House of Hope, Nicaragua - Part 4

Last week (Jan 15-22), I traveled to Nicaragua, to encourage and serve at House of Hope - a Christian vocational rehabilitation center for women & children escaping prostitution in the Managua area. Monday through Friday, I taught Bible studies (with a translator) and prayed with individuals afterward. I also stayed "on campus" so I could interact with about 60 residents (teen girls, adult women & their children). Tuesday morning, I shared a Bible message with over 200 women (some still on the streets) who come to House of Hope once a week to make greeting cards & jewelry as an alternative source of income. Thursday's teaching session with the residents was followed by "soaking prayer" (restful worship in God's Presence), and the Friday "wrap-up" included time for each of us to share what we experienced during the week. Thank you for remembering us all in your prayers!

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A report I wrote after my first trip to House of Hope in January 2009 is posted below. I scheduled it to post in 4 parts - on 1/5, 1/12, 1/19 & 1/26 - so I could prepare, travel & recover from this year's trip. My 1st & 2nd trips to House of Hope were also described briefly in an earlier blog about missions, "Loving My Neighbor - Part 1" posted on this site on 6/3/10. The teachings I shared this year included adapted versions of the "Wilderness" series, which posted on this site 11/12, 11/26, 12/3, 12/8, 12/15 & 12/26/10.

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January 2009

(continued from last week's posting)

Sabrina is a young mother of 3 small children who was abandoned by her own mother when she was a child, and asked for prayer to overcome thoughts of running away and leaving her children. This was a major step forward, because Sabrina had left her children in the past, but was bringing the temptation into the light and asking for prayer this time, which also gave Vilma and Jana the opportunity to offer help with the children and encouraged her to ask them for support going forward. As we were talking, Vilma even took baby Paloma from Sabrina and began to nurse her (which I thought was a powerful sign of her very real willingness to “bear another’s burdens”) while we prayed for Sabrina’s own healing of childhood abandonment and that she would experience God’s Love for herself, not just for the sake of her children. We all shared stories of feeling pressured as parents, knowing that many of her feelings were relatively normal and letting her know she wasn’t alone.

After Sabrina, we ministered to 12 yr old Valerie, who had asked for prayer regarding “hate in her heart” toward the other girls, which was rooted in feelings of anger and rejection because her mother continues in prostitution, “choosing men instead of me.” We encouraged her to forgive and pray for her mother, who doesn’t see clearly what she is doing, and to accept the Love that God has provided at House of Hope. Valerie’s mother, like several of the girls’ mothers, comes to the Tuesday card-making program, which is a bittersweet reminder to Valerie of their separation (especially since her mother doesn’t visit her at other times).

Another teen, Teresa (age 15), lives alone in one of the family apartments, which Glen & Jana had noticed was fairly bare of belongings – one of Teresa’s jobs is sweeping the property near their house, and she confided in them her sadness that her mother never comes to see her or bring her anything. Although visitors need to avoid showing special treatment among the girls, I gave her a small stuffed animal for her bed, since other girls do have family who give to them (although some have family members who try to get things from them, too).
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Saturday afternoon from 1pm until after 3pm, we did a short teaching on “soaking in God’s presence” and played quiet instrumental worship music while ALL of the residents and leaders (including small children) rested on pillows and sheets we’d told them to bring from their rooms… it was precious to see that even the 2-year-olds participated for at least 20 minutes (then Glen & Jana helped take the younger children outside, so others could participate without distraction) – we asked everyone to stay until 2:30pm (about 30 minutes of soaking), but at 3pm (after an hour) about half of the residents (and all of the pregnant moms & leaders :) ) were still on the floor :) …last to leave was little Vanesa* (age 10), who told me she hadn’t yet asked Jesus into her heart, but seemed powerfully touched by the Holy Spirit on both Friday and Saturday afternoons. I said to her, “you enjoy God’s Presence very much, don’t you?” and she nodded (yes) as she left the room…

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[*Additional note: when I returned to House of Hope in January 2010, one of my greatest joys was seeing Juana - who gave her heart to the Lord on Thursday during my first trip in 2009 - Vanesa, who experienced His Presence as described above, and their mother, who had come to House of Hope after I left that year - all three living there together and loving the Lord Jesus. It was a beautiful sight to see Juana's smile as she remembered me from that most special day in her life and wanted me to see what God had done in her family since then - I felt so honored and privileged to be a part of His ministry to these ladies!]

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I said goodbye on Saturday night with lots of hugs and final photos and promises to pray for one another, and Oscar & Vilma drove me to the airport at 4:30am on Sunday morning – “muchos gringos” were leaving on the 7:30am flight to Houston, as it seems many American visitors to Nicaragua are on mission teams. Oscar laughed that I hadn’t seen much of Nicaragua this time, and suggested I go to the beach next year when I return :) [In January 2010, I did go to the beach - we took Mike & April to lunch on Sunday at a lovely, unspoiled "eco-tourist" spot - in fact, it was the first time I'd ever seen the Pacific Ocean, and it was beautiful!]
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I think it is safe to say that we were all touched by God in significant ways that week, and that there seem to be “no limits” to what God can do when we let Him have His way with us…

Please remember the people at House of Hope in your prayers. If God moves you to give $ to this work, the address for U.S. donations is: Harvest Church, 2020 West 15th St, Washington, NC 27889 - checks payable to “Harvest Church” (memo: for House of Hope).

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More information at website http://www.houseofhopenicaragua.com/ – includes how to order greeting cards & crafts made at House of Hope – or email me at holy1fire@aol.com .

Thanks again for keeping this ministry in your prayers...

For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

[Matthew 18:11 KJV]

House of Hope, Nicaragua - Part 3

I'm traveling to Nicaragua for a week in January, to encourage and serve at House of Hope - a Christian vocational rehab for women & children escaping prostitution in the Managua area. Monday through Friday, I'll teach Bible studies (with a translator) and pray with individuals afterward. I'll also be staying "on campus" and interacting with about 60 residents (teen girls, adult women & their children). Tuesday morning, I'll share a Bible message with up to 350 women (some still on the streets) who come to House of Hope once a week to make greeting cards & jewelry as an alternative source of income. Friday's teaching session with the residents will be followed by "soaking prayer" (restful worship in God's Presence), as well as time for each of us to share what we've experienced during the week.

Thank you for remembering us all in your prayers!

For more information about House of Hope (including U.S. address for tax deductible donations): http://www.houseofhopenicaragua.com/

A report I wrote after my first trip to House of Hope in January 2009 is posted below. It was long, so I've scheduled it to post in 4 parts - on 1/5, 1/12, 1/19 & 1/26 - while I prepare, travel, and recover from this year's trip. My 1st & 2nd trips to House of Hope were also described briefly in an earlier blog about missions, "Loving My Neighbor - Part 1" posted on this site on 6/3/10. The teachings I plan to share this year include adapted versions of the "Wilderness" series, which posted on this site 11/12, 11/26, 12/3, 12/8, 12/15 & 12/26/10.

Thanks again for keeping this ministry in your prayers...

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January 2009
(continued from last week's posting)

Thursday's teaching was on deliverance, and afterward a beautiful teenage girl named Juana came for prayer saying she wanted to receive Christ into her heart. April walked her through the scriptures to ensure she understood repentance and what Jesus has done for her, and I was so privileged to witness her commitment to the Lord and delighted to see the beautiful peace that came to her from that moment forward...

Next we prayed with another young teen who was patiently waiting and weeping – Lenora had previously been asked to leave HoH for performing lesbian sex acts with some of the other dorm girls, then went back to prostitution with men, but had just been allowed to return on the condition that she live with and be supervised by her older sister in one of the 2-bedroom family apartments. With no prompting on our part, Lenora tearfully confessed her sins, including specifically rebellion toward Oscar and previous sexual activity with the dorm girls, and declared her desire to be free and move forward in her life and do well in school, so we prayed with her for deliverance and cleansing – still a bit intimidated by a sense of guilt and fear, she allowed Oscar to lead her in a prayer renouncing lesbianism, after which we encouraged her with the truth that this was not her true identity in Christ; she was comforted and released from much oppression, and smiled with a new peace whenever I saw her the rest of the week...

On Friday, I taught a message I felt God had given me specifically for this group - "God's will for you is prosperity" - which focused on giving, sowing & reaping, God's strategy to bless and make us a blessing - amazing to me that a college-educated woman who grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, could speak so directly to the needs and hearts of this group of Nicaraguan ex-prostitutes, but April was excited as she translated my words and commented a few times in English "good preaching!" as we sowed vision for God's grace and increase to be released in and through their lives...

Having spent the first four days praying with individuals and discussing "heavy" but important subjects to release past pain, I felt God wanted us to close the Friday session with a "tunnel of blessing" – like the "fire tunnels" or "glory tunnels" or "tunnels of joy" at renewal services in other places, I explained to April & Glen & Jana that we would line up across from one another (even though there were only 4 of us to pray – Oscar & Vilma have 4 home groups in the city on Fridays), play some happy worship music (Dios Es Bueno CD by Marcos Witt) and have the girls walk outside the circle of chairs and pass between us while we prayed blessing over each of them. I thought this would be a relatively short "happy ending" to the teaching, but God had other ideas... :)

As the girls continued to walk around the circle of chairs and pass through the tunnel (this was great for Glen and Jana, who are very sensitive to Holy Spirit and unhindered by language barrier in this setting, since it didn't involve any counseling or conversation, just prayer and impartation), the Spirit of God began to fall on the girls more and more... little children were being touched by God, standing very still and peaceful or quivering ever so slightly, responding to His Spirit with their eyes closed... teenage girls, who had made me somewhat uncomfortable the day before by striking sassy and provocative poses when I asked them to smile for photos, were suddenly weeping as they walked in genuine repentance - some fell gently to the floor (April was a good catcher :)) as His presence washed over them... it was a sovereign holy time that lasted about an hour or more.

Afterward we offered to pray with individuals for specific needs - another beautiful teenager named Maria asked to receive the Lord, then Lenora’s older sister Nancy recommitted her life to Christ. Nancy had asked Jesus into her heart at age 10 but had lived in prostitution for the past 4 years and was now at age 17 repenting sweetly and receiving His cleansing from shame - April smiled and said “you thought you came here for Lenora’s sake, but God had something for you!” - Nancy also radiated new peace and smiles after that day.

By now it was getting late, so April asked Valerie & Sabrina to come at 9am the next morning for prayer (Valerie had given her place in line to Maria so she could pray for salvation) – these two also experienced breakthroughs the next day.

To be continued next week on 1/26/11...
. "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off ? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off."

[Matthew 18:12-13 NIV]

House of Hope, Nicaragua - Part 2

Note to readers: I'll be traveling to Nicaragua for a week in January, to encourage and serve at House of Hope - a Christian vocational rehab for women & children escaping prostitution in the Managua area. Monday through Friday, I'll teach Bible studies (with a translator) and pray with individuals afterward. I'll also be staying "on campus" and interacting with about 60 residents (teen girls, adult women & their children). Tuesday morning, I'll share a Bible message with up to 350 women (some still on the streets) who come to House of Hope once a week to make greeting cards & jewelry as an alternative source of income. Friday's teaching session with HoH residents will be followed by "soaking prayer" (restful worship in God's Presence), as well as time for each of us to share what we've experienced during the week.
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Thank you for remembering us all in your prayers!
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For more information about House of Hope (including U.S. address for tax deductible donations): http://www.houseofhopenicaragua.com/
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A report I wrote after my first trip to House of Hope in January 2009 is posted below. I've scheduled it to post in 4 parts - on 1/5, 1/12, 1/19 & 1/26 - while I prepare, travel, and recover from this year's trip. My 1st & 2nd trips to House of Hope were also described briefly in an earlier blog about missions, "Loving My Neighbor - Part 1" posted on this site on 6/3/10. The teachings I plan to share this year include adapted versions of the "Wilderness" series, which posted on this site 11/12, 11/26, 12/3, 12/8, 12/15, & 12/26/10.

Thanks again for keeping this ministry in your prayers...
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January 2009
(continued from last week)
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Monday morning I met with April and Jana at April's house, to discuss general instructions and schedule for the week - I would be teaching a one hour Bible study at 2pm every afternoon except Tuesday, when I spoke in the morning to 200+ women who come each week to make greeting cards. April translated the messages into Spanish (I can barely get by in conversation but not yet teaching) and we prayed with individual women after each session.
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On Monday, Bella asked for prayer because she'd been feeling tempted to return to prostitution (she's been at HoH for about a month), and was wonderfully set free - her countenance was noticeably brighter and she said she felt happier every day after we prayed with her.
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Esther also asked for prayer, as she was having second thoughts about giving up a third grandchild for adoption, even though he would join his siblings in the U.S. with a Christian couple who had already adopted the other two - we felt this was a natural response to separating from the last of her daughter Faveola’s children: Faveola gave her life to God at HoH but fell back into drugs and prostitution when she ran into her ex-pimp while on a pass to visit family, and he stabbed her to death last summer - Esther had previously been asked to leave House of Hope when she threatened to kill Oscar and April, but has returned since Faveola's death and loves the Lord. Esther was so hungry for God and receptive in all the sessions, I shared with her later that I felt God saying He would give her many more children to love (she is a good mother and grandmother to women and children at House of Hope), and that she would one day see the fruit of her very important prayers for her natural grandchildren...
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Tuesday I woke up at about 3am feeling as if I couldn’t breathe - not afraid of anything specific, it seemed to be a spiritual attack since I was about to share a salvation message with the big Tuesday morning group, about 30% of whom are still in prostitution and come straight from the brothel to make greeting cards and hear a Bible message each week. I prayed & read a few scripture verses and the feelings of suffocation went away. After the message on Tuesday, no one came forward for first time salvation, but Oscar led the entire group in a "sinner's prayer" from their seats and about 25 women came to the front to surrender specific issues and ask for prayer...
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Afterward, as I watched the card-making and took photos, I was touched by the family resemblances between many of the resident teenagers and their mothers and young siblings who come on Tuesdays...
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After the day ladies left (40 or so piled in the back of an open camion), April hosted lunch with the heads of card-making tables, to show appreciation and share encouragement for their leadership.
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Wednesday afternoon I spoke on sanctification and inner healing to about 20 to 25 residents, after which all 40 of us (including small children) gathered to celebrate the 2-year anniversary of House of Hope's residential program with cake and ice cream.
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To be continued on 1/19/11...
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"In the same way, it is not My heavenly Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish."

[Matthew 18:14 NLT]

House of Hope, Nicaragua - Part 1

Note to readers: I'm preparing to travel to Nicaragua for a week in January, to encourage and serve at House of Hope - a Christian vocational rehab for women & children escaping prostitution in the Managua area. Monday through Friday, I'll teach Bible studies (with a translator) and pray with individuals afterward. I'll also be staying "on campus" and interacting with about 60 residents (teen girls, adult women & their children). Tuesday morning, I'll share a Bible message with up to 350 women (some still on the streets) who come to House of Hope once a week to make greeting cards & jewelry as an alternative source of income. Thursday's teaching session with the residents will be followed by "soaking prayer" (restful worship in God's Presence), and Friday's session will include a wrap-up session, with time for each of us to share what we've experienced during the week.

Thank you for remembering us all in your prayers!

For more information about House of Hope (including U.S. address for tax deductible donations): http://www.houseofhopenicaragua.com/

A report I wrote after my first trip to House of Hope in January 2009 is posted below. I've scheduled it to post in 4 parts - on 1/5, 1/12, 1/19 & 1/26 - while I prepare, travel, and return from this year's trip. My 1st & 2nd trips to House of Hope were also described briefly in an earlier blog about missions, "Loving My Neighbor - Part 1" posted on this site on 6/3/10. The teachings I plan to share this year include adapted versions of the "Wilderness" series, which posted on this site 11/12, 11/26, 12/3, 12/8, 12/15 & 12/26/10.

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Thanks again for keeping this ministry in your prayers...

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January 2009

My first trip to Nicaragua… included quite a few “firsts” for me: first time teaching all the Freedom Class material by myself in one week to people of another culture & language (I had previously taught one of eight weekly sessions as part of a team at my home church in Rockville, MD); my first time traveling to the poorest Latin American country in the world (2nd only to Haiti in our hemisphere, with approximately 40% unemployment); my first visit to House of Hope (Casa Esperanza), a Christian vocational rehabilitation center that offers both residential and day programs for women and children coming out of prostitution in the Managua area…

Staying at House of Hope for 7 nights, teaching and interacting with these women and their children on a daily basis, was also my first personal encounter with the realities of the sex trade, a worldwide issue that especially affects “the poorest of the poor” who are so vulnerable and desperate to survive.

My photos from this trip were almost exclusively portraits – for one thing, I saw very little of Managua other than the drive to & from the airport plus a couple of trips to a local coffee shop where I had lunch with April (HoH founder who has been my friend for about 14 years now) and her 17 yr old daughter Hope, & sent a quick email home when my new friends Jana & Glen (an American couple who visited HoH with short-term construction teams before moving there full-time this past October) needed to use wireless internet at the same café on Tuesday evening. (Jana helps April with everything from hospitality to administrative tasks usually handled by temporary interns, and Glen works on various aspects of construction and facilities management while also functioning as a loving Papa to children who may have never known a father's embrace in their previous world.)

My focus on this trip was meeting and ministering to the wonderful women and children at House of Hope - their beautiful faces remind me that each one represents a precious rescue from living hell on earth & more. Some of their stories & photos are included below (I’ve given the residents fictitious names in italics, to protect their privacy)…

April's husband Mike picked me up at the airport on Sunday night (Jan 25) - Glen & April later joked that Mike likes to do the airport runs because standing in the airport A/C is the coolest place in Managua. This is the dry season, featuring most pleasant annual temps of about 90 degrees and sunny afternoons, getting down to almost 70 in the wee hours of the morning – which made me laugh when HoH girls complained that it was "mucho frio!", since I had left and came home to ice & snow in VA...

Mike warned me about the Nicaraguan roosters who can't tell time and may crow at any hour of the day or night, and drove me to HoH via the better of two deeply-eroded dirt roads that become nearly impassable in the rainy season... he also mentioned, on a more serious note, that there are 8 to 12 child brothels "that we know of" in the Managua area. I would soon meet women who had been abused and sold into prostitution as young as 6 & 7 years old, & girls aged 9 to 17 who had come off the streets in the last 2 to 30 days, many of whom have mothers and/or grandmothers still in prostitution.

I stayed in a single room with a bed, a plastic chair and a wooden table - I enjoy a simple "monastic" environment, although the tiny spiders and giant ants crowded me somewhat by the end of the week... it was fun waking up next door to Alma, Bella, Carla and her one year old daughter Dora - they got up at 4am every day for devotions with Oscar (Nicaraguan on-site director who lives in a small house on the HoH property with his wife Vilma and their children) in the "comedora" (dining hall), then sang and talked as they washed clothes by hand in the porch sinks or chopped wood for the small rustic BBQ's where they cooked rice and beans for breakfast, before moving on to other assigned work (sewing, painting, cleaning common areas on the property, preparing for Tuesday morning card-making).

To be continued on 1/12/11...

"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven."

[Matthew 18:10 NIV]

Getting Healthy

“The Fat Belongs to the Lord”

The following is a brief "word picture" that came to mind as I was praying at the end of a recent church service. The sermon that day dealt with having a heart after God and not being distracted (even by "good" things) from our devotion and obedience to Him. I felt there was a message for me in this image, but it could also be a blessing for others - especially in January, as many of us are beginning to act on our New Year's resolutions to "get healthy" or make positive changes in our lives. I've simply described the thoughts that came to me below. I'll leave it up to individual readers to consider or pray about any spiritual and/or practical applications in their own lives. Happy New Year!

As I was praying and laying everything down before the Lord, I found myself thinking about the Christmas cookies and snacking that lead to weight gain around holiday time - not "big sin" but enough to cause unhappiness and a desire to "trim the fat" - also relates to watching TV, wasting time, not obvious evil but distractions from God and "not truly nourishing"...

I recently saw a "Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now?" special on TV, and there was a segment with the medical doctor who works with contestants in which he showed a diagram of unusual fat deposits around internal organs that can become life-threatening for people who have been obese or had a problem with overeating for a long-time. I’ve never experienced obesity – I’d like to lose about 10 to 20 lbs, so my struggles may not be as obvious to others – but I think this, too, relates to the fact that these dangerous fat deposits were “hidden” and internal, not necessarily external or visible to people around us.

As I "saw" this picture (at church) of large fat deposits near the heart and lungs (pneuma = spirit = breath), I remembered that the Israelites were commanded to sacrifice the fat as an offering to the Lord - the fat belongs to the Lord. (see scriptures below) In my own life, I felt this related to "trimming the fat" & giving distractions over to the Lord, offering up things that are possibly permissible but still self-indulgent as “firstfruits” (giving it all up first to God, and letting Him give back what He wants us to have); asking Him to burn up or remove those unseen fat deposits that build up over time through long-term habits that, in & of themselves, on a day-to-day basis, may not seem as detrimental as they are.

Lord, help me to see where I’ve been carrying hidden hindrances to life and health, both spiritually and practically, and what You want me to do about these things. I offer these issues up to You and ask that You would burn up everything that needs to be removed from me. I yield these things to You freely, as a sacrifice of love for You, that I might be free to pursue You with all of my heart. And I pray all of these things in Jesus’ Name. Amen.


The sons of Aaron will burn these on the altar on top of the burnt offering on the wood fire. It is an offering made by fire, very pleasing to the LORD…

Part of this offering must be presented to the LORD as an offering made by fire. This part includes the fat around the internal organs…

The priest will burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire; these will be very pleasing to the LORD. Remember, all the fat belongs to the LORD.

[Leviticus 3:5, 14, 16 NLT]