Jamey Grimsley, 22, is a freshman Bible and Missions major and plans to go to Jinotega, Nicaragua this summer. Though it is his third time going, he has no intentions of this being his last visit.
Last year’s spring break was the first time Grimsley went to Jinotega and volunteered with Mision Para Cristo. Grimsley said he believes the trip was God-ordained because it was a very quick process.
“I came to the church one day and the youth minister told me he was taking a group of teens to Nicaragua and said ‘I want you to chaperone and I have already signed you up,'” Grimsley said.
Grimsley was there for a week the first time. He said that by the middle of the week, he knew he wanted to be there permanently. He said his desire to stay began with the Nicaraguans begging him not to leave. This desire was later reinforced when people from home encouraged him to think about going back the following summer.
“It was a mixture between them just telling me I was staying and me finally believing and wanting to stay,” Grimsley said.
Grimsley returned the following summer for a three-month stay. Junior Jamie Capri also interned in Jinotega. Capri said that even though they did not work together every day, they still became close friends. Mision Para Cristo is involved with numerous communities within Jinotega.
“The mission doesn’t just do one thing,” Capri said. “They have a battered woman’s shelter, a pregnancy home for teenagers and young women, they sponsor almost 27 different schools; they have eight different towns they do after school care with and so much more. They are everywhere.”
Capri said they usually would visit each other in the evening if they did not work together during the day. She said he was great to work with because he is laid back and flexible, which helped immensely in a foreign country.
“His personality in general is just goofy and silly,” Capri said. “He just wants to have fun, and I think that is really great, especially for the kids. They grasp on to this big, goofy guy who just wants to go play with them. They love him.”
Grimsley said he felt like he had found his calling and was just going to stay in Jinotega permanently after his first summer there. He said the people there were eager to have him, but encouraged him to finish his degree before making the choice to stay.
Grimsley said he plans on moving to Jinotega once he graduates.
“I can’t stay out of Nicaragua; I can’t stay away from that mission,” Grimsley said.
