GIVE: Why I Am Returning to Mosquito Nets, Sunburns, and Salt Water Showers
Written by: Merry Parker
2/26/2014
Last week I found myself sitting in an interview for a special position at my university. The chubby, pale man looked at my resume and said, “Oh you went to Nicaragua? They must have loved having your help there.” I was taken aback. I had never even thought of my experience volunteering in Nicaragua that way.
The concept that “I” helped the amazing people I met in my 2 weeks in Nicaragua with GIVE had never occurred to me. I had always felt that it was those people, those children, that beautiful ocean and building the school that had changed me.
When I left Nicaragua, I knew I was leaving the school that had my blood, sweat, and tears engrained forever in its sturdy cement walls. That building would stand for hopefully several decades, but my soul would be changed forever. So that is why I am returning. I am returning to Nicaragua not for the food, or the benefits it has on my resume, or even the scuba diving opportunities.
The simplistic and pure kindness of my experience with GIVE is something I wouldn’t trade for gold.
it is time for me to renew my soul again…
I need the sunset, the kindness, and the locals’ view on the world. I need to smile so much my face hurts and be more exhausted than I could ever put into words. I need Nicaragua to make me new again. To change my soul for the better and revive me the way a cold sip of water gives hope to a man in the desert. I have found that we stumble through our lives in the desert, hoping for experiences and people to be our sips of cold water.
The more time I have spent on this earth, the more I realize good, kind, genuine people are hard to come by. But I have discovered where they are all going. They are retreating into the arms of GIVE into Nicaragua and the impoverished communities of the world. They are burying themselves in service. Not only because service is necessary for the community, but necessary for the soul.
So that is why I am returning. Not only because the need is great, or because I truly believe in GIVE’s purpose. The simplistic and pure kindness of my experience with GIVE is something I wouldn’t trade for gold. The trip begins with hopes of changing the world, but somewhere on the beaches of Nicaragua, you realize the world has changed you. In conclusion, “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and found that life was service. I acted, and behold. Service is Joy.”