Top 10: #7

     Every year on Nicaragua, the team is different in numerous ways. The relationships built are always built in unique ways, some just build relationships within their small groups, and some within the large group. This year, I was ecstatic to go on the trip because of all the people I knew that were going on it. I felt like all of my friends were going on this trip with me, and I was excited to see how our relationships would strengthen. Then, I was put into a group with four girls I had no clue who they were. I was like really, first no Taylor, now people I've never seen before! Awesome. Well, it was awesome... these girls along with the rest of the team were amazing supporters and messengers of Christ in me and throughout the people they touched in Nicaragua.
    Our team was absolutely amazing, and they are my top seven because of it. I loved being able to experience this trip with all of the people that went. I was able to truly experience and talk about what was going on and what needed fixing in Nicaragua. I hugged people who were just strangers days before, I talked about serious things and cried over the heartbreaking experiences that God showed us with people who I never acknowledged in the hallway, it was amazing.
    Our team was truly a family; I know that is a cliche thing to say, but there is no other way to possibly explain us. I loved how encouraging everyone was, it was not an "oh my goodness, she is taking so long. Just let me do it," but a "You've got this, don't give up!" The team itself made the trip 100% better, because of how supportive they were.
   Not only was the team as a whole amazing but my small group. Never before during my experience in Nicaragua did I feel like my group was closer then this year. We all were there for each other, laughed, loved being together, and just simply enjoyed one another's presence. To be with all those girls was so much fun, especially because of our leader.
   And that brings me to the best leader on a mission trip possible. Katie Fields. This woman is phenomenal. Not only was she a great leader to our small group, but a caring and loving mother to all. When anyone was sick, even just slightly, she would comfort them and serve to them until they got better. One night it was rough for all of us because of our experiences, which I will talk about during another blog, Katie asked me how I was doing. I just climbed into bed with my Nicaragua mom and she just held me, just as my mom would have if she was there. It is amazing to know that there are people in the world like Katie, who simply love taking care of others. I cannot express in enough words the gratitude and respect I have for Katie. She selflessly gave up some of her trip to take care of the kids who got sick.
    A trip as great as the one I experienced requires a team as remarkable as mine. The Nicaragua'14 team was encouraging, loving, and supportive of each other from the second we turned out of Granger Community Church until today. I love my team and hope that I can experience Nicaragua'15 with many of them next year.

Top 10: #8

     One of the goals in my life is to influence my friends in their Christian faith as much as possible. I love to see my friends experience what it means to know Jesus, to be saved, and to be loved unconditionally by the God who created us. In fact, that is what I want to do with my life, lead others to God. With that being said, my number eight on my top ten list is seeing my best friend grow in her relationship with Jesus, interact with the team, unconditionally love the children, and completely experience what Nicaragua is.
   A few years ago, after my first trip to Nicaragua, I would always talk to Taylor about how much I loved Nicaragua, the children, and just everything about the mission trip. Round two came for me to participate in this life-changing experience and I wanted my best friend along, but she could not go with the trips she already had planned that year, so she promised she would go the next time. Honestly, I wasn't to confident in this promise. Round three came, and she filled out the application, I was ecstatic! Fast forward through the meetings and the work days, the packing party is finally here. I could not wait to hear our names called in the same group, to confirm that this trip would be experienced with Taylor by my side. We were assigned our groups and I was crushed, we were not in the same small group together, what was going to happen? Why can I not be with my best friend the time I wanted to the most? My mom told me that everything happens for a reason, that it will be okay.
   My mom could not of been more right. To step back and see Taylor experience Nicaragua, I was like a proud parent watching their child play in their first sport. Taylor was incredible with the children, one little girl in particular adored her. When Taylor was sick and in the room, the little girl searched high and low for her American friend, disappointed that she could not seem to find her. Then the look on Diana's face when she did was priceless, she loved Taylor more then words can express. She was not only good with the children, but worked so hard to make Nicaragua a better place for everyone. To see how excited Taylor got when her first Nicaragua nail was finally hammered in, made me more proud then when mine went in. She worked so hard and loved unconditionally, she reflected the light of Jesus to every single person in Nicaragua. I cannot express how proud I am of my best friend during this trip and throughout the months after. She has truly changed because of this trip and I could not be any more proud of her then I am now.
   I love that we get to experience these mission trips with our friends, especially those we experience everyday life with. There is no one better to experience a life-changing event with then your best friend, and I can't thank God enough for allowing Taylor and I to go on this trip together.

Top 10: #9

     I specifically remember this date as July 23, 2014, my birthday. That day was an emotional day all around because it was the last day we would see the kids. What brought me joy on that day, among many things, was who I ate lunch with. It may seem like a simple, childish thing, but that is why it brought me complete joy. Everyday that we work, our translator, Fado, eats with us. On this specific day, the bus driver, Roy, also ate with us.

    The first time Fado ate with us, I remember telling the people I was sitting with that we should invite him to sit with us. Yes, that same elementary school kindness that we learn in kindergarten was being applied in Nicaragua. The funny twist, a bunch of teenagers were inviting a middle-aged man to sit with them, weird right? I was scared that year to ask him, but when we did it made me realize that no matter how old you are, no matter where you are, and no matter what your life is like, a little kindness goes a long way. He did not talk much to us, but he was happy to be sitting with someone and to see how us "silly Americans" acted.

    Fast forward a year, and this same thing happens again, but I did not hesitate as much. Now I know at this point of the blog you are thinking, really? She went 1,900 miles to tell us her favorite memory could of been made in a high school cafeteria? Well just hear me out :)

   Then another day passes and it is my birthday. I am having the time of my life because I am spending the day I was born doing the things that fill my heart. I am sitting with all my friends at lunch time, ready to eat the Americanized lunch that the kind ladies made us (to be honest, I was kind of upset I was not eating the rice and beans, but they tried to accommodate us, and it was sweet). Then I look to my right and once again, I see Fado sitting all by himself. To myself I think, really, doesn't he know by now that we love him and he is welcome to sit by us!? So once again, I motioned over to have him sit with me. To my surprise, he shook his head no. I was astonished! When asking why, he told me that his spot had the perfect breeze. So, after I got my lunch, I sat right down to see how perfect his spot was, right next to my friend. He looked at me, surprised that I moved from the table of American's to sit with a guy that could barely carry out a full conversation with me. Then, Roy came in and sat right next to us. I was scared that I was going to be unable to follow their conversations, but the love they showed to me was the same I reflected on Fado a year earlier when I wanted him to sit with me that first day. We talked about the difference of meal times between Nicaragua and the United States; fun fact, Nicaragua's big meal of the day is lunch, which is when they eat fish, rice, and vegetables. Then their dinner is something small. We talked about how many times I have been to Nicaragua and when I was coming back. I loved talking to these two men, who simply enjoyed the life they were living. What made my smile widen the most, was when I told Fado that their was a possibility that I was coming back in April with my dad. His smiled widened and he told Roy, it made me realize that I not only have made friendships with the kids in Nicaragua, but with everyone.
 
  Fado is our translator loyally every year and I hope he is there when my dad and I go back in April, because I have a dream I hope to fulfill for him. Every day he rode his back to the orphanage, with a pink beaten up book bag on his back. I hope that, if packing permits, I can bring him a stable backpack that he can bring to and from his jobs.

   Always remember, everyone's day is different then yours. You do not know what they are going through, shed kindness on everyone you come in contact with, because they will remember it.