This past summer, I took a trip to a little town in Nicaragua called Las Peñitas with a mission team from my church. I really had no idea what to expect, but I knew that I had felt a strong calling to be a missionary and I was more than ready to go.

Nicaragua is a country that we really don't hear much about. It's a country that is obviously experiencing extreme levels of poverty and tends to be forgotten about.

I will say that I was fascinated. The capital is full of people walking on the streets and cars rushing by literally as fast as they could because authorities really aren't strict on road laws there. People would try to sell us water through the windows of our car or they would try to wash our windshield in attempts to get money.

We drove through the countryside for about an hour and once we got to Las Peñitas the poverty level was even more apparent. We were right on the beach and 9 out of 10 houses in some way were open to the outside with no air conditioning. In Nicaragua the temperature is usually in the 90's with a 85% humidity or more.

People slept in hammocks, and their attire was very simple. It's a fact that life is very basic for most Nicaraguans, even in the capital.

Throughout the week we worked with a foundation called the Fuller Center to help construct suitable housing for families in the Las Peñitas community.

We grew so close to the families we were helping. They treated us like part of the family and when one of us would try to talk to them in Spanish they would laugh when we would mess up. The kids would always ask us if we had candy.

It was truly a humbling experience.

During the week my pastor had the opportunity to give a sermon at a little house church in Las Peñitas, with the help of my boyfriend translating. It was something I will never forget.

Here our group was with only two of us who spoke Spanish and an entire house filled with Nicaraguans enjoying church together despite all of our differences in language and culture.

I was very humbled.

I was taught that week that none of us need these material things that we have. Everything we have here is such a huge blessing.

The people of Nicaragua had nothing compared to us, but to them they had everything because of family and simply another day to live.

I loved being in a culture like that. It changed me as a person and made me rethink why I need to be thankful. God has blessed me with so many things that I really don't need and for that I am so thankful.

I made lifetime friendships in Nicaragua and I have no doubt that I will be back again one day.

Nicaragua is beautiful and I miss it every day.

If you ever have the opportunity to go on a mission trip or study abroad, do it. It is an experience unlike anything else in the world and you will never be the same.

"Los mejores amigos son como estrellas, aunque no siempre se ven, pero sabes que están allí" - Anónimo

"The best friends are like stars, you don't always see them, but you know they're always there." - Anonymous