I can’t believe how fast our time in Jinotega has gone by! This was our last morning in Jinotega but that certainly did not keep us from having some fun before we headed back to Managua. Since all of the project work was complete, our team had the option of either to wake up early and go for a hike or to sleep in and go out for coffee.
Barely awake, nine of us got up and piled into the van at six in the morning to go on the hike. We were joined by Pastor Pedro (the pastor of the Nazarene church on the other side of town), who persuaded a friend to join us who could help lead us to the trail head (according to rumor it was difficult to find). With the sun still coming up and the air heavy with mist we approached the grave yard where the trail began. I was astonished by the intricate design and arrangement of all of the grave plots, they were really beautiful with big crosses and statues in many of them. With the help of our local guides we easily found the start of the trail and were off. Within ten minutes of finding the trail and beginning the hike, it became apparent that I was not wearing very good shoes for this. Jacquelyn was the first to discover how muddy the trail was; one wrong step and her shoe was completely covered in dark gooey mud. We pressed on through more mud and steep slippery climbs that induced sliding down the slopes if you were not careful about your footing. After we had been going for about half an hour Carlos and his daughter caught up to us and joined us on the rest of the hike.
We came through the trees and mud to discover a large rock face clearing. I decided that this spot would do just fine for me as I had experienced enough of the slippery mud. As the group went on to the top I stayed and enjoyed the serenity of being by myself overlooking the beauty of Jinotega as the mist began to clear over the city and a refreshing breeze blew around me. Being wrapped up in the splendor of God’s creation, I could think of nothing better to do than to worship Him. It was a quiet moment of fellowship with the Creator that will not soon be forgotten. However, the moment was interrupted by a herd of cows stumbling to climb over the rocks. Seeing they were being moved on by a local rancher, I let out my best “Hola Senior”, when he only returned a glare I had a slight moment of panic that I was all by myself and not very fluent in Spanish. No need to worry though, because the cows quickly moved on and disappeared back into the trees. Soon after, I spotted that the group had made it to the top of the hike where a huge cross was overlooking the city. There was lots of excitement about the accomplishment of making it to the top and the group was rewarded with a fantastic view of the city. They climbed up the big cross and got some great pictures of their silhouettes’ against the clouds. After getting to take in everything they prayed over the city and the plans that God has for Jinotega. It was very moving to be able to overlook the city and pick out the spots where we had served throughout the week, the jail, hospital, basketball court, and church; God used us in different ministries at separate locations to reach out across the city.
The climb up was hard, but not near as treacherous as the way down; on the way down everyone was sliding in the mud. This did not stop Tyson and Jeb from racing to get to the bottom though, which maybe was not a bad idea as they did make it down without falling in the mud. Pastor Pedro, Mike, myself, and Amy were being precautious in making our way down, yet this did not stop me from getting covered in mud and Amy from taking a painful tumble. Amy was ahead of us and trying to strategize the best way to get down a steep slope of slick mud, when she went down and slid a few feet before being able to stop herself. It was bad enough being covered in mud, but in the slide Amy had also badly hurt her shoulder (later we realized she had dislocated it). We still had at least ten minutes to the bottom, but Amy pressed on with a great attitude as we helped her to get down safely.
Meanwhile Joanna, Amanda and Christy were headed to coffee with Bianca, Pastor Julian and Eliezel. Walking to the shop they could smell the coffee before they even saw it. From the outside it looked like it was going to be a hole in the wall place but inside they were pleasantly surprised to find that it resembled a very modern café. The drinks were fancier than what they would have expected to find in a typical American coffee shop, making the experience unforgettable. Not wanting to pass up her only chance to try some of the fancy options, Joanna order three caffeine loaded drinks, Eliezel was worried about her overdosing on the caffeine on her second drink. Pastor Julian, knowing Joanna’s involvement with the addiction recovery program, recommended that Joanna join a coffee-aholics recovery program. Another impressive aspect of the café was that it buys from local coffee farmers to support the economy of Jinotega. Between the great coffee and fantastic company everyone had a very memorable and great time.
When we got back to the church we quickly hit the showers to scrub off mud, and packed up to leave. In packing up we discovered that a few important items were missing. Apparently hair straighteners are hot commodity in Nicaragua, as someone had stolen Joanna’s and one of the church kids had seen a man leaving the church property carrying one. Joanna had a very great attitude about the loss though and even laughed about how someone in Jinotega may be able to make some money straightening beards on the street! Another missing item was Nikki’s camera including all of the pictures that were on it that can never be replaced.
Almost ready to leave we sat down for our last breakfast in Jinotega, the final meal that our church family would prepare for us. Although not all of us will miss the food, I am sure that I can speak for the team in saying that we will all miss the fun we have had cramming into the little kitchen and dining area to share meals together. And what will we do without Pastor Julian’s entertainment during meals? He is always so eager to burst into song, and this morning to accompany his singing he pulled out his harmonica that he loudly played directly into Carlos’s ear. While Carlos was obviously not appreciative Pastor Julian was oblivious to the possibility that anyone would not be as jolly as himself. With breakfast finished it was time for us to get on the road back to Managua.
Before we departed though, everyone who had been around helping at the church and in our projects that week meet us out in front of the church. It was like saying goodbye to a huge family. All of these people had been so eager to serve and get to know us all week long, even though our intentions were that we be the ones to do so for them. We all got together for a few large group photos and then all prayed together thanking God for our time in Jinotega and what He will continue to do when we are gone as well as our safe travels back to home.
Leaving Jinotega, Pastor Julian wanted to show us the Young Life camp outside of Jinotega (Young Life is a Christian ministry that reaches out to adolescents). The camp looked remarkably like many of the summer church camps that we had all been to in the U.S. and was complete with a few attractions of little lake, a rock climbing wall, and a maze. We all went for the maze, which turned out was not truly a maze as it just went back and forth in the same pattern until you reached the center where there was a big wooden cross. We then said goodbye again to Pastor Julian, Carlos, Bianca and their girls and loaded up the van once more to continue the trip back to Managua.
Besides some road construction our trip to Managua was uneventful in comparison to our trip to Jinotega. We learned that in Nicaragua highway construction uses large rocks instead of orange cones; it seems that they are ahead of the world in being environmentally friendly and economically resourceful. Before we knew it though we were back in Managua and headed downtown to a little market.
Though it was outside, the market was enclosed by tall cement block walls. It was very touristy, with lots of little souvenir items for sale and vendors that would try to sell items for more than their value. Eliezel encouraged that we all barter with them to lower the price by at least a few córdobas (the Nicaraguan dollar). In addition to the vendors trying to make some money, there were little kids who were perusing the tourists in search of someone who would take some pity on them give them a dollar. These little kids were skilled in weaving dried leaves together into little trinkets. The kids would weave something together and then rush over to you and say “take it, it’s free” if you didn’t take right then they would insist again. Well, Zac was naive and accepted a little cricket figure, however, even though it was supposedly “free”, the boy hung around waiting and then persisting that Zac pay him. It was frustrating to see such young kids hanging out all alone in such a busy place scamming for money. We couldn’t help all of them, so would have it been fair to help only one? And it appeared that what they needed more than money was to be given a new chance in a country that was not so tough to survive in. However, in comparison to other children around the world, and even some of the kids that we saw in the poorer towns of Nicaragua, these kids seemed to be doing alright, and at least they had the opportunity to beg for money in places that were not extremely dangerous.
After exploring the market for awhile and buying a few items to take home to family and friends, we were off to check into our hotel. To our surprise we were stepping it up from our last overnight stay in Managua. Walking to the lobby, I was thrilled that this was just about the nicest hotel that I had ever stayed in. The dining area and lobby looked so elegant and fancy that it appeared as if we had left Central American for Spain or France. The hotel got even better when it became apparent that the cost was going to be even less than what the Best Western our first night had been. We checked into our rooms which were fantastic and having a clean bathroom with dry floors felt like such a great luxury. We did not spend too long in our rooms before heading off to dinner though.
We arrived at Maria Bonita, a restaurant that Eliezel knew we would all enjoy. It was already very late and we were quite hungry thus when chips and salsa came out, they went quickly. The salsa was a little hot for some, but not for Jacquelyn of course, who was able to down a bowl of it! The food was absolutely delicious and they kept bringing out plates with hot skewers of chicken and vegetables. We all enjoyed getting our fill of the great food. Satisfied with the food, all that was missing was some entertainment, which Mike and Jeb quite happily supplied. After a quick and hilarious rehearsal of their dance routine, they headed off to the karaoke stage. Getting on the stage though they were confronted with the difficulty of only having Spanish music to use, asking for music Americano did not produce much more of a selection to choose from. They held nothing back though when the beat was right for letting loose and getting their groove on.
After leaving the restaurant the fun continued as the boys in the back of the van discovered Britney Spears, Hillary Duff, the Backstreet Boys, and other 90’s hits. They kept us singing and grooving all the way back to the hotel. Upon arriving back to the hotel we had a few hours to relax before we would meet for our final nightly debriefing in Nicaragua. I found the comfort of a queen bed and was out before I could even contemplate enjoying the pool. However, some of the group did find the energy to swim in the pool and had a great time playing a game of Marco Polo in a down pour. It was so cool for them to be in the pool when the rain was coming down so hard!
After we had all taken some time to relax we regrouped in one of the rooms for our final meeting. It was such a great time to be in fellowship with the whole group, and the last time we would meet like that again. Everyone shared about something or someone that they were thankful for in our group. Hearing everyone’s appreciation for their team mates was affirmation of the unity that had developed within our group. For myself, I was just moved that if it had not been for this trip I would not have gotten to know any of the people on the trip, in which case I would have been missing out, because everyone on the trip was worth getting to know. It is clear that strong relationships had been built on this trip! Of course there were lots of laughs, but it was also a really heavy ending to our trip as feelings of how we would never have the chance to relive the moments we had spent together in Nicaragua sank in. Nikki brought us to a close by having us reflect what we had seen in Nicaragua that would stick with us when we returned home, what were the injustices that had moved us and how could we deal with them. For all of the fun that we had on this trip, it was equally meet with the frustration of seeing circumstances that challenged us to take a look at our own lives and what we are (or are not) doing for others.
At the end of the meeting Eliezel gave us all Nicaragua bracelets! I am so proud to wear mine and be reminded of Nicaragua and everything that God has done in and through me during this trip!
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