La Pelirroja en Nicaragua: Coffee Shop & Work Crew at AD School

This week might be one of my favorite weeks I've had in a long time. I loved my time in Costa Rica and still miss the people but Nicaragua is my home and I'm starting to settle in.

Some of my Work Crew friends!

When I found out I was on Work Crew this week.
SURPRISE! It turned out to be a beautiful blessing.

This past week I got to do Work Crew (Equipo de Trabajo) at the Finca - the YL camp in Matagalpa, Nicaragua - for the Area Directors training. Area Directors from all over Central America, Mexico and the Dominican Republic came to Nica for training and theology classes. I also got to serve them as the "barista" in the coffee shop. I L-O-V-E-D the coffee shop. It was a gathering place for people to come, relax and chat and I got to be in the center of it. I even got a chance to get to know a few of the leaders from the region and I especially loved the time I got to know other Nica leaders.

Big things are happening here and I am so thankful to be a part of it, even in the smallest way.

Some of the highlights from this week that I wrote in my journal as "momentos bonitos y pensamientos":

Momentos bonitos: Listening to club worship in Spanish while I was in the coffee shop alone.

Serving my Work Crew friends coffee and hot chocolate.

One friend told me he didn't eat dinner because of the delicious hot chocolate that I had made him (from a packet.)

When they had breaks throughout the day, they would come see me because they were worried about me being left alone.

Marlyn - a director in Nicaragua - telling me she felt like she was in a different country when she was in the coffee shop because everything was so foreign to her. I loved this because it meant she hadn't had the opportunity for fun drinks like chai or hot chocolate before and because I'm the one in a foreign country and felt right at home in the coffee shop.

Being called a Nica. What an honor it is to be called a local.

Pensamientos: Latinos even gel their hair when wearing a hairnet all day.

These people are beautiful. It made me think of Romans 10:15: Any how can anyone preach unless they are sent. As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!"

Condor - one of the WC bosses - said, "Siga sirviendo" - Keep serving.

International Schools YL Nicaragua & Costa Rica

The ADs of Managua :)

Another highlight for me was getting to meet so many of the Global Leaders of Nicaragua. The DGLs (Developing Global Leaders) are a group of people who are sponsored by donors from all over to have the opportunity to go to university while being Young Life leaders in their college or neighborhood. Here's a better definition: What is a DGL? The DGLs in Nicaragua are good people. This week I spent time with Jessy, Luis, Harvin, Jennifer, Carlos, Elsa, Franklin - some were on Work Crew with me and others are the directors or future directors of their areas. Check them out here - click on Nicaragua to see some of my new friends specifically. I love the vision of DGLs. One day, they will be taking over my job and spreading the Good News all over the country and the world.