Well, it wasn't really a disaster, it just wasn't what we were planning on. We had a lunch after the church service at El Puente on Sunday, and the team was asked to come up with some games for the kids. So we decided to have an Easter egg hunt for them.

Sunday morning before the church service, we hid all the eggs around El Puente-in trees, under rocks, inside cracked jicaro. We hid about 100 of them. I mean, we were pretty excited about it.

While we were sitting listening to songs in the church service we saw some of the children picking up the eggs and wondering what they were. Once the eggs were opened and they found out what was inside (candy), a good number of the children were all of a sudden on an Easter egg hunt during the church service, before lunch and before they were supposed to.

We couldn't do anything about it. At the time, it wasn't funny because that Easter egg hunt was supposed to take up some time during lunch, and we needed it to. But looking back at it, it was pretty funny. I mean, what are you supposed to do? You can't really do anything.

"Kids are crazy, you just have to guide them in their craziness."

So, we have a dinner for the community every Friday night. A lot of children have been showing up recently. This past Friday was a little hard for me to process because after we were done serving the food, kids who had already eaten started coming up and asking for more food and telling us that they didn't eat yet. It was so hard for me to have a loving, caring, and gentle heart towards them. How do you show love to little children who are lying through their teeth about how they didn't get anything to eat yet, or that they just walked through the door when the door closed 10 minutes ago? How do I let my Father's grace, mercy, and love shine through myself in the moments that are so annoying and tough?

There's a battle that's going on inside that I need to learn how to fight more- to let my Father show His love through me even when inside I want to turn away and not be nice because I know they are lying. It's not my place to decide whether they deserve love or not.

So, the team had a debrief session this weekend. It was really nice to kind of step back and be with everyone at the same time for longer than dinner time J .

We also were privileged to have one of our team mates, who has not been able to be with us since Mexico, come down to join us. Having our full team together this weekend helped me see the importance of the body of Christ and how we work together. 'The body is made up of many parts' keeps running over and over in my head. Each part has a specific roll to play. Each part is important. And each part gives something to the body as a whole.

It is noticeable when one part isn't working or isn't there. It is noticeable when a personality and presence of one part is absent. The body some how manages to function without the part that it is missing, but there is still a spot that can only be filled by a specific part and the body is not the same with out it.

I was sitting on a rocking chair on the front porch at El Puente with a new kitten on my lap. I was thanking God for different things and I came to the word safety. Safety and protection. I was thinking about how I live in a fairly safe place; we are fenced in and we have security guards. I thanked Him for safety, and then started thinking about how I'm not really safe. I can't explain it because I am no where near understanding it. We are safe, but we aren't. We are not living in a safe place-no matter where we are in the world. Around every corner and every turn, under every step and behind every door there is danger that we can't see. In every heart and in every mind there is some kind of battle taking place. Satan is crawling around waiting for opportunities to torment and harass.

Those of us who believe in Jesus Christ can have confidence in the fact that we have safety in Him. We have a place to turn to and strength that is given to us, as well as perseverance, hope, determination, and faith. But we can't stop after knowing this truth. How do we get to the point where we can understand that we are living in danger? And how do we reach the point where we can see it and encourage and love each other through it with His perfect love and grace? I want to be at the point where I can live in the world with my mind completely focused on something greater-His Kingdom, and Him.

First, you find people to play with. We were on our way to the church on Friday morning as we usually are, and the doors were locked and the pastor wasn't home. We decided that we just wouldn't do the kids program that day. There were only about 6 kids waiting there. Then we asked them if they wanted to play a game, and they said baseball.

Second, split up into teams. That was easy, kids against the gringos (white people).

Third, find stones for bases. In Granada, baseball is a little different because you only have 2 bases besides home plate. So, the bases create a triangle instead of a diamond.

Forth, find a ball. We had a tennis ball.

Fifth, batter up. This is a little different too. You bat with your hand/fist. So you whack the ball as hard as you can with your fist.

We had a great time, and learned how to play baseball Nicaraguan style. I like it! J

We went to a healing service on Sunday night and Jesus healed people. The first man that was healed had a hearing problem. He couldn't hear out of his right ear. After he prayed for the man Victor snapped his finger in the man's ear and asked him if he could hear. The man said he could and then walked away. A man with bad sight kept seeing more and more every time he was prayed for. A teenage girl who had asthma was healed. Stomach aches were gone, migraines disappeared, walking problems done away with, and cancer destroyed. Every person that came to be healed was healed because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

Through out the night I saw my Father show His power and authority through healing His children and capturing their hearts. I learned a few things as well...

1) "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

2) I don't have complete faith in my Father who has authority over all sicknesses and all things.

3) My Father loves me where I am at and wants me to learn from Him and trust that He has everything under control. This includes my lack of faith.

So, I'm learning to walk with Him more and more. Sometimes it's hard and confusing, but it is worth every single confusion and struggle because there is also joy and understanding and grace and love J .

So, I've been thinking a lot about coming home recently. I can't lie; I am very excited to go home. I can't wait to see my family and friends. I can't wait to be at home with my sisters and brothers and my mom and dad, and even the dog. I can't wait to hang out with friends, talking at Caribou, going on walks, and hanging out by the camp fire or on a trampoline.

I've been trying to figure out if it's okay to be excited about going home. I am happy that I am here. I love being in Nicaragua. I love the people here, I love my team, I love cooking with no oven, I love walking everywhere, and I love making paper beads for bracelets. God is so amazing and has created so many different people and so many different places and it's such a privilege to see what He is doing in a different part of the world.

Something else I've been thinking about too is that when I do go home, it's not quite going to feel the same. I will most likely love being with my family and friends, but it will not be the same. It won't be what I knew home to be anymore. It won't be home because it's not.

It's so interesting how God uses things on earth to tie into the bigger picture. I don't feel at home in Nicaragua, even though I like it, and I'm not going to feel the same when I go home either. I will never truly feel at home as long as I am living on this earth. Those of us who have Jesus Christ in our hearts will never truly feel at home until we are at home, after we have died and are with Him. That is where our only true home is. Everything else is temporary, and it will not truly satisfy.

So, I was walking down the street back to El Puente (where we are living) yesterday, and these two little girls were walking down the street saying "Hola, hola!" I said hi back and smiled at them. They were holding a jug of some liquid thing (probably carrying oil back to their house or something). They just kept smiling and walked along side of me and one of the girls reached for my hand to hold it. She kind of snuggled into my side as we walked down the street. I smiled at them and turned to Tom and said "I don't know what to do." "Ask them what their names are," he said. 'Oh, right!' I thought. So I asked them their names and smiled and walked down the street with them. Then they said goodbye and turned down another street where home was.

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What do you want from me? What do you want me to give you? What am I supposed to do for you? Why are you coming up to me acting so cute with smiles and holding my hand?

Gosh Jessica. Come out of your world. Come out of your world and look behind what you think the smiles and cute eyes mean. They need Jesus, and you have Him. You need to share Him.