Hello from Nicaragua!

Hello from Nicaragua! Let me start by saying that this is Katelin typing to you from a computer that has several keys that either don't work at all or don't type consistently, so I apologize in advance for any misspellings or lack of punctuation. (Chris was able to email me Katelin's blog post so I could add in the missing H's and periods for you! ~Stefanie)

Today was spent as a somewhat relaxing day after arriving in Managua in the early afternoon. We ate a wonderful lunch with Pastor Rolando and then headed into Masatepe.

Let me tell you a little about my journey to get here. A few months ago, my dad called me up to let me know of an opportunity to join a group from our church on a mission trip to Nicaragua. Almost immediately I was on board and working on the details of getting to where I am today. My biggest concern, probably not surprisingly, was how to raise the funds as many of my contacts, while all being wonderful people, are not those who tend to have a lot of extra cash lying around. Looking back, God was revealing to me from the very beginning that I was going to have to learn to trust him. Each day since then, He's shown me more and more areas in my life that I need to surrender and trust in him, from my job search to my relationships, and definitely on this trip.

The week leading up to this for me was no more busy than normal, but considerably more taxing emotionally as I was faced with things in my personal life that I never had expected. In the background, I could almost hear God calling me to trust in Him and His plan for everything that was happening. I arrived at the airport this morning with a sense of peace about where we were going and what we would do while here. Now, I just get to trust that what we are doing here God will use in incredible ways, even if we're not around to see the results.

Please pray for the safe arrival of my dad tomorrow as he flies down to meet up with the rest of us from HFC, but also for the safe arrival of the team from California. Continue to pray for our health and safety on the trip as well.