Open Hearts Nicaragua - Farrington Family

We continue in our support for Pastor Victor in Walakitang and the church planting network along the Rio Coco in the indigenous region of Nicaragua on the Honduran border. We support Victor and the churches under the banner of Verbo Church here in Nicaragua. Recently Verbo organized a pastoral training seminar in Puerto Cabezas for the Pastors from all the churches along the Rio Coco. It is so important to take the time to train and equip these men who have dedicated their lives to spreading the Gospel to the most unreached regions of Nicaragua.

Pastor Earl, who is the national director of Verbo church and an awesome brother in the Lord, organized the seminar and reported that it was a great success. He was thankful that we were able to step in later in the planning to help get all of the pastors transportation to Puerto Cabezas. Depending on where they were coming from it was a three hour bus ride or a full day boat ride. The dedication of these men is admirable, and we are always encouraged by the stories we hear of lives being changed.

Pastor Victor recently shared this photo he took from a village named Tigni Sangni. Victor decided to make the two our hike through the forest to get to the village to share the Gospel there. By the end of his stay he was in the river baptizing men and women into the Kingdom of God. The Good News of Jesus Christ reaches to the ends of the earth.

I write that it is a little thing, but do you ever think about the bed that you sleep in every night? Have you ever not had a bed? In my entire life I have never not had a bed to sleep in. I know that I should never take that for granted. The work we do and the people the Lord has put into our lives, make us realize that having a little thing like a bed is not a guarantee. A bed is a blessing, not everyone has one. Have you ever thought about that?

Just a couple of weeks ago we had a group of athletes from Ohio State University down, led by Harry Miller and Mission for Nicaragua. Some crazy airline cancellations cut the team in half, the trip down then detoured through Coast Rica and ended with crossing the border by land…it was a wild adventure to get here! But in the end Kaitlyn, Harry, Big Jack and Little Jack (he is bigger than big Jack) made it down, Praise the Lord! When they visited Club Esperanza we had the funniest experience. All the kids asked if they could take pictures of them…it is usually the opposite where we are getting fun photos of all our new friends. But, they were impressed at how big the team was and thought Harry was Thor…so they were just taking pictures of us! Of course we entertained them making for some fun laughs, and then got a picture together at the end.

We have great news….camps have begun at Ruby Ranch! After months of hard work Brinson and Todd have reached the place where we can now have sleep over camps at Ruby Ranch!!!

Have you ever been to camp? For me it is one of the most important times of my life. I got saved at Camp University when I was thirteen years old…100% the best moment of my life! There is so much adventure, so much time for God to speak into our lives, time for fun, time for friendships, time for all kinds of awesomeness…AT CAMP! A few weeks ago was the first camp of the year with leadership and youth from Verbo Church here in Nicaragua.

Brinson was just telling us the other night how Isaac had tears in his eyes as he left camp expressing how grateful he was for the time they had, and how impacted he was by Mr. Buzbee’s prayers and teaching. Isaac is the leader of the group, so just imagine how God impacted everyone else!!!

We have had a rough beginning to the year down here with our family. Battling Covid and the lingering affects have messed up our routine a good bit. There was nothing life threatening as so many of our friends and family have had to deal with, but it kept us from starting our year in February as we normally would. But praise Jesus, we have been getting back in to the groove of serving this week….so I wanted to share this awesome photograph!

I was at Club Esperanza this week as lunch was being prepared and noticed the wind blew the cover off the food. Wow! What may look like just a bucket of food to you is a HUGE feast! Tuesday was soup day….¡Sopa! We see with our eyes everyday the harsh affect of poverty, hungry children on every corner. So, when I saw the sopa come out it impacted me…there are over 300 kids today who will eat well…a big piece of meat, a chunk of yuka, a piece of corn, a chunk of butternut squash…it is amazing! I love that God has made this possible. At Club Esperanza we have made great efforts with our partners to make sure that the children and families we serve don’t receive scarcely at our feeding program. They are provided for and given the opportunity to grow and learn with a full stomach….amen amen amen!

Thank you for partnering with us! Thank you for donating! Thank you for praying!!!

God is soooo good and we hope this random picture of a big pot of ¡sopa! encourages you today!

When Jesus had finished a day of ministering to thousands of people, over five thousand people as told in the Gospel of Mark (Ch. 6) his disciples were in a real bind. It was evening and there were thousands of hungry people who didn’t have anything to eat…

…By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and but themselves something to eat.”

But Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat”

Friends together we are seeing Jesus provide abundantly for hundreds of children every day. I know it is not feeding five thousand, but you can be so encouraged that this isn’t a one day thing…this is every day of every week of the year! Together, we are giving them something to eat….amen, so awesome!!!

We love doing this together with you….if you want to see the beautiful faces of all the children we serve click here to check out our Club Esperanza Facebook page…the sopa is a great picture, but the kids are way cuter! And get in contact with us via losfarringtons@gmail.com if you want to come down and serve in person…we are looking forward to seeing friends down here again!

Love, Chris & Krista Farrington

Denis is a HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE!!! Denis has been a part of our family at Casa Robles for most of his life. He has accomplished something so amazing in graduating from high school. He is breaking generational chains, he is doing something no one in his family has done, he is doing something none of our boys at Casa Robles has ever done…Denis we are so so proud of you!!!

He graduated from Colegio Bautista de Managua. This is a prestigious school that has been operating in Nicaragua for over 100 years. As you can see in his pictures, his promotion ceremony was held in the Ruben Dario National Performing Arts Center…it was beautiful, and none of us complained that it was air conditioned. It was an invite only event and the graduates were all very excited…watching them throw their caps was soooooo awesome! (But I forgot to take a picture…dang!)

Mama Angelica and Papa Yuri escorted Denis across the stage, and honestly it was pretty emotional for us as they walked together. There was the beautiful moment where Mama Angelica followed the tradition of putting Denis’ graduation ring on his finger. It was beautiful to watch Papa Yuri standing there proudly looking at his son in his cap a gown as a graduate. And of course we brought some levity to the event but jumping up and down and shouting Denis’ name! We are just so very proud of Denis. Jesus has been so amazing in rescuing him and changing his life, and in these last two years Denis has made decisions in his own life to draw closer to God and really embrace the future he has walking with the Lord.

Some great adventures await. Denis is actually just now turning 17 years old. This coming year he will enroll at the Nicaraguan Technical University and pursue a degree in Engineering…following in his Papa Yuri’s footsteps. The University is located in Managua so he will keep living with our Casa Robles family and learning that new life rhythm of being a university student. Please pray for Denis as these vacations days come to an end and he starts this next adventure in his life. Papa Yuri and Mama Angelica will be there with him every step of the way…and we will too!

THANK YOU FOR CELEBRATING DENIS WITH US!!!

WE ARE SO SO SO VERY PROUD OF HIM…PRAISE JESUS FOR THESE GREAT MOMENTS IN LIFE!

If you would like to read more about Casa Robles you can click here, or use the search feature of our blog to find stories about “Casa Robles”…you can find the oldest posts and see pictures of Denis as a weeeee little guy…I found one below! So fun! If you would like to financially support Casa Robles you can do so with the buttons above or click the Donate tab for information on donating via check. We will need all the help we can get heading into 2022…we have a kid in College, LOL! Praise the Lord for that!

We have had a wonderful time closing out this year with all of the year end activities and family coming in to town to visit. Krista and I want to take a moment today to wish you a very Happy New Year! Even though this year has been very difficult and we have experience some heart breaking loss, our hearts still bless the name of the Lord!

Our perspectives on life have changed and at the same time our resolve to live a life that has eternal impact has been strengthened. We take time to count every blessing and know that we have been blessed beyond all measure! We hope and pray that as you ring in the New Year, that God will give you great hope for tomorrow and visions of great things for year to come. God’s promises are beautiful throughout all of scripture, but Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John have become some of my favorite verses of Scripture….

“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) I love these words because it encourages my heart about eternity and the glorious future we have with Jesus. He is victorious, and we are His!

If you need encouragement as we start this new year, grab a Bible and read the Gospel of John. So much good and so much encouragement can be found there. We love you and are blessed greatly to have you in our lives! Feliz Año Nuevo! (P.S. Happy Birthday to my wonderful sister Kim Rahal…love you Tia!)

All of our ministry in Nicaragua and support for our family comes through donations. So, if you are looking for an opportunity for year end giving, we would be blessed by that! You can click here or click a button below….God Bless you and again HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Chris & Krista, Aliyah, Mason, Isabella & Juliette

We want to send you and your family the blessings of a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! Being with family and friends over the holidays is so special and we know that this year hasn’t been the easiest for getting together, but we hope you found encouragement in the moments you did find together with people you love. Christmas is such a beautiful time of happiness, hope, joy and love…it really is such a special time of year. All the things that Jesus brings into our lives when we have that personal relationship with God are celebrated…I love that! In the hardest times like the ones we are living in, we can be encouraged that God is with us! How amazing is that?!? Merry Christmas friends!!!

We had a great time together with our extended families at Casa Havilah and Casa Robles earlier this month. (click the house name for more info on the homes) We had so many wonderful things happened throughout the year. Alejandra graduated into High School and Denis graduated from High School. All of the kiddos are doing well, and Maryel is still the funniest little kid you will ever meet! Also two new little faces arrived at Havilah this year…Abu and Diego, two sweet little dogs that are a great comfort for the girls. Our girls are having the best time baby sitting them while everyone is visiting family for the Holidays! Merry Christmas from our bigger family! Also, thank you for all of the financial support and prayers throughout the year!!!

This past week we got to participate in one of the best Christmas gift givings you could ever dream of. We made the trip back over to Port to visit fifteen homes that were being completed this week in Wawa Bar and in Hallover. Hurricanes Eta and Iota completely destroyed these two communities last year. Helping to rebuild has been one of the ways we have joined with Verbo Church and Pastor Earl in Hurricane relief. So, it was such a huge blessing to be able to be there when each of these homes were dedicated! What an amazing amazing Christmas gift…getting to move in to a new home this December!

In every house we visited with the team from Verbo Church we got to join in celebrating with each of the families. We spent time with three sisters who grew up as orphans and had lost everything. We spent time with Jackson who was filled with so much joy in receiving this new home. His joy made each and every one of us on the trip lift up our heads and PRAISE THE LORD! There was a young widow with her four children, a home with four generations moving in as the grandmother was taking care of her ailing mother, a family of five moving from a temporary shelter of plastic and drift wood, and many others.

We know Thanksgiving just ended and it may be a little early for Christmas…but maybe you can use Cyber Monday to make it special for one of our kiddos down here!

Every year we want to make it possible for every child at Club Esperanza to get a present for Christmas! Last year we couldn’t do a big party because of COVID. But the alternative was so fun! We rolled out a red carpet and as the kids came to the club in small groups throughout the day…each one got to walk the red carpet on their way to a special Christmas present just for them!

We have over 300 children at the Club and are trying to raise money to buy a $12 gift for EVERYONE! Maybe you can donate for a couple? Maybe you would like to bless ten kiddos? Or more? Maybe the Lord has blessed you and you just want to buy all of them…amen!

Anything will be a huge help, you can donate here.

We hope that we are the first to wish you A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! It is indeed the most wonderful time of year. We celebrate that Jesús, our savior was born! Amen.

We just want to tell all of you how much we love and appreciate your prayers and support for our family. The past few months have actually been very hard. We have lost very close friends and co-workers to Covid. We have never experienced so much loss of life in such a short period of time. Adding to that is the unstable situation in country here, being sick ourselves and just so many uncertainties. But God has been with us and comforted us through it all…and really we only mention those things to say thank you. We thank God for blessing us with all of you who have reached out, offered your prayers and supported us so well in this time! We feel God with us and are so thankful for that!

We wanted to take a little blog space to share pictures and updates on our little familia…to let you everyone know we are doing ok. Praise the Lord!

In September Mason turned 14 years old! We had a really fun birthday…Bacon for breakfast then a fireworks war after dinner and cake! What more could a boy ask for LOL! Mason is such a great guy and is becoming such a wonderful young man. He loves playing soccer with his club team Chiquilistagua FC, he gets his school work done on time, hunts down pests around our the Quinta with his pellet gun and is always willing to help whenever anything is needed. Anytime he sees his momma doing dishes he walks up to her and offers to take over….what a guy!!! A great example for his dad :-). We are very thankful for him and are blessed by his life!

Aliyah and Mason both have been wonderful teenagers! Krista and I know it is always possible for that to all go sideways one day, but we hope and pray it never does….amen! They have lots of fun together as the older two siblings, watching too many movies, playing too many video games hahahaha, but also getting outside and kicking the ball around. Aliyah is working into those upper levels of high school and is merging into taking online courses combined with her bookwork here at home. She joined the varsity girls soccer team at NCA, which is a high school down the street. They have been winning some and losing some, but it has been an all around excellent experience!