Southern California District Assemblies of God

From: Bonnie Carlyon
Subject: Update From Nicaragua

Easter Greetings from Nicaragua!

As this is the week of remembering the great sacrifice our Lord made on the cross for us His children. I am overwhelmed with the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord. Your faithfulness has also ministered to me in these past months. Thank you for holding me up in your prayers. I have felt the strength of the people of God praying. Although I have passed through a time of physical and spiritual exhaustion I know the Lord has been upholding me by His righteous right hand. He has not let me fall. Please know that even though I have not written to you personally I am grateful for your part in my ministry here in Nicaragua.

This country is still suffering from the effects of Hurricane Mitch that hit us hard here in the end of October. I am very appreciative to so many of you who gave to the emergency need. Our LACC team, as well as the missionary family has worked long and hard to help in the reconstruction phase here in Nicaragua. We are still even now receiving containers of goods to be distributed to the hundreds of thousands that lost their homes and loved ones in the wake of the disaster. The Assemblies of God here has been able to purchase land for the displaced people. We have at least 5 areas that we have bought pieces of land to be able to help the people start a new life. This is all with money that was donated by you. We have also purchased sheets of tin for the roofs of the houses, helped with the purchase of a new well, 100s of letrines, kitchen supplies etc. Being able to help meet the physical needs has been a tremendous help here to the national church.

We have distributed food and clothing any chance we get to go out to some of these affected areas. The sad thing is that even if the people were not actually hit hard by the storm, the economic situation here has worsened in the last few months. So many of the families of our kids in the LACC schools are suffering with these after effects.

I have stood at the place where the big mudslide happened. Thousands lives were taken in a matter of minutes. There we lost a layleader of an up and coming church with its 50 members. I spoke with the pastor of that work as he pointed out to me where the church was and where the various members lived. What a heart breaking situation. Right next to the pastor was a young man with tears in his eyes coming back to the spot where he lost over 100 family members. Only the Lord can bring peace in the midst of such tradgedy.

I will never forget a man named Salvador who told us of how his little boy yelled to him, " Don't let me go daddy" as his youngest son slowly slipped from his grip into the rush of the mud and water. This man walks around today in a daze as he lost his parents, his wife and his 3 children. He is a believer and is clinging to the hope his has in our Lord Jesus Christ. I helped to translate for a service in a makeshift church in a new community where we helped to purchase land. Listening to the people sing of the hope of Christ, that he brings peace in the midst of the storm. They are singing out of real experiences. That is a real peace! Our God never fails His children. The Lord is bringing good out of a bad situation. We have new churches springing up in areas where there was none. People are looking to the Lord as their hope in times of trouble. Out of this tradgedy we are also hoping to build two new schools in these areas.

Trying to keep up with the demands of the relief effort as well as the ongoing life changing ministry of LACC has been a challenge to say the least. In the past few months we have had construction teams helping us to further our school ministry here. How exciting to see the kids checking out their new classrooms. We held our training seminar for the Community Health Evangelism program. We now have our committee trained and are beginning the phase of training our health promoters who will be going out into the community to share good health habits as well as combining it with the Gospel message of Christ. A group of men from the Southern California District were just here helping aid in the relief effort, preaching, working, a big help! Out of this trip also came the vision for a new school in an area where we have purchased land at the bottom of the Volcano that took so many lives. It has been my privilege to work with great men and women of God who have sacrificed their time and finances to come down to help us further the work here in the country. A special thank you to Fargo First Assembly of God and First Assembly of God of Toledo.