Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Pure and Undefiled Religion


"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." ~ James 1:27 ~

God is expanding our ministry in Nicaragua, and we are in the beginning stages of some major training for the indigenous pastors in this country. There has been a lot of “mission” effort going on in Nicaragua for the past several years. With that, there are some good things that have happened and some bad things that have happened, as well.
With the doors open for Americans to go to Nicaragua and train pastors, many have taken advantage of that opportunity. Just like in Jude, some men have crept in unnoticed and begun to preach another gospel. There have been some churches that have fallen victim to the prosperity message: if you come to a certain church and give to their cause, God has promised health and wealth. This is so sad because the poorest people seem to be the ones that fall victims to this kind of lie. There has been an invasion of cults into the country, and so many are being led down a pathway of destruction. There also have been ministries that I believe, began with good intentions, that have found how easy it is for them to make money off of exploiting children. Some didn't even begin with good intentions. This really breaks my heart because the children are not to blame or are they a willing participant. Our only option is to take the truth and preach the Gospel. We have been doing this diligently for the past several years, and we will continue to share the Gospel and contend for the faith.
In addition, we have the team that is going in June to complete the house for the Garcia Children. This will have been the largest building endeavor we have ever completed in Nicaragua. I ask you to pray for the Garcia family as they try to live their lives for the Lord in a difficult place. We are in need of some funds to complete this home and give them the items they need like beds, dishes, cabinets, etc.
In August and October we will take more teams to spend time equipping and training pastors and lay leaders. We have 15 new Pastors that will be going through some very strategic training to help equip them to lead their congregations for the glory of the Lord. We are also working with two new orphanages that are in need of our help. We feel that the Lord is leading us to begin a mentor program that will prepare the older children for a transition to life outside the orphanage.
This area of ministry includes working with a home that will be for girls 18 or older who have gone through the program and desire to be helped. We train them spiritually and both educationally and vocationally. This part of our ministry has the potential to break a cycle of living in abusive situations and homelessness. I will share more about this soon. Here are some heartbreaking realities that we are combating in the war against children in Nicaragua.

78% of rape cases in 2009 involved adolescent girls less than 17 years old.
1 of every 4 children suffer from some form of malnutrition.
Prostitution is legal for girls 14 years old or older.
87% of violent crimes—rape, sexual crimes, and assault—are against children.
1 of every 3 girls and 1 of every 5 boys have been sexually assaulted.

When you support M.U.D. Ministries you are supporting God’s work in Nicaragua. He has told us to go and serve Him by serving others. Please consider going with us either this year or next year. God can use you to go and make disciples and stop the cycle of destruction that many children and adults are in. If you can’t go, help us by sending us and offering scholarships for those desiring to be on one of our mission teams to Nicaragua!


I am praying for God's grace in our efforts in Nicaragua. I find myself wishing that I, and those I minister to, had relief or freedom from the hardships in Nicaragua. I find the grace that I find most of the time is a grace that is refining me into the person that God wants me to be. His and His alone!!

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