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“No one thinks of the pen while reading a letter, they only
want to know the mind of the person who wrote the letter. That’s exactly what I
am in God’s hand- a little pencil. God is writing his love letter to the world
in this way, through works of love.” Mother Teresa
Yes my friends, we are starting out the New Year big,
quoting Mother Teresa. However, I really love this quote out of the book I am
reading about this incredible woman, “Mother Teresa” by Kathryn Spink.
During the Christmas break, God has blessed me with the
opportunity to see my family, and rebuild relationships that had become thin. I
had a wonderful time of relaxing and thinking, and processing what the heck has
happened over the past 7 months, all from the space of my room, in my house, in
my tiny town in Nebraska.
Sharing Christmas with my family was wonderful, cutting down the tree and
decorating it and going to visit my Grandpa. New Years Eve was spent playing
Yahtzee with my mother and step-dad. True, it may have no been the action packed
break that some of the other members on my team experienced but it was spent in
rest, peace, and eating.
One of the high lights of my break was speaking in church.
It was great to see all of you and just be able to share what God has been
doing in my life and see the growth that has taken place in Pawnee City
and in the lives of my
church family.
Although, I was slightly nervous, I did get a lot of encouragement.
Duane can tell you, what I wrote and practiced the night before was nothing
like what I actually said during the service. But I believe that it all came
out fine, so thank God. Another one of my favorite experiences was going and
talking to Rachel’s Spanish 2 class about what Nicaragua is like. I had been
looking forward to seeing her and her friend for quite some time and that was
an interesting way to do it. Some of those kids are pretty obnoxious, but I was
still excited to see the response from some unlikely people.
Since returning to Nicaragua, our team has just been
spending time readjusting to the culture, climate, and weather. Its still soo
hot here! We have been getting used to our new house, at El Puente, the
bilingual church we attend. It is only a few block away from our old houses but
now boys and girls are living in the same building, and the bathrooms and
showers are outside. The house is smaller, but there is plenty of land around
us where we can wander and be alone.
Something that I did not miss about Nicaragua was
the bugs. Early early this morning, about 4:30, I heard a weird
beeping, chirping, almost croaking noise. I just could not figure out what it
was. In the dark of the house I tried to go though my things. Eventually, I
thought it was my laptop and after a few shakes it stopped. However, in no time
at all it started back up again. After about an hour of this I finally hit my
bed mate, Amy, and asked her in the loudest whisper possible, “do you hear that
noise?” She did and we decided to investigate. Searching with just her head lamp we came up
the source of the noise, a huge jumbo cricket, just looking to snag a chick. As
if our new friend cared, I looked directly into its beady little eyes and said
“I HATE YOU!” We ran outside to get the plank of wood we used to kill giant
things and went to work. Trying to be stealthy at 5:30 in the morning moving
luggage and clothes and trying to smash it with just a board. It eventually got
away, I hope it ends up cold and alone.
My adventures back in Nicaragua look to be numerous. I
cannot wait to see what God has planned for us here. I will be praying for all
of you. If you all get a change I would
encourage you to read “Captivating: unveiling the Mystery of a Women’s Soul”
written by John and Stasi Eldredge. The book promises much more than the title
lets on. It really has helped me a lot deal with things in my past and my
identity as a woman both in Christ, and my role in a modern changing world.
Have fun this week!
