A Reflection: Matters of the Heart
by Madeleine Rau
I took my first trip to Nicaragua in 2012, I was 12 at the time, and since then have been a total of eight times. However, my love for Nicaragua began to grow in 2005 when my mom returned from her first trip down there. I saw the way the trip changed my mom, but I never imagined that my experience in Nicaragua would break my heart the way it did.
The first place I visited in Nicaragua was an orphanage called Puente de Amistad, which translates to Bridge of Friendship. I remember connecting right away with a little girl named Crystal. I played with her for hours, we smiled at each other, and we laughed together, but the language barrier between the two of us could not have been bigger. Later that night, my mom retold me the story of the little girl who had been abandoned and was brought to the orphanage just a few months prior to that trip. As I recalled the painful story of this little girl’s past, I asked myself how I didn’t know it was her. Crystal was one of the happiest little girls I had ever met, yet she had gone through more pain and trials in her two years of life than I probably ever will.
My eyes were really opened that day to the way I had been living my life. I saw first hand someone who had been living without basic, everyday needs, yet was happier than most people I went to school with. That two year old girl taught me that I will never have anything to complain about. Not only because I have everything I need and more, but because Jesus’ love will always be enough.
The time I have spent in Nicaragua has changed me and made me into the person I am in more ways than one. Going down there has taught me that it’s okay to not be comfortable. God actually calls us to do things that are uncomfortable so that we can grow our faith in Him. Being down there has also pushed me to love everyone I meet. Not only the people of Nicaragua, but the people I am closest to here, the people that are sometimes the hardest to love. Finally, my love for Nicaragua has given me relationships that I never imagined. Each time I go back I can look forward to seeing the faces that have tied my heart to Nicaragua. I can’t wait to go back and serve on a team of high schoolers who will develop the same love I have for Nicaragua and its people.