It’s incredible to me how much you can learn and how much your perspective can change within the course of 4 days. Every day spent in Nicaragua so far has been an experience of its own, and I have loved every second of it.
Yesterday, we got the opportunity to visit the family of a child who is blind, Jesus. Jesus and his family live in the most extraordinary conditions imaginable. Along with 15 other relatives, they run a circus. They have about 7 tents set up; 1 big one (where the show happens), and 6 smaller ones… which is where the family of 25 lives. We did not get to meet them all, but we did get to meet a couple of the kids and speak to Juan (Jesus’ dad). He informed us that they have no running water, no electricity, no refrigeration, and that the stove they once had was stolen about 2 weeks ago. It was surreal just to think that people actually live like that. Walking in there was unbearable. The family barely gets by, and on top of their living conditions, their general health is horrible. Jesus needs eye surgery, Juan has diabetes, there is a newborn baby in the house that is barely breathing and all of the children there have stomach worms. I walked out of that house with tears in my eyes and a broken heart.
We had planned to go grocery shopping after the home visit, and that is exactly what we did. There, Lisa Marie had the most heartwarming idea. We put together a cart which consisted of food, everyday cleaning supplies, and a cooler and ice. Then, we went back to the circus and surprised them with the groceries. To us, it was nothing. To them, it meant the world. The expression on their faces compared to how I would react if someone bought me a car. They were incredibly thankful. Juan was speechless. He literally told us that he was physically unable to put into words how much the gesture meant to him. As he was talking, tears started flowing. I too was speechless as to how incredibly grateful they all where. It felt SO satisfying knowing that the family would have yet another meal on the table.
We often forget that it’s the little things in life that go the farthest. Giving and knowing you can’t possibly get anything in return is just an indescribable feeling.
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