Little More of Nicaragua

Lauren Anderson:  

One of my favorite experiences during our trip to Nicaragua was the fireside we attended the last night of the trip.  We met with a group of return and future missionaries, and had the opportunity to listen to their testimonies and also share some of our own.  It was inspiring to see the eagerness the future missionaries had to leave on their missions and serve the Lord.  Many of them were doing so without the support of their families, and relied heavily on the resources of the foundation for the supplies and exams needed before they left on their missions.  Yet despite opposition and discouragement from their families, these incredible young people wanted nothing more than to serve a mission.  One particular young man, whose mother passed away just three months ago, had just barely sent in his papers.  He shared his excitement with us saying, "Now that I have my papers in, I feel like a player on the bench.  I'm just waiting for my Heavenly Father to put me in the game." He could hardly wait to recieve his call and spread the gospel. 

At the close of the fireside, the missionaries sang "Called to Serve."  They knew every word by heart and sang as loud as they could.  I felt the spirit so strong and was moved by their faithfulness.  

     The whole experience really had a lasting impact on me.  I realized how blessed I am to have the gospel in my life along with a family made of members of the church that support one another's beliefs and standards.  I have also developed a greater understanding of the impact I can have on others as an athelete of BYU.  It provides me with a greater opportunity to be an example to others and to spread the gospel.  It is an opportunity that I know every return and future missionary I met at the fireside would feel so blessed to have and would take full advantage of.  I hope that I can remember their eagerness to serve the Lord and do my best to serve him as well.

 

McKinzie Olson:

My favorite part of going to Nicaragua was meeting the people.  All of them live in extreme poverty, more than anyone here could even imagine without seeing it first hand.  Their homes had dirt floors and were made of things like cinderblock, sheet metal, or even tarps.  They were lucky if they had electricity, running water, or enough food for more than one meal a day.  Even though they literally had nothing, they were so happy!  We had the opportunity to serve them in various ways and they were so incredibly grateful for every little thing that we did for them.  One thing we had the chance to do was go to an orphanage in the city of Chinandega.  We were able to give them stuffed animals, shoes, and bags filled with toys and supplies.  These little girls were so excited just to have us there, let alone receive all of the gifts from us.  It was fun to watch their faces light up as each of them opened their gifts and saw what we were giving them.  I particularly amazed by one little girl who I had spent my time there with.  As she sorted through all of her new stuff, the thing that she was most excited for was 3 run of the mill white toothbrushes, the kind that you could buy for 10 cents at any store.  She threw aside all of the toys and was waving around her new toothbrushes like they were gold.  This was one of my favorite experiences of the whole trip.  She was so happy for the smallest thing that all of us take for granted.  I was very grateful for the opportunity that I had to go to Nicaragua and serve the people.  I learned a lot about humility and God's love for each of us, and I will take these lessons with me for the rest of my life. 

Dana Oldroyd:

I came back with many memories from Nicaragua but the most rewarding lessons I learned were of living with simplicity and direction in my life.  The people there didn’t have very busy lives where they had to worry about as many things as we seem to back here in the states and yet their lives seemed to be fuller. They were filled doing the important things like spending time with their family members and serving others.  We visited many homes that looked more like sheds and yet I felt such strong feelings of love and belonging there.  One lady we visited sold juice to provide for her family and lived in more of a hallway than a home.  I felt bad for her at first and didn’t understand why she was so happy with so little but then I looked at her wall and saw that she had pictures of the temple and the prophets hanging there.  It was clear that she had put the church at the center of her home and it didn’t matter that she barely had any tangible things because she had what was important.  I don’t speak Spanish (but now I am asking for Rosetta Stone for my birthday) and all during the trip I couldn’t verbally communicate with the people. Although I hated this and wanted to talk with them so badly, it was a great experience to communicate with them on a different level.  I have never felt the spirit so strong as I did in Nicaragua and yet I couldn’t understand what they were saying.  It’s amazing to see the unity of the church all over the world and the immense faithfulness of its members.  Nicaragua is a pretty dirty place where there is trash and disease everywhere and yet I have never loved a place and a people more than I love Nicaragua.  I am so grateful for Cause for Hope and all they do and for the experience to have participated in it.  I wish I was back in Nicaragua right now!