Last week, 38 parishioners shared their time in mission to serve the people in Nicaragua. Partnered with the Amigos for Christ organization, the week was spent digging trenches for clean water system, working on the Amigos farm harvesting and cultivating dragon-fruit trees, and spent time in prayer and reflection in our devotional time. It was an inspiring week. Here is a reflection one of the high school youth wrote during their time:

I didn’t know many people when coming on this trip and I was unsure of how it was going to go. This was my first time participating in this mission trip. Row said at one of the prep meetings that it will be awkward at first but by the end we all be so much closer. I didn’t believe him because I was so unfamiliar with everything but now I see what he meant. We are spending every second of the day together and it was refreshing to get away from home and experience new people and culture. I made close friends in my time here which will always impact me along with the locals here. Almost every time I saw one of the locals working in the trenches or on the farm, they had a smile on their face or were laughing with others. I didn’t understand how they were happy when it was so hot and the work left us exhausted but what I got out of it was that you don’t need much to be happy especially when you have God, your family, and friends surrounding you. I learned so much from our small group discussions and how the community here works and celebrates. This experience opened my eyes and I’m glad that I spent my week here meeting new people and having these new experiences.