My Tale: Ometepe Island

After flying into Managua, the first place that we visited was Ometepe Island, more specifically Moyogalpa. We took an hour long ferry from Revas to the island. The island is made up of two volcanoes, and it seemed cooler and more tropical than the mainland. We stayed at Hotel Ometepetl by the ferry. It was clean, safe, with a guard at the entrance, and the breakfast there was very good. My only complaint, however, is that they did not have any hot water, but most places in Nicaragua do not.

Ometepe is located in Lake Nicaragua and is made up of two volcanoes. It take about an hour to take a ferry from the mainland to the island.

The congregation in Ometepe has grown tremendously in the last few years. Interacting with the people there gave me my first real glimpse of the culture there. Everyone greets one another with either a handshake or a hug. Even the kids were not too shy to introduce themselves. They are proud to show us what they have to us and are very generous with what they have.

One morning we hosted a vacation Bible school at the church. There were about 55-65 kids there. Many of them attend there, but for others the church is an important part of the community and an opportunity to interact with others. With the kids we put on a skit, a puppet show, and did various crafts with them. I did the mouth movements with one of the puppets, and my muscles were hurting by the end of it from the position I had to maintain. However, the kids loved it so the soreness was worth it. All of the kids listened surprisingly well and were really patient. It was obvious that their favorite part was the piñata. They are not afraid to fight for their candy. Some of the ladies spent a couple of hours cooking food for everyone on an open fire stove. Food really does taste better when it is slow cooked, and I admire those ladies for working so hard and long on one meal.

There were about 60 kids that attended the VBS on Ometepe Island

(photo by author)

I am thankful that we got to meet so many people on the island. It’s hard to put in words the things I learned from them just by watching them. I am thankful that we got to bring them support and encouragement for the things they are doing there.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” and I said “Here I am. Send me!”

-Isaiah 6:8