How was Nicaragua?

We’ve been told, even during our initial orientation, that it will be important to formulate some sort of “elevator speech” of the high lights of your experience. People will ask you… “so, how was Nicaragua?” And the easy response is “Great! Loved it!”. But it’s also important to have a few key ideas formulated about what the experience has meant to us. And to be able to put the last 2 years into context. I can see why this would be important, as we head back into a world and community that seems so “normal” to us. It will be difficult to explain and demonstrate the impact that this experience has had on us, and to take the lessons we have learned and apply them into our U.S. lifestyles.

I have been thinking on this ‘elevator speech’ concept a lot, and haven’t been able to come up with the perfect elevator speech, but have a few ideas floating around. Many of these ideas come from a letter we recently wrote to individuals who have supported us financially in our time abroad, and it is helping to guide my thoughts on how I will summarize our time here. I don’t think this constitutes an elevator speech…unless that elevator is going up 900 floors :) I will try to get it a little more succinct, but until then, try not to meet me in an elevator ;)

p.s. We are currently in Guatemala for a final VMM retreat where we are spending time together, reflecting on the past 2 years and looking ahead together. We will fly to the United States on August 9th and will be visiting family and national parks, and doing some additional traveling. We look forward to this time of travel, but also are excited to see the flatlands of Indiana (is that possible?! :) )
Okay…here’s the note:


July 14, 2017

Hello!

Kyle and Alli here, writing from Managua, Nicaragua. We left the sweet, little town of San Nicolas on Tuesday, July 11 and are catching our breath a bit in Managua. Doctor’s appointments, visiting friends, and a few meetings are on our itinerary. We wanted to take a chance to sit down and write to our supporters and donors to tell them THANK YOU! Thank you for your financial, spiritual and personal support over the last 2 years.

   

As we sit here, reflecting on the last two years, we are beginning to see the depth of our experiences here in Nicaragua. We realize that this experience would not have been possible without you all—our tribe—supporting us from afar. We are forever grateful!

We also wanted to take the time to write out a bit of what this experience has meant to us and what we have “accomplished” during our two years in San Nicolas. I intentionally put ‘accomplished’ in quotes because as volunteers with a focus on accompaniment, it is often difficult to put into words, or numbers, what our quantitative accomplishments have been. We have taught English and other high school and elementary classes, we have worked closely with the school director, we have cleaned and sold vegetables with the local organic farm—La Garnacha. But we believe the biggest accomplishment we have experienced is the relationships we have built in this community. We know that we have been changed forever by these relationships, and we hope that these feelings are mutual for those whom we have crossed paths the last 2 years.

Throughout our time in Nicaragua we have reflected on “The Spirit and Lifestyle of VMM”—a lifestyle guide to our 2 years of volunteer work. One part that particularly stuck with us is this:

“We are aware

that through our service,

we receive far more

than we are able to give

We realize that we are enriched

by our encounter

with people of other cultures  and beliefs.

We come to discover

that we, too, are poor in many ways.”

We truly believe that while we have given ourselves, our time, and our skills 
to this community, we certainly have received much more in return. Our lives will forever be enriched by the lessons we have learned walking along side our neighbors, our coworkers and friends.

We will miss our work, our lives, and our friends here in Nicaragua. But we are also looking forward to whatever adventure is next. You may be asking: “What is next?” And that is a great question. We are currently planning a slow transition back to life in the states. We will be visiting friends, family and national parks in the western part of the United States, as we make our way to Indiana, where we will move back into our home in Indianapolis.

Thank-you again! So VERY much…for caring about us over the last 2 years. And for supporting us financially as we completed this experience and accompanied the people of San Nicolas. THANK YOU!!

Alli and Kyle Stiffney

This may be my last blog post in this forum, but I wanted to take the time to say THANK YOU to all of you for following along on our journey. We are blessed by each of you, near and far!

Seriously! Thank you all so much for your support, love, prayers and encouragement over the last 2 years. We appreciate our tribe so much!

Keep in touch:

Alli- ahawkinsjae@gmail.com

Kyle- kstiffney@gmail.com

Love.