Upon first being interviewed for my local newspaper about my trip, I told Emily, the interviewer, that I wanted to learn what it was like to live like a pequeno, or an orphan. I find that now, after two months here, I am not living in an impoverished orphanage. Rather, my life is full of excitement, as well as the pequeno's lives. I am busier than I was in college and there is a lot to do, if you really put your mind to it. With 13 volunteers this year alone, along with hundreds of others in the past since 1994 when NPH Nicaragua was founded, there is a life here. I have to remember that I am carrying a legacy from when NPH Mexico started and here in Nicaragua, I am continuing a life that ... read more

Sample Article for the nph.org website The new volunteers for NPH 2008 arrived in early January with a grand welcome from Casa Santiago, Nica style. Although we came during vacations, there were many preparations being made for the beginning of the school year, which marks the start of many of the therapies and teaching the volunteers partake in. As the month passed by, the festivities of the first week finally arrived, pure Nica style. February 4 was that special day, the day many kids were anxiously waiting for. Others were sad that it marked the end of vacations. Their limitless free time playing with cards and bikes and going to the many beaches nearby was over. For the kids from Casa Asis, the baby house in San Jorge, the year was very special, for they would ... read more

My first week on the island has been particularly hard for me in many ways. It was my first week as a tia, or aunt, for a group of kids. We had nothing else planned, except for this. The day was wide open for this and the only structure was meal times. I chose the older boys, hoping they would be easy for me. And, they were...but almost too easy. My first day, I walked over to my boys. I didn’t even know who was in charge...apparently, they have a tio, or uncle, but I didn’t know who he was. Well, I introduced myself as their tia for the week. They were welcoming for the most part, but also playing cool, not getting too attached to me at first. I remember trying to interact with them...however, ... read more

Love is not a feeling; it is a choice and a commitment. If I came here just on feeling, that would have faded...I chose to come here because I wanted to be committed to a country I have a passion for. It's funny how a week here did that. Solomente una semana! If I came here on a feeling, I would not have chosen the island, where I will be isolated from the rest of the country and from other people. However, that is where God was leading me, to the island. God often brings us out of our comfort zones to do His work. After Managua, a good resting place, one that is familiar to me, we all left for San Jorge, to visit Casa Asis, the baby orphanage for NHP. Leaving the familiar path ... read more

Lots of thought has gone into deciding where to serve. About a year in the making! My thoughts on any trip started when I returned from Spain when I was a study abroad student. I knew that once I graduated, I wanted to serve oversees somewhere, but I did not know where. Early on in my senior year, I came across an organization, Friends of the Orphans, also known as Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos. I put the org. in the back of my mind...not knowing if I would serve with them. There were many fabulous organizations and then also deciding which country to serve with. However, amidst all the organizations out there, the select people God has placed in my life this past year as really been instrumental. Through unique circumstances and through key select people, I ... read more