Club Esperanza: Pandemic food relief…

As the rest of the world is making a turn for the better with the COVID pandemic, it seems that we are smack dab in the middle of the peak in Nicaragua.  More on that and the need for your prayers below, but first we want to share some news of good and awesome things that happen when God’s people move to help in a time of trouble.

Our friends at Love Light & Melody wrote and asked if they can send some food packs to help the families from the school, we said yes!!!  In a country that is already unstable from the recent political violence, this pandemic has hit very hard.  People are trying their hardest to keep employees and keep the economy going, but many have been laid off and many are suffering.  These food packs for the families we serve at Club Esperanza were a HUGE blessing and help at the perfect time!

Love Light & Melody have been partners since our days inside the trash dump.  Ileana’s School is the legacy of those many years working together and is a Light in darkness still to this day at Club Esperanza.  We appreciate your prayers for the school, especially the legalization of land titles and construction of the six classroom school building we hope to have built for next school year!  

These food packs made for a great way for us to use our time during these interesting  and strange times.  Aliyah, her Aunts Hazel, Johanna, Lola and I went out to the Nicaraguan Walmart and bought up all the 45lb food packs from the shelves to deliver to Club Esperanza.  This was very special for me to be out “doing good work” with my teenage daughter.  We found everything we needed, loaded them all in the ambulance, delivered them to the Club and had fun doing it….it was a great and successful trip!

And as you can see by the faces of the children in the first picture, every single family that received the food packs were incredibly grateful!  Here are some more of the pictures of the families receiving….this was actually the second wave of deliveries!  Thank you again to Love, Light and Melody!

REQUEST FOR PRAYER:  As we battled with wanting to serve safely and the risks of the virus we tried hard to keep the Club open to at least serve the basic needs, and to be present as a light and comfort during this time.  But the number of sicknesses has increased dramatically and we have had to temporarily suspend activities at Club Esperanza for at least two weeks.

In the public health system there are more and more cases every single day that everyone assumes are COVID.  Everyone seems to know someone who is affected right now.  We have had a number of our staff get sick and one had to go into the hospital, which was very scary.  Praise Jesus, he was released after three days in complete isolation.  So, please PRAY for all of our teachers, staff, students and families down at Club Esperanza.  Lots of people are getting sick and lots are scared.  But let me share this prayer that Yaraseth one of our teachers prayed…

“En el nombre de Jesus, declaro que ninguna pandemia y ningun virus toque a tu familia.  Ni tu papa, mama, abuelita…a nadie.  Porque Dios es fiel, misericordioso, El es nuestro sanador, salvador y libertador por los siglos a los siglos.  Amen.”

Use Google Translate to switch to English…but please join us in this prayer for each person we serve, their families, and our family.  And we pray that for all of you too!  Jesus will continue to comfort us in times of trouble.  This too shall pass.

We are so thankful to those of you who have been praying, who have reached out and who have helped during this time.  We are making sure that all we serve can get the best care possible and if needed we are assisting them to get medical care at private hospitals.  We want to get the best care possible for all that serve alongside us.