I think it is safe to say that everyone looks back at the end of their college career and is thankful that they made it through. Add me to that list because I reckon this blog entry is the last and final part of my college career. Like I said last week, classes at San Ambrosio finished on Thanks Giving day and I have been spending my whole week in a small surf town on the southwest part of Nicaragua, its called Las Salinas. It has been great catching up with old friends that are visiting Las Salinas and I have made some new friends from Nicaragua and Brazil. I have been surfing everyday which is always a plus but I have also had some time to give and bless the people of Nicaragua.
On Wednesday, my friends and I drove up into the mountains near Las Salinas and were able to give a very small community a whole truck bed full of clothes and athletic equipment. Before we arrived to the masses, we were able to give to one family and their friends. I enjoyed this much more than our next destination simply because it was more intimate and personal. The next village we arrived in was quite different, in fact it was very overwhelming. While it truly is better to give than receive, the rate in which these people took was extremely humbling and sad. We pulled up to a house along a dry dusty road and my Nicaraguan friend got out to talk to the family of the house where we had stopped. The whole family of 8 came out including their 95 year old grandma. As soon as we started handing stuff out the people started pouring out of everywhere. It was quite astonishing that without any electricity or telephones, the whole village was aware that we were there and that we were giving away clothes for all ages, baseballs, soccer balls, footballs, baseball gloves, baseball helmets, and even a volleyball. At first it was nice because we were able to talk to the people and figure out what they needed, but this only lasted for a second and it got a little out of hand. We were giving away so much stuff so fast that before we knew it the whole truck was empty, including some things that we didn’t want to give away or weren’t supposed to give away, including my hat that my friends 5 year old son threw out the window and was quickly snatched by an old lady never to return to my head, ha. At one point we had to guard the inside of the truck to make sure people were not taking stuff out of inside the cab. We finally got things settled down and were able to share with these people the real reason we were there. Yes it is nice to give and yes these are good works but my friends in I believe that good works don’t make good people, but good people do good works. What we were saying is that the reason why we give is because we follow a God who has given more than we can ever imagine, and his name is Jesus. As soon as the crowd hushed down a little, my Nicaraguan friend stood on top of the truck and read some passages from the gospel of John. When we left we all felt good about giving but even better about sharing the good news of Jesus.
I guess you could say that I am a pretty different guy, and in more ways than one at that. With that being said, I have already said my goodbyes to Boone and App State and will not be returning to walk during the graduation ceremony. Instead I will be living in Costa Rica until about March, only to return back to Hatteras Island where I grew up and will probably live the rest of my life. Although I could teach in Hatteras and live there forever, I am just going to take it one day at a time and try not to think that far ahead.