1st Entry!

Hello everyone!!
I am starting a blog to keep in contact with you all while I am in Nicaragua over the next 11 months. I think that it will be a very helpful communication tool :)

Description of what I'm doing in just a couple of short weeks!:
On August 11th I leave for Akron, PA for a week of orientation to the SALT program. SALT (Serving and Learning Together) is a program that I heard about at Bluffton and is through MCC (Mennonite Central Committee). After a week of orientation I leave with 3 or 4 others to my placement in Managua, Nicaragua. In Nicaragua, I will be working at a children's home designed for children under the age of 6 with disabilities. I will live with a host family in Managua. I will also have Spanish Language classes and more orientation for the first six weeks.

I've been experiencing some of the fear and uncertainty that seems to come with all new seasons of change in life, but I'm excited about it too :) I'm really looking forward to all of the people I will meet, the relationships I will build, and coming to a deeper understanding of another culture. I look forward to seeing God's hand in new ways, and to broaden my spiritual thinking. And I am of course excited about those cute cute kids that I will get to work with for a year :) :) I anticipate a lot of excitement, plenty of struggles, and a whole lot of learning!!

So that is what is coming up for me! I appreciate so much any thoughts and prayers for my next year. I will try to post on this thing about once a month and hopefully will be able to put up a few pictures too. Please know that I would love love love to hear from you all, how you are, and what is going on in your lives! I will miss you all!

Until next time...:)