The journey began in the back of a blue Nissan truck, with two strangers, in a foreign country, with a different language, all to be with and serve girls I had never met. We arrived in the evening and by this time the sun had passed; we were traveling in pure darkness. There were cows, the sweet scent of fresh mangoes and coconut, fried chicken mixed with the smell of garbage burning and polluted water. The air hot, the sky vast, sounds different. I asked myself, “Am I ready to live in Nicaragua?" The beauty in life is to realize our dependency on God, how the gospel needs to be shared now. God asks us to remove ourselves from what’s comfortable and familiar and through this He reveals the joy the Holy Spirit provides. Two months have passed since I began to serve girls at Futbol Sin Fronteras (Soccer Without Borders) in Granada, Nicaragua. I am thankful to be here through financial, emotional and spiritual help of people who know have known me for years and others who have just met me. The path that my life has taken has inspired me to serve others and glorify God. Granada's community is welcoming, with their families, their homes and their time. Daily interactions reveal parents who care and are present in their daughters lives, girls beaten and left alone, parents struggling to make ends meet and tin shacks with dirt floors called home. Helping is serving as a consistent, loving person in 35 young girl’s lives. The lives of girls like Milagro, Karla, Guadalupe, Massiel and Blanca Rosa. Giving them time, energy and commitment. There is a need to become selfless, to focus on loving others. By loving the girls, they teach us humility, with their hugs, their smiles and their pure joy. These small gestures of love are evolving into a bigger picture of change. This change provides the girls with a loving, safe place to play and learn soccer, a place of expression, creativity and growth. There are no filters here, the realities of Nicaraguan lives are raw and yet no matter the situation of the families they are thankful, honest and fortunate for the work of Futbol Sin Fronteras. Community is important, to invest in one another. Community wipes tears that come from truths of this developing country, it heals the broken and restores faith. Experiencing all this together is a blessing. Please continue to follow this journey here at www.madyinnicaragua.blogspot.com where there are weekly updates about the girls and the program. For the more visual individuals visit http://sinfronterasnica.tumblr.com In order to be a part of these girls lives it requires continuous fundraising. Tax deductible donations can be made through this blog or send a check to Soccer Without Borders 25 Thomson Place, First Floor Boston, MA 02210. $50 pays for a week of food, Spanish lessons and other misc. things like treating a few girls to ice cream or laundry soap to hand wash clothes, $700 will pay for the returning flight to Granada in January after winter break, including the flight back to the US in June 2013, everything in between helps, too. Beautiful things have happened in two months and a whole year of wonderful brings me overwhelming joy. Thank you again for continual support, through prayers, thoughts and love. Sending my love, Mady
