Children’s ministry in San Jorge

Last week, we crossed the lake to the port town to help for a day with a children’s ministry. The church is a few minutes from port and had its beginnings as an outdoor concrete slab in a field but now has a roof, a kitchen, and an apartment in back where the pastor, Sara, and her daughter live. When we arrived, she served us lemonade and told us her life story.Sara is the oldest of seven and before her mother became a Christian, Sara had to take care of her four younger siblings because her mother would disappear, sometimes for days, to drink and do drugs. Her father was absent but her mother had several boyfriends, one of which raped Sara when she was a teenager. Because of these circumstances, Sara endured many abusive relationships believing that would fix her problems. She attempted suicide four times but miraculously survived each time. Once, she was standing at the edge of a well, about to jump. She had chosen a time when her sister was at work but that day her sister came home early just in time to save her. Later on, she was looking for a job but no one was hiring. She hadn’t eaten in four days and was desperate. She ended up going to a store owner who had been flirting with her in the hope he would give her food. He told her if she wanted food she would have to sleep with him, so she did. Shortly after, she realized that her life was devoid of meaning and she could no longer live in the way she was so she let God into her life.After Sara gave her life to Christ, she knew she wanted to become a pastor and work with children, but she needed a place to host the ministry. She entered a random drawing of pastors to receive a location for the church. She made the first cut and then had to go to Managua to take a test. She thought that was the end because she had never finished school and was not intelligent enough to pass. But she won anyway and they gave her land for her church. At first it was just a field and she prayed constantly and a year later a missionary group came to build the pavilion. Unfortunately, a few weeks later, the government was coming to inspect the building and they didn’t have a water filter. They prayed, and a week before the inspection, the agency that had given Sara the land not only donated a water filter (the only one in this area to this day), but also water tanks. Sara also prayed daily for a place to call home. One day, she visited a church and the pastor came up to her and said that within two weeks, her prayer would be answered. A few days later, a man from Costa Rica came to visit Sara. He said he wanted to give her $1,600 so that she could build a house. In three weeks, it was done.Every time Sara spoke of the great things God has done in her life, she cried. It was really wonderful to be able to meet this woman who had so much love and fire in her heart for the people she served and for God.Sara’s passion is driven by the fact that she doesn’t want any child to have to live in the way she did. She said a child should never have to exchange sex for food. She wants to give them what she didn’t have as a child, including a mother figure. The kids who come to her ministry often come from abusive and impoverished homes. She feeds them lunch, often the only meal they get that day, and each child has a tooth brush for afterwards. She provides activities, games, and music to give them a chance to just be kids.After she finished telling her story, the kids began to arrive from school and we made bracelets with them and served them lunch. For the most part, they were friendly and respectful. We played baseball (they were very forgiving of my poor skills) and other field games. I met one girl named Hazel who was 23 and had Down’s syndrome. We danced to Spanish worship music and talked and she gave me probably 30 hugs that day and all smiles. After the kids went home, we walked to the lake to go swimming. It was so peaceful. The waves were small, it was cool, and we had a gorgeous view of both the volcanoes on our home island.We came back and had coffee before dinner and then at six, we got to be a part of Sara’s youth group. It rocked—best youth group I’ve been to ever. She had music playing and we all danced before beginning. She made us mix it up so that no gringa sat next to another gringa. One of the girls on my team played a worship song and we sang together. Then we had potato sack relay race (my team won, no biggy) and then one Nicaraguan and one of my teammates shared their testimonies. The boy from Nicaragua talked about how all he used to care about was drugs and how he had been put in jail three times but finally someone brought him to Sara’s church and he’s been sober since. Drugs don’t interest him anymore and he’s working on repairing his relationship with his mother. After the youth group, our team walked to get ice cream in the town and then we walked back and set up camp in the pavilion.Being a part of Sara’s ministry was my favorite day so far. She was so welcoming and invited us to come back over and over again. I smiled and laughed more than I have since I arrived and her passion for the people she serves not only contagious but is the reason her ministry has been so successful.