IMPACT Nicaragua: Short Term Mission Trip Trip Description NICARAGUA July 24th – August 7th, 2010 Trip Overview The goal of The IMPACT Nicaragua Trip is to see the Kingdom of God unfold in the lives of the people of Nicaragua as we pray for the sick, feed the poor, and engage in other acts of compassion, mercy, and justice. IMPACT Nicaragua participants will serve in the following ways: Drilling Water Wells. . . Many people don’t understand that a lack of clean drinking water is at the heart of a daily crisis faced by a billion of the world’s most vulnerable people—a crisis that threatens life and destroys livelihoods on a devastating scale. Unlike war and terrorism, the global water crisis does not make media headlines, despite the fact that it claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns. Unlike natural disasters, it does not rally concerted international action, despite the fact that more people die each year from drinking dirty water than from the world’s hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes combined. This is a silent crisis experienced by the poor, and tolerated by those with the resources, technology, and the political power to end it. Yet this is a crisis that is holding back human progress, consigning large segments of humanity to lives of poverty, vulnerability, and insecurity. We will be partnering with Living Water International, to address this most basic of need by helping deprived communities acquire safe, clean water. As this happens, communities and worldviews are transformed—both among those in desperate physical need, and among those who have been blessed with much. While in Nicaragua, participants will have the opportunity to drill a water well that will provide clean water for a small community. Once the well has been completed there is a dedication ceremony that the entire community is invited to. Serving a Local Orphanage. . . Nicaragua is home to thousands upon thousands of orphans who have fallen victim either to abuse, neglect, drug addiction, or molestation. We will be partnering with Arms of Love, an organization with the central focus to “Establish children’s homes, and to care for homeless street children through local church based ministry and local church based missions.” Participants will actually live with the orphans of Nicaragua for 4 days of the trip. While staying at the orphanage, participants will spend mornings doing construction projects for the orphanage, and during the evenings will have time to build relationships with the orphans. Participating in Local Church Ministry. . . During our stay in Nicaragua we will be visiting La Vina in Managua. There we will participate in worship, and get to know the local church community. In addition to participation in worship, we will also join the congregation for outreach to the poor in Managua. Ministering at La Chureca. . . La Chureca is the city garbage dump in Managua, Nicaragua. It is located in the city's northwestern corner, along the shore of Lake Managua. The dump, which has been in existence for more than 40 years, occupies nearly 150 acres and receives more than 1,200 tons of trash every day. The dump is home to approximately 3,000 families who earn money by collecting, sorting, and selling recyclables and valuables found in the garbage. Men, women, and children work daily despite the smoke rising from constantly-burning trash. Prostitution (including child prostitution) and drug abuse (especially glue sniffing) are also prevalent. Residents of La Chureca live in conditions of extreme poverty, residing in small shacks made mostly of scrap metal and with only the bare minimum in the way of city services. Our group will visit the poor here at the dump, meet the families, and minister love and compassion to the residents of La Chureca. Getting Away for an Excursion. . . There are two recreational days scheduled on our trip. Among the things we will likely do are: Visiting the famous Volcano National Park in Granada, zipline in the forest, a beach day with the orphans, tours around Managua, etc. What we do for recreation will be determined by weather, and advice from our guides. Join us as we partner with Living Water International and Arms of Love to share God's love by serving orphans and providing rural communities with clean water. Contact Scott Hatch (scott@slvineyard.org) or Ryan K. (ryan@slvineyard.org) to find out how you can get involved