Today, September 12, is a Nicaragua Holiday, so Happy Nicaraguan Holiday! We haven’t really figured out what exactly that means but basically there is no school. Today we went to a nursing home to hang out with the people there. It is on the other side of Jinotepe so we needed to take a van so in typical Nicaraguan style we piled all 23 of us into one 12-passenger van. Cozy!

(Sorry still haven't figured out how to flip pictures apparently!) 

We walked in and started talking to some people and I walked up to two girls on my team who were praying over a woman who was crying. Off to the side of her was a woman sitting all alone. I greeted her in my typical Spanish “Hola como esta?” I was not surprised to hear no response. My heart broke for how alone her face looked. I smiled at her and the two girls standing near me told me she was deaf and blind. She looked trapped and alone inside her own world. I walked over to her and touched her arm, tears already forming in my eyes. She reached for my hand and felt it, like she wanted to find out all about me by the touch of my hand. As I sat there silently praying over her, holding her hand, and brushing flies off her face I saw her in a way I have trouble gathering into words. She was a princess, a lovely woman someone who just needed loved. Needed touch and someone to sit with her. I sat there holding her hand for the rest of our time there knowing that she just needed someone to love her in the only way they could. I wanted to stay for hours longer, but it came time to leave. I leaned in and kissed her forehead. She squeezed my hand and lifted my hand to her lips and kissed the back of my hand.

Today Doria taught me a new way to love, through the power of presence. Sitting with her fully devoted to holding her hand, she knew she was loved. I don’t need to speak Spanish to share God’s love with these people, I just need to be present.