Beach soccer in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. It was crazy! About 18 vs 18!
Now this trip has been in the back of my mind for years now. I've been antsy to get out and travel and yet didn't want to just pick up my backpack and head south. Not that theres anything wrong with that, but I wanted to be able to contribute something to the places I was traveling to. I saw my training as a sports’ minister was a fantastic opportunity to grab my backpack and catch a plane south and share what I’ve learned. So far I've been through El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia. I am planning on traveling for a couple more months or until my money runs out!
Playing with some kids in Casco Viejo, Panama City
So, the main purpose of this trip is to avoid a mid life crisis. Just kidding. =) Of course I will take this trip as an opportunity to enjoy seeing other countries and experiences with a couple American friends and people we meet along the way. But I am also really excited to connect with old family friends and other contacts and help with their ministries and organizations through sports ministry. So far we've had some great experiences at orphanages, on the street, the beach and just about anywhere there's an open space!
Since my trip is not solely for ministry I don’t feel right asking for support for my travels. But I have purchased some ministry materials that I’m really excited about (some custom made bracelets and will be printing out some manuals for some coaching sessions and more). When it’s all said and done the materials will be about $500, so if you want to contribute towards that it would be awesome. If you’re interested I’ll send you more info if you send me an email at nwood9@gmail.com.
I have a ton of stories I could share with you, but I've realized that I am terrible at sitting down and writting, so instead of empty promises of trying to write more, I’ll try to post pictures more often (I do enjoy taking pictures). Stories will come, just not as often.
But I’d like to leave you with a recent story about our trip from Panama to Colombia. Since there is no road that connects these two countries, we ended up taking a boat through the picturesque San Blas islands and then spent 42 hrs on the open ocean. The islands were amazing! So many different shades of blue! I'm positive that is where they take all the beautiful desktop background pictures! But, I can assuredly say I have not missed my calling a seaman. 42hrs in the open ocean at first doesn’t sound like it’s that long (at least initially to me). But when you’re going 5 miles an hour and our 36ft boat constantly got rocked by 10-15 ft waves in the open ocean, it is awful. I have never felt so miserable for so long, It was like i was tossed into a washing machine and not allowed out. Waves splashed into my bedroom all night and I even had a flying fish land in my bed! I am going to stay away from boats for a while...
I love being on the road and am excited to share my experiences with you! Please continue to keep me in your prayers and thanks for your support!
Blessings from Colombia!
Nate
