Open Arms

¡Buenos dias! You are all such lucky people, because you get to hear I (Ethni) and I (Devyn) narrate our day for you.

At 6:30am while you were still sleeping, we were spontaneously awakened by a boisterous musical number by the Koenradical himself.

Upon our awakening, we enjoyed a smorgasbord of delectable fruits as well as the iconic rice and beans combo we have come to know and love. After munching up, our team hopped on the bus and made the first of many 45 minute drives to Centro de Fe.

As we walked into the school, we were met with open arms and a standing ovation from the balconies. We were greeted through cultural performances from each of the grades, including a hip hop dance to a techno version of Jesus Loves Me. There was a lot of God given talent shown. We also led the school in Cornerstone, our school's theme song this year, singing the chorus in Spanish. A slideshow played of photos from the last 14 years of partnership. Koen cried.

After the performances ended and the younger grades went back to class, only our team and the grad class of Centro de Fe remained. After huddling in two separate groups to discuss our plans of action, we approached one another with google translate at the ready.

Despite the inevitable language barrier, there was no barrier.

There was especially no barrier when it came to the girls and our very own James Nam, better known as "BTS." He attracted a paparazzi within minutes, the rest of us all but forgotten. Don't worry, we still feel loved.

We were then led on a tour of the school where billions of children corralled around us and shouted "God bless you!" in Spanish with each class visit. Heart symbols made with our hands and waving over and over again were our forms of communication.

After the tour, we sat in a circle and chatted it up about life with the Centro de Fe grads. Or at least google translate did. It now knows all our secrets.

We then munched up once more and got to try plantain chips. They were so munchable.

After heavy sighs, we walked in the blistering heat through the streets of Managua and arrived at a magical little place I like to call "you'll see." (Plot twist: it was a sports court). We then sported it out, sweated out some brain cells, and possibly got so competitive that a nose was nearly broken.

"Don't worry, it's fine," - Me (Devyn)

We played various games and sports together, including sweaty soccer and the Nicaraguan version of Red Rover. A couple of us fell and crashed.

"Don't worry, its fine," - Me (Ethni)

Finally, we returned to the mystical world of air conditioning within our van and headed back to the Nehemiah Center, where Mandy and Elaina led devotions and we munched up for the final time that night.

Now half of us are eeping (no, that wasn't a typo) in our beds, half of us are chatting it up, and half of us are writing this blog post. And yes, we are terrible at math. All except Owen of course. He got promoted in THE COMPANY. More on that later.

Buenos Noches! - Ethni and Devyn