Mom and dad - Thank you - For everything that I have and everything that you do for me!!
"Esta Bien" is what Max kept saying to our little friend Josue (8 year old son of Chepita & Pedrito) as we were hugging and as tears were streaming down our faces...
I can't believe the overnight stay in Los Alvarez is over!! Before we got there, I was dreading it... not because I didn't want to do it, but because I didn't know what to expect... Would I be sleeping on the floor? Is there running water? Would I get sick from the food they made? I don't speak much Spanish... how would I communicate? These past two days seemed like 2 hours and there is so much to tell I have no clue of where to begin...
As I came on this trip I couldn't wait to make a difference in their lives. I couldn't wait to build something or make their lives better, but after these past 2 days... man, was I completely wrong!! They have changed my life in ways that I never thought possible. They don't have much, but have more love and care than most people I have ever met... They treated me like their own family, and I couldn't have felt more comfortable and happy about it.
One experience I will share because there were so many, was this...
My friend Juan, the funny one I was telling you about, came running up to my door (my family and I were playing cards). All of us students stayed pretty close by in homes, so it wasn't uncommon to visit each other... Anyway, it was pouring down rain, and all of the sudden Juan pops in the doorway and was frantically telling us we need to come and help...something about Mandarin's and Oranges... so I threw on my shoes and headed out on the muddy road about 100 feet away. When we got there, we realized that a large truck empty with no fruit in it sat at the bottom of a hill... and about 300 yards up the muddy road, were thousands of oranges, mandarines, and lemons that needed to be loaded up into this truck at the bottom of the hill. Because the road was so muddy, the truck couldn't make it up which meant we had to make sure these thousands of fruits got down the hill somehow, so that this family could eat this year... So we proceeded to bag 80-100lb sacks and the men would carry them down the muddy trail. We repeated this process about 100 times... My hands hurt so bad just from bagging oranges, so I can't imagine actually carrying them up and down the hill... Mom and Dad, our group is so awesome!! I have learned so much about hard work from not only the people of Nicaragua, but my classmates and friends from home.
Needless to say, it was an experience of a lifetime. Yes, we finally finished it, but with much more than sore hands or shoulders... possibly a greater appreciation of our own lives. When we started it was just a bunch of oranges... which was their livelihood, But now it's a part of my soul. It became my livelihood, and now I understand... or think I do anyway.
Again, there is so much that happened, that I will share when I get home. I'll try and write again before I see you. I can't make any promises, but just know that i'm growing more and more everyday and that I'm safe. Yes, I'm eating and wearing plenty of sunscreen and the hand sanitizer you bought is getting great use...
It's an experience I will never forget. One that is too special for words at this moment...
Thanks again for all that you do!!
Te Amo,
Your favorite kid in Nicaragua
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