I made it!!! I’m finally back in the states!!! The feelings are bittersweet. I am so excited to see my family, but my heart breaks thinking about my missions family I’ll be leaving behind. These past few weeks have been one wild ride, but I am so thankful for everything that has happened. So many good memories, laughs, tears and experiences. It would be nearly impossible to list it all, but I thought I’d talk about some of my favorites.   There’s nothing like getting your butt kicked by a 5 year old Nicaraguan boy in a game of soccer. One day in particular we had...

This trip has been insane. I cannot believe it’s over and if Ii were saying that out loud I would be getting choked up. I am going to miss Nicaragua and everyone I met there so so so much!   Before this trip I never really considered the fact that I would meet this group of girls, go on a three week trip with them, and then leave and never see some, if not most of them ever again until after I die.   It’s like they are all my sisters, and not just in Christ, but like biological sisters. We are all so comfortable together, we know each other’s lives and deep dark secrets,...

I am on the third week of my trip and it’s been one wild ride. To tell of all the crazy things God has done would take a million blog posts. These past few weeks, many of my doubts and fears have been silenced. God has been speaking truths to me through the beautiful people I encounter along the way. I remember our first ministry day so vividly. In the afternoon we visited a children’s school where we got to sing songs, share a short message and play games. While we were dancing around to Father Abraham, I met one little girl who has had a lasting impact on me throughout this entire...

Hola mi amigos, it’s Izzy tunin’ in from Nicaragua!! I’m so excited to share some of my experiences with you guys considering this is my first time typing a real blog. My experience started out a little rocky, I was struggling with a lot of things with myself and places in my life I needed God to take control of because it, was affecting my relationships with people even before I came on this trip. A few days ago I slipped up and didn’t tell the truth about a situation and blamed another one of my teammates. Although I messed up I truly think through this situation I...

So the past week has been one of the best weeks of my life. During the first week and a half of this trip I would have told you that I wouldn’t be sad if we left early and that I would not have a desire to come back. But, for some reason this last week has made me realize how much I love Nicaragua and how much I am going to miss everybody here. I feel like everybody here is family to me. The thought of never seeing them again after this trip really pains me and I know I will never forget them. On Friday we played mud soccer in the rain and just this past Saturday I hiked up an active...

Right now there are a million different things I wish that I could tell my mom. How much I miss her. How I miss her voice. How frustrated I am that the device I could use to talk to her is five feet away, but I’m not allowed to use… for good reason (or so I’ve been told, haha). How much I miss my siblings. How much I miss hugs from my dad. How tired I am of hearing their voices over the phone and not in person. How much I miss all the little things that they do that seem to make my life complete. I miss so much at home back in the United States, but somehow THIS is exactly...