby nephews (each sister has a son). Guadalupe's two sisters are 18 and 16, and the younger of the two had a second baby on the way. This is pretty common in Nicaragua, but it still caught me off-guard.
Guadalupe's mom gave me some seafood soup to eat. I was hesitant to eat it, but I didn't know what else to do. It was really generous of her considering how many mouths she had to feed! I ended up feeding most of it to Guadalupe's little brother. We chatted about their lives and about U.S. area codes (they wanted to call a missionary they had befriended and were having trouble getting her number to work), and then they took pictures on my camera (well, my friend's camera - mine was broken at this point in the trip) of me with one of the baby nephews. By the time I made it back to the group, it was lunch time.
I don't remember what I did the rest of the afternoon (probably dug trenches with the group), but I do remember talking again with Guadalupe at the school at the end of the day. She told me that when she grows up, she wants to be a nurse. I thought about her two sisters, at home with babies. Guadalupe is thirteen right now, so she's only a few years from what is sort of the normal age in Nicaragua to have a kid herself. But I hope that, instead, she can stay in school and that her dreams of becoming a nurse can come true.
On Wednesday, I got to go to the mothers' and childrens' hospital and see two babies being born. The first was born by C-section. It was a cool thing to see, but I don't think I would want to see it day in and day out. Maybe I won't be a surgical nurse.
The second birth we saw was a natural birth. The girl having the baby was only 16, and this was her first baby. It was just her, the doctor, and Brittany and I. I held her hand, gave her encouragement, and thought about how glad I was that it wasn't me having a baby. But even though it was gross, it was also beautiful. This girl was so happy to see her little newborn baby boy. I don't think I've ever seen anyone so happy or so unsure of what to do with a baby. They put the baby on her stomach the second after he was born, and she just kind of tapped him lightly a couple of times with the tips of her fingers. It was such a reminder to me that she was just a kid having a baby. She probably wasn't really ready, but she would have to be. It was a neat day overall, and I'm glad to have experienced it all.
Thursday was our final charla (on head lice - we played a game where we gave the kids strips of paper with facts about lice and they had to put them in either the "true" or "false" column on a piece of posterboard). It was also the day I said goodbye to all of my Chonco friends and my little Chonco babies. I cried on multiple occasions as I made my rounds. Anna gave me a picture of herself, Sarai, and Kerin when the kids were younger, and it was really touching. It's not like she can just go and print another one whenever she feels like it. I'm going to send her some pictures that I took of and with her family.
Saying goodbye to all of the kids was the hardest. I gave gifts to a few of the kids that I bonded the most with. When I gave Marie-Angelica gifts for her and her sisters (just a few photos and a Beanie Baby doll for each of them), she was touched. Her expression made me think she had never received a gift in her life. Her family is poorer than most in Chonco, and she is usually left at home to take care of her younger siblings. I was glad that she could feel special for once, if only for a few minutes.
It was especially hard to say goodbye to my little friend Juana. She was always full of joy and sass, and she came up to me that day with a smile. But when I told her that that was my last day in Chonco, her face dropped. She was really sad, and so was I. She is definitely one of my favorite Chonco kids - there is so much life and potential inside this little girl! I can't wait to go back to El Chonco and see how Juana and all of my other little friends are doing.
Friday was a great day to end on because I got to meet the Bead Amigas ladies in Los Rotarios and I got to see the Villa Catalina kids put on a production of Peter Pan! Seeing the Bead Amigas ladies and learning how they made the beads was really great. It was cool to see where what is now a very successful business all started and how these women are able to support their families and their community through the sale of these beads.
Peter Pan was really great. I can't believe the kids in Villa sat still long enough to learn all of those lines! I couldn't believe what a beautiful set Tomas and Katie had made, and I was so proud of them and of all of the kids. It was a great day for the community, the missions group, and all of the staff and interns.
It was hard to leave the next morning, but I know it won't be my last time in Nicaragua. God has taught me a lot through the Nicaraguan people. I've gained a lot of perspective on what I actually need (God, love, community) versus what I want (everything else), what's important and what I waste time on. I also learned how to just go with it - there are so many things that can go wrong and keep things from happening on time or at all in Nicaragua, and worrying about it doesn't change that. I need to be able to have a Nicaraguan mindset in the things I do in America. I do so much needless worrying, and it's not worth it. I need to trust that God is going to work it out, that He is the most powerful, and that he has my best interest in mind.
I think that I will slowly learn more and more from my experiences in Nicaragua as time goes on. I know that God has more to show me, and I can't wait to see what that is! And hopefully, I'll get to visit Nicaragua again soon :)
Thanks to everyone who read my blog this summer - I'm so glad that I could share these experiences with all of you!
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