Two members of our team, Bo Harris and Grant Ostrander, spent time this past July on mission trip to the beautiful – but impoverished – island of Ometepe in Nicaragua.
The annual mission trip was organized by the non-profit Nicaragua Missions. Several members of Grant’s church, Winchester Covenant Church, joined them on the trip.
The church has been actively involved in a yearly mission trip to Ometepe for several years. An elder at the church, Bill Camenisch, and his family currently are living on the island full-time as missionaries.
You can track the wonderful work that Bill and his family are doing and learn more about their experiences at their Nicaragua Missions Facebook page.
Mission Focused on Building Homes
Ometepe is an island formed by two volcanoes that rise from Lake Nicaragua. The island features a lush, green landscape marked by its jungles, plantain fields and large populations of Capuchin and mantled howler monkeys.
Although tourism has helped the island’s economy in recent years, it remains – like much of Nicaragua – one of the poorest locations in the Americas. Nearly half of Nicaragua’s population lives below the poverty line, and many of the country’s indigenous people struggle to survive on less than $1 per day.
The focus of this mission trip was to help the community by pitching in on labor projects. After flying in to Managua, Nicaragua, and traveling to the island, Bo, Grant and the fellow members of their mission group assisted in building a home for a local pastor and his family.
“Our team was very involved in mixing concrete by shovel and laying the concrete for the floor in their home,” Bo explains. “Most people do not realize that it is very difficult to get a concrete mixer or other modern tools to the job site. Mixing concrete with shovels and moving it with plastic buckets are usually the best options they have.”
The group also assisted with mixing and laying a concrete floor for a church in the hills. This work also consisted of mixing concrete by shovel.
Soccer Cleats Were a Part of the Mission Trip, Too
Before heading out, Grant teamed up with his brother, Erick, to gather unwanted shoes and soccer cleats from those throughout the Lexington area.
A local TV station, LEX18, provided coverage of the shoe drive – noting how children in the area often must play their favorite sport in bare feet – and joined in the effort by accepting donated shoes at its studio. In the end, more than 180 pairs of shoes were collected.
Upon arriving to Ometepe, the group was able to give the shoes and soccer cleats to children and adults in the community.
“This was a great joy for our team, and the people of the community were very grateful,” Grant says.
