There has been a lot of news since our last visit with you, but time has been limited because we have been on the move so
much. God has moved in the most wondrous
ways. Time and space will not permit us
to share all the good things, but maybe just a few highlights are in order. Perhaps the most touching was a wonderful
service at New Jerusalem with Maria two weeks ago. Not only were the messages great, but they closed out the service by communion and feet-washing. I had the honor of washing the
feet of one of the pastors of the four churches in the New Jerusalem association.
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| Pastor Vicente at far right |
Vicente is
his name and he bears a long and painful story. Approximately three years ago, the church
where he pastored was flooded by torrential rains that caused Lake Managua to overflow and destroy the property. That was but the beginning of problems. Two years ago his son was tragically murdered. Then only last
year Pastor Vincent's 16-year old grandson was murdered when someone stole his cell phone. Only God in his
infinite wisdom could understand such things. But this man continued faithful and is now
working with Maria at New Jerusalem as an elder and pastor of evangelism.
Years ago, when Maria told us of her awesome dream, she spoke of how
she envisioned new life and new spirit some day in La Chureca, the Managua city dump where 100's of families lived.
She said that in that vision there were flowers and gardens springing up, where once
there was nothing but garbage and filth and hopeless, helpless people. She envisioned it
similar to the Israelites who were in bondage in Egypt, but in time they would see deliverance.
Today we witness this new life in the new community of Guadalupe. One can find fresh fruit and vegetables growing in what was once a slimy garbage pit. Also, a new phenomena is that in the new village of Guadalupe one can see little storefronts and shops being created in the homes. We witnessed one such shop which was begun six months ago by three sisters from Maria's church. Only three years previous, they were still suffering the smoke and filth of the city dump and trying to make a living in any way possible. Today, they go to large open-air markets and retail stores and buy clothing cheaply to resell at a profit.  |
Real progress has been made in the church. And because of changes in city boundaries, we now must stop saying the church in La Chureca and begin calling it the New Jerusalem Church in Carlos Tellez. The church is actually located in the village of Carlos Tellez, immediately across the street from the newly planted housing village of Guadalupe. The only thing remaining in La Chureca is the new recycling plant which was built by the Spanish government as they cleaned up the dumpsite. What a testimony of faith and a witness of the power of God as we have watched this place blossom over the years (in Maria's terminology) from a trash heap to a thriving little city. The church doors open toward the new houses at the city entrance, welcoming all to enter.
The Holy Spirit is also at work in the small but thriving church on Pochocuape mountain. What a blessing to see the excitement of the "Big Family Church" congregation as they come together to worship. Pastor Jorge and wife Monica have been faithful to work the fields of crops. They will potentially have a 200-pound crop of frijoles (red beans). This is tiring and tedious work. The fields must be hoed and cared for on a regular basis to keep them alive. The two of them toil on with help from the church working in rotating teams. Their goal is to provide food for the village and some income off selling part of the crop. They have been praying for more rain because so far, this has been one of the driest seasons they have had in a few years. They also hope to have tomatoes and peppers soon, and in the near future a crop of bananas from the 900 plants they planted one year ago.
Last year when Norma and I were here, we introduced them to Henry Cruz, a member of the Ezra Team from the Nehemiah Center. Unbeknownst to us, Jorge invited Henry up to his church to teach an 8-month program on healthy church growth, "Iglesias Saludables." We see progress in the area of spiritual formation. Jorge got a group of Pochocuape leaders together and Henry Cruz led the study. Monday, July 29, is the last session of the eight-month curriculum. How
awesome is that?
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| Henry Cruz, bottom row left, with Pastor Jorge to his left |
On Friday night
of July 12 and again on July 26 the church hosted a movie night showing VeggieTales movies that Norma had brought to share with children and parents of the whole community. This has really been a big hit to the children
as well as adults on the mountain. About 100 children and teens plus 30 adults attended. We were
all encouraged at the large turnout. The church will make a presence in the community by offering three more VeggieTales movie nights (with follow-up discussions about the spiritual significance of each story).
I have started teaching English on Tuesdays and Thursdays to three different grades in the New Jerusalem elementary school in
Maria’s church as well as a course on biblical worldview in the Bible Institute to adult church leaders. I was honored that Maria invited me to
teach those classes.
Our trip to
Costa Rica was profitable and encouraging. We gathered
information on affordable theological education materials for the churches here. We hope our ministry partners will review the materials soon and decide if they can be used in their churches for more spiritual formation. We visited the San Jose S.E.A.N. offices (Seminario por Extension A Las Naciones) where we were introduced to the concepts of these materials and curricula in a two-hour seminar. We were invited to visit a church to see the program and the material in action.
After a quick dinner, we were off again to watch first-hand how this material was being taught.
When we
arrived at the church, we were excited with what we saw and heard. The church was in a poverty-stricken area and we had been told previously that this was the most dangerous place in San
Jose -- an area with a high crime rate.
As we walked
inside, a small group of eight sat around the table in the back of the church. We went on in and saw another
small group of eight or ten in the front of the church. Going through the side door, we saw yet
another group and another and another.
Small groups were everywhere -- about 7 or 8 of them. The last one we saw in a side room had 19
people in their group. This particular
group had been studying together for five years. We
sat in and listened as they were doing an intense and profound study of the
book of Jeremiah. I was interested in this group, as it reminded me of our group of men at Ginger Creek who
have been together for over five years in the kingdom walk.
After we were dismissed, we
were standing around discussing their philosophy of missions. I discovered a major
difference in their philosophy that I really loved. Keeping in mind, this church is in a poverty-stricken area I remembered that
during their meeting, they spoke about giving and reaching out to the ends of the earth. I asked them about this and here was their response.
Every year, we pray and select a country that God puts on our
hearts. We pray for that country for a whole
year, and then we collect funds. At the
end of the year, we send a delegation of two to five people to visit a Church
in that country, and give them the money we have raised for them with God’s
help. He went on to say, we have been to
Nicaragua, Cuba, Peru, Spain and Haiti, and we hope to go to Kenya next
year. Something
tells me they are going to do it. I
asked them how they could raise enough money to do this since they were in a poor neighborhood. The response was, "God is
the one that does it. We have no idea
how, we just try to remain faithful to anything he gives us."
What a beautiful testimony to what God is
doing in many areas of the world. I hope
and pray God will bring a revival upon America so that we could see such a
moving in our nation too.
Please
continue to pray for us for God's care and protection. If you would like to help in this continuing
ministry you may do so by sending a check to:
Partners in Christ International
PO Box 237
Tempe, Arizona 85280-0237
(Attach
a note to your check with the following text:
“Nicaragua Account, for Caton expenses.")
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