Our first stop today was a dump site where families work starting at 5a to earn less than $1 a day. #compassionbloggers @compassion #mylife http://instagram.com/p/at39CmELzU

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This place is hard to leave.

And it’s not just the beautiful people and the beautiful sunsets and the stacks of books I love here.

It’s the place where I know who I am and what I was made to do.  It’s home, in every perfect sense of the word.

It’s the place where my gifts intersect with my passions.

It’s my sweet spot, where I’ve found a place to work and love and play.

It’s here that I’ve learned to live out my vocation with all its lovely mess, learning day by day to love the neighbors that are nearest.  I work hard and love tender and still find plenty of ways to need lots of forgiveness. And these dear ones are gracious in hearing my confession.  They reach out with His mercy and love me well.

But down there, I don’t know where I fit, just yet.  I’m worried I won’t know how to help, what to say.  I fret that the love He’s been growing in my heart these past few months won’t find its way to them.  I find myself desperately lacking all the good things I wanted to be ready to give.  It’s my own poverty that scares me to death.

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Did y’all think I was never coming back? Were y’all scared that I was overcome with anxiety about my trip and changed my name and moved to somewhere rural and remote like Bean Station? OH wait, that’s where I live. But seriously. It is Wednesday and I leave for Nicaragua in FIVE DAYS. Here’s what I have packed so far: nail polish and dishcloths. I’m nothing, if not prepared. In my defense, I have a bunch more stuff laid out in my bedroom beside the suitcase, ready to pack, including, but not limited to a snazzy pair of closed toe shoes. I went with Keen sandals and some Dansko clog-ish type sandals. My girls said I looked weird yesterday when I wore them for practice. I look like I’m trying too hard. Flip flops makes sense in the summer but something about closed toe shoes makes you look twice and wonder, why? Couldn’t you just wear some flip flops like normal folk? (Get used to the nervous chatter because apparently, it’s here to stay.)

I get crazy when I travel and the nervous energy combined with the irrational fears makes me do things like rally the troops at 4 p yesterday to clean out the garage. In other words, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest. To continue my streak, I’m thinking about painting Emme’s new room before I leave. Because that makes perfect sense when you’re to-do list is so long, it makes you wanna dry heave. I try to leave my affairs in order when I travel so naturally, I’ve been stressing over where I should be buried, what casseroles to bake for the family, and who to leave in charge of my bust collection should I perish. These are things normal people think about, right? Zip it.

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We began our ministry in Nicaragua in 2002, when the Child Sponsorship Program was started. In just seven years of ministry, we have served over 30,000 children in Nicaragua.

Country Director

William José Gutiérrez Rojas joined us as an administrator in 2002 and was appointed Country Director in 2003. Before coming to our ministry, William served as the Country Director for Habitat for Humanity Nicaragua for two and a half years and for the Council of Evangelical Churches Pro-Denominational Alliance for 11 years.

Born in a rural area, William did not begin school until he was 11 years old. However, his mother had taught him to read, write and do basic math at home.

The earthquake of 1972 influenced William’s decision to work in Christian ministry as an adult. When the earthquake struck, his local church offered services for the children and adults in the community, and he was able to see firsthand the effect it had on them.

William holds a degree in business administration from Central American University in Nicaragua. He serves as a substitute preacher at his church and also gives support and counseling.

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Bill Gates is once again the richest man on the planet. And he’s using his wealth to fight malaria, the leading cause of death in some of the world’s poorest countries. He’s making progress too. But he’d accomplish even more if the right people got sick.

WIRED Magazine recently asked Gates “How do you get the media as excited about saving lives as they are about the next phone?”

“We need a malaria epidemic in the blogging community! Either that or we need people who have seen the malaria epidemic to start blogging. Seriously, we have two communities that don’t intersect with each other. One is about a billion and a half people—families, children—who live in malaria-prone areas. The others are living pretty nice lives, and it’s great. If the malaria epidemic was nearby, this stuff would be very prominent.”

Five years ago a group of bloggers from the U.S. stepped off a plane in Uganda. Jet-lagged, nervous, battling bats and a dial-up internet connection, we wrote every day into the wee hours of the night. Hundreds of children received access to healthcare, clean water, nutrition, education and the gospel as a result.

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