As I write this, I am sitting on the pavilion at Cicrin Orphanage on the island of Ometepe in Nicaragua. I feel like I am at home here because I am surrounded by water. The orphanage we are working at overlooks Lake Nicaragua, and is so serene.

My team’s contact for this country is Charles Kaye. I find myself captivated by every word that he speaks. Charles grew up in the United States and worked on Wall Street. At the time, he thought he had the ideal job. He later started his own business, but it all fell apart. He was in major debt and the people he thought he could count on left him. But despite all the hard times, Charles and his wife, Sarah, are such an inspiration to me because of how they handled everything. After leaving the Wall Street scenario, they moved to a farm…but even then, change was coming. Though they had a beautiful life in the States, their hearts eventually called them elsewhere – to an orphanage in Nicaragua. They now have two children that are 9 and 10 years old, Banks and Willa, who are serving the community here with them.

I wish I could express how deeply Charles touched my heart, but I am not sure this blog can do that.
So we arrived in Ometepe last Wednesday and it already feels like it has been weeks that we have spent with the kids. The orphanage has been an adjustment from last month, though. It has been a hard transition but one that I love at the same time. I am trying to learn how to adjust to life here. The kids are desperate for love and want to be held every moment you are around them. I love that because my arms are open for just that. In the same way it breaks my heart because my arms will only be here for one month. That is it, and then I am gone. But as hard as it will be to leave them, I know they are in good hands here and I will be glad to have had the one month. If I can make even a small positive difference in any of their lives, then my time was well spent.