The Tales and Adventures of Lauryn and Kristina

dear tampa,
once upon a time in nicaragua kristina and lauryn journied to a far away school composed primarily of pre-schoolers. Not so good in the spanish department, Kristina and lauryn were nervous about splitting up from the other group members, but when faced with the challenge they stepped up to the plate. The classroom was small, but the kid's hearts were BIG. no matter the language barrier they were able to play and laugh with them all. Saying goodbye was the hardest obstacle for sure, but their work wasn't over. Not too far away kristina and lauryn continued to serve teachers sandwiches and play a swell game of ring around the rosy. Although the kids didnt quite understand the words they smiled along.
Little did they know the day had just begun...


to be continued!!

Mom, I'm in Love...

... with a boy named Marco. He's 3, and he might be coming home with me (maybe this is why Dave had us bring the extra duffel bag!)... if I can win him away from the other girls, that is...

Love, Courtney

Live (via tape) from Nicaragua!

Kristina, Scott & Lauryn

More Photos

If you'd like to see more photos, click here.

Jesus Te Ama

WHATSS UP TAMPAA?
We woke up today ready to play,
we got on the bus without a fuss
drove through the town with our beads and crayons(crowns)
until we arrived at the pre-school wishing there would be a pool.

The children were rediculously cute but were semi mute:(
We busted out the beads and string
and heard their laughters ring.

Then came the bible story of David and Goliath
read by both Emily's without a riff.
We played futball and duck duck goose,
ate cookies and drank juice

The children sang happy birthday to Victor
it was pretty sweet nectar!
It was then time to say our goodbyes
followed by a few boys cries.

Just before lunch we were eager to explore,
finding molted insects galore.
We played a little bball until we heard the lunch call.
We just ate some lunch,i think we got too much.

Next up: construction


LOVE-
Lizzi, Michelle,Lillie and Arielle

Marvillosa!

Hey everyone! Emily Echevarria here. So far, the first few days have been AMAZING!!! I'm having tons of fun and learning so much at the same time. All of the people are so warm and kind, and just wanna welcome you in with their love. This morning, we went to a local neighborhood and played with the kids, as well as read them the story of David and Goliath in Spanish. They were adorable! We made beaded necklaces with them, and mi amigo nuevo, Ben, taught me the names of some of the little bugs we saw. Then I met Yessenia who was 18 years old- same as me- and she was so excited to tell me about the hut we were playing in. It was actually her church, even though it was only an open air, dirt floor covering with a single back wall. Her excitement in meeting and greeting us was contagious, and I left feeling like she and I made a genuine friendship, despite language barriers and the time crunch. This is turning into a life changing experience!

Love in Christ (from Nicaragua!),
Emily Echevarria

Sweating Bullets

Hey! So today we went on a walk to church and on our way little girls ran out of their houses and hugged some of us, it was so cute! Then we saw 1 soccer tournament, 2 pigs, 3 chickens, and 4 horses. At church, we clapped and sang some jammin' spanish songs , and sweat a ton and there were alot of cute kids. Then we came back to the "team house" and cooled off before lunch. Now we are about to go to the beach with 10 girls who live at El Ayudante. When we come back it'll be dinner time. Havin' a blast! Haley is the coolest counselor here.
Love,
Arielle, Haley, Lizzi, Michelle

church in nicaragua

this morning our whole group went to the methodist church a few blocks from el ayudante. we walked over around 9, catherine asked bill "what time does it start?" and he answered with a smile "when we get there." we walked through dirt streets scattered with trash and lined by shacks with smiling nicaraguans. the church itself is pretty large, and beautiful. the pastor greeted us all "buenos dias!" as we entered, he seemed young to be a pastor, but he was both eager and good at what he did. the church was full of nicaraguan children and parents. we sat amongst them, as the service began. the songs were reallyyyyyyy good, in spanish, but familiar to us. everyone was so passionate, into the music, clapping, and banging tamborines along with the beat. sitting infront of lauryn and i were three of the cutest children who kept fiddiling around and looking at us. it was a beauftiful service, the sermon was simple but understandable, and true. i loved it.

-marge carr.

we're here!

Our traveling day was a success! We used almost every kind of transportation possible-church bus, airplane, a little walking, and a school bus. The last part was the best because of a crazy beautiful sky and sights of Nicaragua. This morning we went to a nearby Methodist church service with familiar worship songs in Spanish and the cutest kids ever. The people there were extremely welcoming and the kids just walked up and hugged us! We just ate a superb lunch and now we are about to go to a beach with some older girls that live on the property. We are safe and having fun!

Carly Starkey

Nicaragua Bound!