Hey all!
First off, training camp went really well at the Yeagers. We got everything in that we needed to and had fun as well. Since I was kind of the odd one out (being the only one from Cincinnati) I really enjoyed getting to know Paige and Emily. They're hilarious! Haha they can definately keep us all entertained for a long time :). Also, we all had the chance to write out our testamonies, which was kind of difficult at first. Most of us were Christians at an early age, so we felt like our stories werent very interesting or life changing. However, by the end of the training camp we all had our own theme, and realized that our testimonies didn't have to be dramatic stories to make an impact on someone. God has a story to tell through each of our lives, and we just had to realize that.
We woke up this morning around 3 (way too early) and got to the airport around 4:15. Everything went really smoothly and we didnt have any delays or trouble at all. There wasn't a lot of waiting time when we got to our connecting flight at Houston which was really nice, and it made the trip seem to go a little faster since we didnt have to wait around the airport for a while. Once we got in Nicaragua (which was BEAUTIFUL to see flying in) we got through commons really fast, and seemed to have barely any trouble at all. The only thing is that my suitcase seemed to take a little longer to come out of the plane than the others so we kind of had a little scare that they had lost my luggage, but praise God that it was all there. And finally, after all that traveling...
We're here :)!! We arrived today in Nicaragua at about 11:23 (1:23 your time). At the luggage pick-up we met Jr. and Karen who were here to pick us up with the van and take us to the compound that we are staying in, which is really high in the mountains. I believe Karen will be our translator throughout this trip. They are both so friendly! It was about a 2 hour drive from the airport to the compound, so we were able to either sleep (since we had been up for almost 12 hours at that point) or look out the window and see Nicaragua. I personally couldnt sleep because I was too excited to be there! Nicaragua is a lot different than United States. First off, there are a lot more plants and trees. Everything is VERY green and its really pretty. Secondly, you can tell that it's a very poor country. It was incredibly sad to see the poverty level of a lot of the little towns leading up to the compound. Some of the houses were no bigger than a living room, with only 3 walls and a straw roof covering the top. A lot of the kids were running around barefoot. It was quite an eye opening experience to see another way of life other than our comfortable way of life in the United States.
After we got to the compound, we had lunch and then Karen brought us to watch a local men's soccer team play. We were expecting to go to an orphanage after lunch but the schedule changed. However, the game was really exciting and fun to watch. A lot of the people there kept staring at us wondering what these young white girls in matching jackets were doing at this game haha. However they eventually warmed up to us. After the game, Karen brought us to the top of this mountain to look down at the only fresh water lake in Nicaragua. It was GORGEOUS to say the least. It was so breathtaking. Seeing something like that really makes me wonder how you can see that and not know that there is an awesome Creator. After that, we rode in the van down to a hotel at the shore of the lake to look at the scenery. Emily wasn't feeling too well at that point since we had all been up for 24 hours, so we didn't stay long. When we got back to the compound Emily was feeling a lot better, but please still pray that she will continue to feel better, and that no one will get sick on this trip. We had dinner, and then got the night off since we were all really tired. I apologize that this blog is so long, but its been an eventful past few days. Hopefully the next ones won't be so long. You'll be hearing from me soon!!
God Bless,
Katie Harl :)