Hardin Day 1

After a late night arrival of Hardin Team 1 we spent yesterday in the community of San Judas in Belen Baptist Church. We we went to the normal Sunday service and Sunday school afterwards. 

After lunch a few of the men on the team went to La Panama school to start brainstorming and getting our plans together for the weeks work projects. 

It was really amazing to walk the campus of La Panama and hear about each project Hardin has done throughout the years. From the school walls, to play ground equipment, to running water. It is exciting to be a part of a ministry and teams that invest in the same people and communities year in and year out!

Following the time there we came back to the house made and ate some of Jimbo's famous guacamole and returned to Belen and San Judas to evangelize in the community before the evening service.

We are headed to La Panama again this morning to begin sharing the gospel with each class and student! Please be praying for these times.

A Huge Change in La Chureca

Sometimes on the mission field with short term mission trips alone you very rarely get to see huge changes like the one I was able to see today. My first year I visited Nicaragua I was here for one week not realizing I would plan to spend all of the following summers here. The first time I visited what here is called La Chureca it was a scary, dangerous place. As you turned the corner and began to drive down this road in the bus the kids weren't playing or smiling, rather digging through trash and giving the cars and visitors the middle finger with smug faces.

This place was hopeless and one could easily think that once you have arrived here there's no way out and no way to change your situation.

But any answered prayer came via Spain and over the last few years they had been working on and funding a project in La Chureca to change the image of this place and make it a terrible situation something good. I was able to see the final project of this today. After some back and forth begging between Miriam, I, and the security guard we were granted access into the now recycling factory that is La Chureca. It's incredible! Check out these photos of before:

And now the finished project and new look of La Chureca: (note these two photos are the same exact locations.)

Just know that prayer and perseverance can change something or someone without hope and turn it into an opportunity for growth, progress, and something beautiful!

Interns!

Tonight is an exciting time as we add two interns to our summer staff. It also means that our next team is very close to arriving in the next week (June 15th). Please be praying for Taylor and Kaela as they'll be flying in and arriving here in Managua in the next few hours! I'll leave you with this boy walking his pig! 

And pigs being pigs in the mud:

Back to Nicaragua

Today marks my second trip to Nicaragua this summer. This trip will be much busier with missions arriving in about a week and a half. Once the first arrives June 15th the mission house will be full until the end of July! This is a very exciting time of the year for Partners in Christ and I. We have been working and planning very hard and we know God has amazing things planned for these groups as they do His work here in Nicaragua. I will be writing more often now that there's much more activity kicking up with the teams arriving. I will keep you posted on Facebook and Twitter (@kegandewitt) each time I post a new blog! Thanks for reading and God bless!