CEPAD, the protestant church council in Nicaragua, that is planning our mission trip this summer has notified us of the preliminary plans for our mission experience.
We will begin by being welcomed in Managua and staying at CEPAD’s Center for Peace and Justice. There we will get an introduction to the culture and history and contemporary issues facing Nicaragua, as well a chance to see the sights of the countries capital city. Afterwards, we will travel north to the department of Matagalpa. There we will be visiting the community of Mesa Sur where there will be some construction projects happening that we will be helping with. We will also be able to participate in other activities in that community. (Mesa Sur is high enough in altitude (the mountains are in the north of the country as you travel towards Honduras) that our people may want to bring along a sweater or light jacket for the evenings, a raincoat or light poncho is also a good idea.)
Our group has decided that after our service work, we will travel to the Island of Ometepe, formed by two volcanos, Concepcion and Madera, rising up out of Lake Nicaragua, Central America’s largest fresh water lake. We will be going to Ometepe to climb the southern of the two volcanos, Madera which is below the climate boundary that splits the country and the island. Concepcion is much more dry and arid. Madera is covered in tropical rain forests, with the sounds of monkeys howling in the thick and dark jungle. We will climb Madera, up to and over the lip of the crater at the top, and down into the lagoon that it has become. It’s called “Ojo de Dios,” the eye of God, and as you descend into the crater, you have to use ropes at the end for all the mud. But it’s like descending into Jurassic Park!
Keep “our missionaries” who will be traveling to Nicaragua — Annemarie, Beth W., Colleen, Daniel, Dee, Jackson, Jordana, Samantha, and Michael and our plans in your prayers…
And if anyone is suddenly touched by the Spirit and wants to join us, we can’t promise anything, but let Michael or Marjorie know, and we will see what we can do!
