Lending a hand…

One of the more difficult things we encounter down here is seeing people with steady jobs unable to make strides in life towards owning a home because of the lending practices and the incredibly high interest rates…30%,40%,50% depending on where you go. We want to share some stories from the past few months where the Lord has led us to help families overcome that hurdle. Please read until the end where we share how you can get involved to help!

God is merciful and when he gave us the idea to lend to families with no interest we got very excited, because He also gave us the idea that as they pay back the loan it goes directly to ongoing ministry projects down here. Basically, it extends a one time donation to our ministry into a monthly donation. At the same time we are lending a hand to a family to buy a home we are supporting ongoing ministry.

Isabel is a single mother with four children who are teenagers and pictured above. She has worked with us at Club Esperanza over the last seven years. We met her when we came to the new location just outside the dump and she has been a faithful part of the staff ever since. Last year when we were donating beds and we had finished all the houses, her family was last on the list. We walked down a narrow ally around the back of a building, her son was there studying for university in a tiny space with a make shift roof over a single room they all lived in together.

Isabel never complained about their circumstances and always was faithful with what little they had. A few months ago she had a dream opportunity to buy a house that was offered to her at an incredible price. She wasn’t able to afford it and the banks would be impossible…when she came to us, we felt the Lord say not to let this pass her by. We sat with her, analyzed her situation and lent her the money with a plan to repay it a way that fit into her salary. God made her dream come true and it was so incredible to visit her in her new home just last week!

Noel and Yara have both worked with us at Club Esperanza for a number of years. They have two beautiful sons who are both students at the school, probably the first to come greet you if you paid a visit. They are also faithful members of the church that meets at our school on Sundays…just a hard working family that loves the Lord. Like many young families down here they had lived with extended family in one bedroom ever since they were married. Earlier this year they approached us about an opportunity to buy a piece of land right next to the school…we prayed about it and God made a way for us to lend them the money buy this land to start to build their own future together.

They moved all of their things and have a place of their own now. They are faithfully building little by little on their property, but it is their home and their land. Praise the Lord! What felt impossible for them to do without taking a high interest loan they could never afford, God made Possible for them. Amen!

“Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.”

-Jesus (Gospel of Matthew 5:42)

In some situations we have the opportunity to help families that already have land. Carlos is one of those situations, he has worked at Quinta Havilah with us for a number of years and we have seen him get married, have their first child and obtain land of their own. God moved on our hearts to help Carlos build a home on his land. Prior to Covid, we had teams come down every Spring to build homes and Carlos would have been a perfect candidate. Hopefully in the future those teams will return, but in this case God used us and friends who support our ministry to make a way for Carlos and his young family to have their first home…no debt, just a place to raise their children. Amen to that!

Lastly we want to highlight Daniel and Mercedes and their family. If you have ever been down here to work with us, we probably went together to Miss Ruby’s house and spent time upstairs praying and worshiping the Lord together. Daniel and his family have been keeping good care of Miss Ruby’s for the last five years now…they are such a blessing and do everything they can to keep up the house. This recently included the need for a new roof, which we were able to do Praise the Lord! In our monthly ministry construction projects often come up and it is so awesome to be able to complete them when the need is great…like a roof that the water pours through every time it rains!

What is next? Henriette has worked in the dump community for over twenty years now, dedicating her life to teaching the children and helping them to escape the difficulties that surround them. She also developed our “Juntos para una Inclusion” program that helps families with children that have special needs and disabilities. She is a faithful woman of God and we would like to help her buy a home. She has rented her entire life and it would be amazing to set her up to pay off a loan instead of paying rent every month…what a blessing that would be for her and her family of five!

As you read these few stories, know there are many more. So, please keep praying for this ongoing aspect of our ministry…Lending a hand to help families live together under their own roof! Here are some ways you could help…

$500 would be able to help a family like Yara and Noel make small steps in building their home.

$1500 would replace a roof on a small home

$6,000 would build a home on land that is already owned.

$15,000 would help someone like Henriette buy a home and land for the first time!

Remember, that these types of donations when turned into a loan become a long term monthly donation to our ongoing ministries at Club Esperanza, Casa Havilah, Casa Robles, along the Rio Coco and other places the Lord uses us to do His work.

We would be blessed if you donated to this aspect of our ministry…Lending a hand to families in need! You can find the donation information here or use one of the buttons below.

Thank you and please keep our family in your constant prayers!