Helping kids get to school

Pablo and I have been approached with the opportunity to help supply 26 first and second grade students with school supplies in a poor community outside Matagalpa. I know you're probably thinking, "Every community you talk about in Nicaragua is a poor community." While this is true, think of what you know to be poor, and think more poor. Early education isn't much of an option in the United States, but more of a mandatory thing. Even though primary education is free in Nicaragua, many students don't go, and especially if they don't have the means to buy school supplies. We were able to help out a family of kids last week with school supplies, otherwise they wouldn't have gone. More specifically outside of the cities in Nicaragua, education isn't as encouraged. It's pretty much a guarantee in some villages that if you're over the age of 10 you will be working in the fields, but that doesn't mean you can read or write.

The community leader for this school actually approached a nonprofit organization, before Pablo and I, working in a nearby community about the opportunity but were turned down. We're talking about somewhere between $200-$400 to ensure that 26 children get educated for the year. When it came to my education growing up my greatest concern was what car I was going to be allowed to drive, not whether or not we could afford school supplies. With only a few people donating $50 these kids will be taken care of, in a community where they would otherwise go without.

It's tough to describe in words sometimes the specifics of the need here in Nicaragua. It really does take faith to not be here and to support this ministry. I am tremendously blessed to be on this end of so many people's generosity and see many lives blessed by it. May God bless you all greatly!

Donations can be made through the paypal link on the right (which is fixed now) or through the Laurel Church of Christ, 714 E 5 St Laurel Mt 59044.

Serving in Matiguas

When I first came to Nicaragua this past summer, I was told we would be visiting a prison and a drug rehab center. Knowing Nicaragua was a third world country, for whatever reason I still pictured in my mind what an American prison and drug rehab center would look like. The reality of these places here in Nicaragua is that instead of there being a large building with a roof, there is a large area fenced in, and inside the fenced in area are a few small structures that would not even be considered an established organization in the United States. When we visited the Matiguas rehab center yesterday, I decided to take some pictures to give everyone a little better understanding of what things look like. 

We brought with us a few bags of rice and beans and are hoping to bring more on our next few visits. They are always appreciative of our support and our desire to spend time with them. I was a able to sit down with a young man, 21 years old, named Hector and talk a little of his life and experience. Hector was born on the atlantic coast of Nicaragua (where English is commonly spoken) and has traveled a good deal with his family. He's been to several different countries and even lived in Europe for three years. He is fluent in both English and Spanish and is apparently an intelligent man. After being at the rehab center for four months he spoke of his desire not to leave because of his fear of returning to the same habits of drug use he had developed beforehand. I was a little shocked to hear that a person who had seen the world would be satisfied with his position of living in a shack and bathing in the river. There is a deep reality to the struggle of drug use among these people that I cannot explain or understand, but I am encouraged to see people with a desire to change and a contentment in a simple life with Jesus. I hope and pray that our visits continue to help encourage lives and that people like Hector may feel more freedom in their future as they develop their relationship with the Lord.

A big thanks to those who support this ministry, allowing us to serve a people in need. Specific donations to the Matiguas rehab center or other forms of ministry here in Nicaragua can be made through the donation link on the right side of the page or through the Laurel Church of Christ. Anyone is welcome to email me with thoughts or questions, ike2307@hotmail.com. God bless!

 Most sleep in these three little cobachas built of sticks and tarp.

 This little basin is where clothes and dishes are washed

 the kitchen for the 80+ people who are served food

 In Nicaragua, when there is not a nearby dump, trash is usually burned. They have dug giant holes for a place to burn their trash. I can't tell you which is worse, the smell of burnt trash or when it's littered everywhere, but there is a good combination of both all around the country.

 This is the new bunk house that was just built, able to keep about 25 people.

This is the nicest of the three outhouses they have available to those undergoing rehab. Yes, even the four women living there have to endure the 13 degree slant as they rest their head against the tin side of the pooper. I can't say whether there's toilet paper available, but I doubt it.

Matiguas Drug Rehab Center

It's great to get to be able to speak to these folks in the Matiguas drug rehab center. Last week I shared with them a lesson about standing alone in their faith. For many of these men and women it's easy to praise God and live a life apart from drugs and alcohol inside the facility, but outside can be a different story. As successful as these programs have been for many people, there are always some that go back to the same habits they desired to be away from. Society has a tricky way of making everything look "good" in nature, and does very little to accommodate  a recovering addict. For those in this rehab center, going back into society, there will be very few, if any other people who understand the battle they are going through. It's the story of any Christian. As humans we struggle with sin, and when we become aware of our addiction to it we begin to understand we need help. Jesus Christ is the only one capable of freeing us from our sinfulness. Any recovering addict deals with the same problem. No one around is convicted of their issue quite like they are, and thus there continues to be great pressure from society to continue in the error of their ways. For a Christian there are a great number of standards set high alongside the low moral standards of society. The bible's forbiddance of sex before marriage, intoxication, unwholesome language, divorce, hatred, among other things, is a blatant contradiction to what society allows to take place every day. In other words, as a Christian you are going to be outnumbered. The bible prepares us for it from its front cover to the last page in revelation. Joseph stood alone in an Egyptian prison, Noah stood alone looking like a fool while building a huge ship on dry land that had never seen rain, Elijah stood alone surrounded by 450 prophets of false gods that would've killed him had God not provided a miracle, and our Savior Jesus Christ stood alone as he was beaten and persecuted by the very men he came to save. There is one thing that all of these men held in common. They held fast to the faith they had in God our Father, understanding that they were truly never alone. The focus for anyone addicted to sin (everyone) cannot be on what is being given up, or else the habit will never be overcome. The focus has to be on what is to be gained. Giving up anything sinful is a small price to pay in return for the rewards God promises, both in this life and in the next. After we prayed for the group at the rehab center, 8 people made the commitment to be baptized. Jeffrey Alberto Colero Rivera, Karla Patricia Sandino Cros, Marvin Jose Mendez Mercado, Francisco Jose Juares Alvarado, Julio Cesar Ballastero Flores, Vismar Antonio Mendes Senteno, Everton Yovann Centeno Mendez, and Milan Montinero all repented of their past before God and made a commitment to start a new life in Jesus Christ. I can't describe to you in words the experience of standing before these broken hearted people who have gone through tremendous hardship and seeing them soak in the truth of God's word.

Yesterday we visited again to share some food and God's word, as well as spend some time with those that we baptized last week. So many people come forward and ask us to pray for things in their lives and with their families. It's a great honor to be able to serve all these people. There's one man in particular who I love seeing every time we go. His name is Jorge. He's a giant of a man who is built, maybe 250 pounds. He reminds me of the prisoner in the Green Mile (the movie with Tom Hanks), just a huge friendly man who likes to smile. Jorge praises God like it's the greatest blessing on earth, I guess because it is. The older I get I have a tremendous respect for soft hearted people, regardless of physical stature. No one can soften a man's heart like God, and it's evident when God's done just that in a person's life.

The Matiguas drug rehab center is funded only by the families of the those enrolled in their program, many of whom are not responsible enough to follow through with their financial commitment, leaving the rehab center in a tough place financially. As we normally bring snacks and drinks and have brought sacks of rice and beans with us before, it's been requested that we help support the center with food. A 100 pound sack of rice costs around $45, while a 100 pound sack of beans costs about $35. The $50 it takes to feed a family at a restaurant in the states would provide food for the 80+ residents of the Matiguas facility for several days. Anyone interested in helping financially with this particular ministry is welcome to donate through the paypal link on the right hand side of the page or through the Laurel Church of Christ. I ask that regardless of whether you're able to help financially that you would help prayerfully, especially for the 8 people we baptized, named above. Thank you all for your continued support of this ministry, God bless! 

praying together before these young men and woman were baptized

The double rainbow above Matiguas as we baptized 8 people

Love in service

I love these kids in El Delirio. This week we taught them the history of Samson. We try to add in a little animation, so Pablo played Samson and I played the white narrator. 

Pablo and I don't do anything special. We visit, share God's word, bring drinks and snacks, and color pictures together. It's special for them though. Although Pablo doesn't like to be called "Gringo", it makes me smile when all the kids start yelling, "Los gringos estan aqui", and there are 50 kids that seemingly come out of the bushes to join us in the little community building we enter. Some of these kids have a good parent or two that takes care of them and love them, but a lot of them don't. Many are without fathers. Many are without role models in their life. The situation's no different from anywhere in the world. It becomes that much more obvious amidst great poverty though. You see in some of the pictures there are a few kids that have a new set of clothes, but most are covered in the same dirty clothes we saw them in the week before. A lot of their little bellies hang out 'cause they're wearing the clothes they had when they were two years younger and smaller. For me, visiting these kids doesn't get old.

Yesterday I sat and talked with a 15 year old that lives in our neighborhood. He told me his dad was as tall as I am. Knowing he's without a father now, I asked if he'd met him before. He answered no, that he hadn't, but that his mom had told him. While my friend plays it off like a tough guy, those types of things leave a void in anyone's heart. Fortunately he's taken comfort in the fact that God is a Father to the fatherless. But while God is the most important personal presence we're in need of in our lives, the essence of God's love is often most easily recognized in loved ones around us. For some it's tough to understand God as a loving father when they've never known a loving father. That is why the duty of Christians is simple, to love. Not the kind of love that society has caused us to think of, but a Godly love. The bible says that God is patient with us (2 Peter 3:9), kind to us (1 Peter 5:7), that he doesn't treat us with the punishment we deserve (Psalm 103:10), that his love is constant, and that he is slow to anger (Psalm 103:8). Love is a verb that God puts to work every day as he blesses us with new life every morning. When Jesus taught that we ought to love our enemy, he wasn't suggesting that we thoughtlessly give them lots of hugs and kisses. Jesus wasn't telling us how we were supposed to feel about people by loving them, he was instructing us how to treat them. Feelings are simply a result of the actions put forth. I promise that no one will ever truly love impatiently, no one will ever love pridefully, no one will ever love selfishly, and no one will ever love without hope. You've heard that the expression that love is blind. I respectfully disagree. Love is all seeing, all knowing and all powerful. God is love. The more we love those around us, the closer we are to God. And thus the more we seek God, the more we're filled with love.

Walking downtown the other morning around 7:30, there was a kid, maybe 10 years old, outside one of the buildings sleeping on the ground with his raggedy old shirt tucked over his knees because it was a cool morning. I've seen the kid before begging around town. I believe he is one of the kids that told us he left his home a few miles away to come beg in the streets of Matagalpa. As he lay there, everyone just walked by. People become numb to these types of things. Maybe many of the passers-by have attempted to help one of those kids before but to no avail, maybe not. Regardless, it doesn't change the fact that there's a homeless child sleeping on the sidewalk. While you're not going to see this in the United States, I guarantee you we've all passed up on such opportunities to serve in our every day life. How many things have we grown numb to because we lack the desire to lovingly serve those around us? Love isn't always pretty. Often times love comes with having to put up with someone we wouldn't spend 10 minutes with by choice. You might think love smells good, but it often comes with the worst BO. Contrary to Hollywood's perspective, showing love is usually not a desirable task. In the end, you'll find love to be selfless. We are selfish. Love is a requirement of getting outside of ourselves. Fortunately God has already paved the way, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." (1 John 3:16-18)