Today, in the grand land of Nicaragua, was family day! What an incredible experience that was. To begin the day, we welcomed the girls’ families into the villa and had a church service with them. It was super incredible to be able to worship along side the families because we were singing in Spanish. It hit me at that moment that even though we speak different languages, we are still both worshipping the same God. And not only did we worship in Spanish, but we sung 10 songs! I don’t know about you, but the normal church service in the United States plays around 3-5 songs, so that was fun.
After the service, my job was to make balloon animals for the kids. What a time that was let me tell ya! I was so thankful that I knew how to say dog and cat in Spanish because those were about the only animals I knew how to make. Regardless, seeing the joy on these kids’ faces by a simple balloon animal was amazing. It just shows how much joy they have from so little. It reminds me that I am so fortunate, or spoiled even, for all that I have.
Probably one of my favorite points in the day was making a little friend. I was sitting down watching the relay race, and she plopped right on my lap. From there, she pulled me to the playground where we went on the teeter-totter, the swings, and the monkey bars. We had such a fun time even though I could only communicate simple Spanish phrases to her. She melted my heart for sure! (Still not sure how to pronounce her name).
Lastly, we ended the day with some soccer, my favorite sport! How fun that was to play against the girls who definitely have a competitive side. It was so entertaining to see them play hard and not caring about getting dirty, though they hand-wash their own clothes everyday. To share one of my favorite hobbies with these girls was such a great time. I am so looking forward to the rest of this week to make stronger relationships with these girls. Adios!!!
Gianna Rains, Sophomore, Simi Valley, VA