ChurchDevelopmentServices

Right now in Nicaragua, over 1.2 million people experience hunger every single day. Most of them are children.

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In partnership with over 300 local churches, we are fighting to wipe out hunger, eliminate malnutrition, elevate education performance, and introduce children to the love of Jesus. You can give with confidence knowing that every dollar donated is maximized in programming and outreach to transform children’s lives in Nicaragua.

Stepping onto the plane for her first trip to Nicaragua Windy had no idea what lives she would help change. Nicaragua was new, different and in need. She was attending a serving trip with a group from her church. Once people learned Windy was a pediatric physician, families started bringing their children to her for her assistance. 

Experiencing the need first-hand Windy learned the need of families to provide proper nutrition to their children. Since she was not able to leave all the children starving, Windy sought out a solution – a Nicaraguan medical director to oversee communities, evaluating medical needs and outcomes.

When David and his colleagues rang the opening bell of the NASDAQ Stock Market to celebrate the company’s initial public offering he leaned over to his long-time partner and said, “we are going to help a lot of children in Nicaragua.”

David and Mary (North Carolina) have been investing in the lives children in Nicaragua since 2011. They have incredibly passionate hearts for helping children in the United States and abroad. Through multiple investor trips to Nicaragua, they fell in love with our child transformation model and brought their friends and colleagues onboard.

In 2016, David and Mary’s investment launched ORPHANetwork’s After School Education Program (ASEP) to provide educational reinforcement for the children served in our Local Church Initiatives.

You can join the Luchts and other supporters in transforming lives through education. Please consider giving a gift today.

Before finding the life-changing programs offered at the local church in her community, Rosa would take her three small children to the garbage dump to work with her. From pre-dawn until noon, she searched through the garbage to find recyclables to sell. Sometimes she would earn enough money for one meal, and sometimes she wouldn't.

Rosa recalls one day when she didn't earn any money and her daughter was begging her for food, "it's hard when your child asks you for food and you don't have any to give them; an adult can endure going hungry, but a child cannot."

Today, Rosa is 25, and has been married to her husband, Douglas, for three years. Douglas is underemployed - he works on any task or opportunity that he can find, and Rosa stays home caring for their children. During the three-month peanut harvesting season, Rosa works in the fields to buy school supplies for her 11, 8, and 6-year-old children. 

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At the same time, Rosa and her two-year-old, Samia, are blessed through the Healthy Beginnings Program. Samia is being treated for chronic malnourishment - her growth is measured each month to track her progress, and a core component of the treatment includes multivitamins and a monthly box of soy-fortified rice for their home. 

Rosa enjoys visiting the church on Sunday with her family. She's grateful to God and the people He uses to bless their lives. 

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Happy Mother's Day from all of us at ORPHANetwork! 

P.S. Take a look at our video tribute to moms like Rosa on social media via Facebook or Instagram. 

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"Thank you for your support.
Thank you for continuing to help vulnerable children, and those with malnutrition, like my daughter.
God is good."      
Rosa

Last week, I had the opportunity to host a special guest on a Vision Trip to experience an up-close view of God's work through the ministry of ORPHANetwork. As always happens on such trips, the evidence of the transformative "Good News" referenced in Isaiah 61:1-3 is powerfully revealed. 

In the midst of headlines that drive separation and anxiety, God's quiet voice often resounds remarkably clear. Let me share a story I heard first-hand on my trip about the beauty of "Good News" in the midst of extreme poverty. 

I met Pastor Marcos and his wife, Maria José. Fifteen years ago, he felt God calling him to move to a trash dump community within the broad boundaries of Managua, Nicaragua. The area was no stranger to violence, theft and darkness. After 10 days of knocking on local doors and discerning whether they were supposed to establish a church in that community, Pastor Marcos stood on his pickup truck and whispered the phrase, "Here God? Really?"

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Within moments, he envisioned the landscape of trash as being filled with beautiful flowers. While he did not fully understand the metaphor, this pastor couple started a humble church in the ashes of this community. With the support of ORPHANetwork, those flowers turned out to represent close to one hundred children attending a feeding center and regularly hearing the words of the Gospel.Twenty pregnant moms and young teenage girls are educated on maternal health, treated for anemia, and participate in forums to care and share with one another. Twenty-five children attend an after school reinforcement program that supplements primary school learning.With private funding, Pastor Marcos has procured a school bus that transports children to and from school, and 10 acres of land across the street from his church with a vision to build an elementary school, high school, and Votech program. They proudly call these participating children their "flowers from heaven."Tell me that doesn't preach! Beauty from ashes.

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In the midst of challenging headlines and stories, God reminds us that His favor remains on the ministry of ORPHANetwork and we are to carry on boldly with humility and discernment. And the stories of Pastor Marcos and Maria José are clear evidence that the light of Jesus Christ reigns everywhere He so chooses. 

Thank you for your prayers and for standing firm in your gift partnership as our local church pastors continue to share the Gospel and execute life-saving programs every day across Nicaragua.

In Christ's Name, 

Bob Cleary, CEO
& The ORPHANetwork Team

Our local church partnerships operate in some of the darkest of circumstances and environments, but because of the love God plants in the hearts of His servants, the highly vulnerable children growing up in these environments experience His love and find Hope for a better tomorrow. 

It's our privilege to introduce you to Maria, a cook who prepares more than 140 meals each weekday for the children living on the outskirts of a garbage dump in Tipitapa, Nicaragua.

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Maria is just one  of hundreds of cooks, volunteers, teachers and staff whom your support empowers in 160 local church partnerships.

We are thankful for the smiles, the words of encouragement, and the blessings of self-esteem and identity in Christ, that these dedicated servants bring to the lives of 16,000 children in Nicaragua.

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May seeing how the Lord is at work through Maria's loving service be a blessing to you, a valued supporter of this hope-filled mission. 

With gratitude, 
Katie & The ORPHANetwork Team

In the opening of the fifth chapter of Brennan Manning’s “The Ragamuffin Gospel”, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s raspy words are highlighted after suffering a near-fatal heart attack - “Never once in my life did I ask God for success or wisdom or power or fame. I asked for wonder, and He gave it to me.”

A few short days ago in the highlands of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, I had ample chances to wonder at God’s presence in a community of rural poverty.  Along with old and new friends from Newport News, Virginia, we set aside the election, our jobs, and the chaos of daily life to “just be” with heroes of faith and amid those much less fortunate than we.  For two days, we marveled at God’s wonders in the daily routine of poverty.

The results were startling.  Here’s three notable “wonders” from this community of coffee pickers and farmhands…

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An ox of a man.

Every day, Mr. Chima (José Maria) gathers up four or five 5-gallon buckets of prepared food, places them in a pull cart, and musters a well of strength to pull and push this life-saving content straight up a slippery, steep and rutted hill for at least a quarter mile. Honestly, an ox would be worn out traversing this hill.  Selfless dedication to 100 children.  Nothing in return.  The wonder of anonymity.
 

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Stepping into the lion’s den. 

Soon to graduate with a bachelor's in education, Maria will enter her chosen profession as a teacher of primary school-aged children. Unbelievably, she will soon stand before 60 young students in one classroom and attempt to shape a new generation toward academic achievement.  She is undaunted.  Her radiant smile reflects the wonder of resilience and love for children.

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Medical professional in-the-making. 

Thirteen-year-old Nayla’s parents have left the country.  She happily shares life between the humble homes of her two grandmas’.  A few years ago, young Nona heard a doctor share her story of saving lives.  A vision was cast.  A commitment was made.  Nayla intends to shred the lineage of generational poverty and pursue the medical profession. 
The wonder of vision.

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Every Meal is a Message.

In a few days, ORPHANetwork will share an urgent need to supply locally sourced meals to ensure food security and nutritious meals for thousands of children as we close out the year.  Food that saves lives. Food that paves the way for the gospel to be shared in word and works.

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Thank you in advance for however God moves on your heart. 

May you be inspired by the humble stories of those in the midst of extreme poverty.

And may you wonder at God’s love and His great mercy for all of us.