INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY: NICARAGUA TRIP- MAR 2025
He never ceases to amaze me…
I am blown away at all that the Lord accomplished on my third trip to Nicaragua. As He always does, the work of the Holy Spirit far exceeded our expectations. I traveled with a good friend, Dr. Atam, and we teamed up with Rob and Nita Wehrley of Bold Ministries. Here are the highlights of the trip:
Thursday
We held a two-day conference for pastors and ministry leaders in the city of Ticuantepe. Prior to this trip, I had my book “The Crucified Lifestyle” translated into Spanish according to the leading of the Lord. We brought 200 printed copies of the book to Nicaragua to provide to the churches to use for discipleship. One of the biggest challenges that the ministry leaders face is a lack of training and resources. I believe the Lord will use the book to give the pastors a fresh vision for discipleship.
The conferences were made up of six lessons, each from The Crucified Lifestyle. Edwin was the translator for all of the conferences, and he did an amazing job of communicating what God had given our team to share. Two sessions each were taught by myself, Atam and Rob. My lessons consisted of an introductory session based on Luke 9:23 and another about surrendering our personal rights. Atam taught on the reasons we resist the cross-life as well as surrendering our plans to God. Rob taught on the fear of man in ministry as well as the crucial importance of the Word of God. At one point, I felt led to ask those who were in a very challenging season of ministry to raise their hand. Almost every hand went up, and our team joined them in faith to pray for a breakthrough. The first day of the conference went very well, and the people in attendance were grateful for the lessons.
That evening, we took part in an outdoor service with a young pastor named Lionel. There were several churches who came together for this evangelistic event. I spoke a message about the power of the blood of Jesus. When I gave an altar call for salvation, no one came forward. I asked again because I felt there were those who needed Christ. Again, there was no response. My translator, Jonathan, said, “You should try one more time.” Still there was no response, so I began to move on in the meeting.
As I began to talk, a young boy around eight years old came forward. Once he did, a group of several more kids came forward as well to give their lives to Jesus. That one boy had emboldened the others to come up front. We prayed with them and for them and then gave a call for anyone who needed prayer. The first couple we prayed for said they were recommitting their lives to Christ. Another woman we prayed for said she was not part of the church and had been invited to the meetings. She told us that she had given her life to Christ that night. We realized that many were responding to the Lord from their seats and we were greatly encouraged.
There was a group of young guys around the corner that we had passed on the way to the meeting. They were obviously drunk or high, and I went with my translator, Jonathan, to talk to them. I shared my testimony and they let me pray for them. I asked if any of them wanted to receive Christ. One of them, who seemed to be the leader of the group said, “This isn’t the right time and place.” I encouraged them to be open to the Lord and trusted that the seed of the Gospel was planted. After the trip, Rob reached out to me to let me know that one of those young men had gone to the church a few days after the service to meet with Pastor Lionel. God is working in his life, glory to God!
Friday
We held the second day of the pastors conference in Ticuantepe on Friday. At the end of the meetings, the pastor who had hosted the conference spoke to our team to thank us for coming. He got choked up because he was so moved that we would come to train them and invest in their community. It was very special. The leaders were eager to receive the books and we had a great time of prayer over them at the end of the meeting. Several of them responded with tears and one young man in particular received such encouragement as our team prayed over him and spoke into his life as we were led by the Holy Spirit.
After the conference, we headed to a church in Nindiri where I would minister for the first time. When we arrived, there was no power and it was getting darker outside. They decided to have the meeting regardless, and I preached a message about going deeper with God. It was dark and we had only smartphones to give us light. It was hard to gauge the connection the message was having, other than some occasional amens and handclaps. However, as soon as I gave the altar call for anyone who needed a touch from God, the lights came back on!
We had a really powerful time at the altar, as men, women and teenagers came forward crying out to God and experiencing His presence. After the prayer time, several came forward to testify of what the Lord had done in them during the service. A couple of them shared about the spiritual battle they had experienced before the service. They felt tired and heavy and didn’t want to come. During the preaching as well as the prayer time, they felt the Lord had given them a fresh breath of spiritual energy. I’m so grateful at how the Lord ministered to all of us that night. The Gospel does not need electricity or a sound system to impact lives!
Saturday
During the day, we went to visit a church in an area of Nindiri that has a thriving childrens ministry. Pastor Jesse and her team started meeting on Saturdays with the children in the community six months ago. One of the hardships of that community is that they have no water source, so any water used needs to be purchased for bathing, drinking, cooking, etc. Rob told the kids a bible story, taught them a Scripture verse and sung a song with them. Nita took some time to minister to the mothers who were there with their children. We then went into the community and brought food packs to families and offered to pray with them. Afterwards, we had a meal together. I asked if we could pray for Jesse’s leadership team. We prayed for God to anoint and encourage each of them and then Pastor Jesse prayed for each person on our team individually, sharing a powerful prophetic prayer that deeply impacted each of us. We were so grateful to be ministered to as we were pouring out our lives every day.
That evening, we headed back to Ticuantepe for our outdoor crusade event. The area of the city we were in is known for its witchcraft. Someone mentioned that the park where we setup the crusade is actually used for various spiritual gatherings. So, the atmosphere was dark and intense. Carlos was my interpreter, who we met for the first time at the pastoral training. I preached a message about breaking out of darkness and felt the need to confront the spiritual atmosphere and offer the hope of Christ. Several came forward for the call to salvation. One young girl, probably around eight years old, deeply touched my heart as I prayed for her and she broke into tears. We then gave a call for anyone who needed a touch from God. Many people came and we ministered to them. As we prayed, one lady experienced deliverance. Only God knows all that was accomplished that night. It was a powerful picture of how the light of Christ can pierce the spiritual darkness as God draws people into His presence, offering them salvation, healing, deliverance and hope.
Sunday
I preached the Sunday morning service at a church called Llama de Fuego (Flame of Fire). Each time I’ve been to Nicaragua, I have been invited to minister there with Pastor Doris. The worship was rich and anointed and I found myself connecting with God in such an intimate way. I shared a message about the need for all of us to go out of our comfort zones to pursue the Lord with everything we have. When I gave the call for prayer, many came forward and we experienced a significant move of the Holy Spirit in the altars. So many were touched as they cried out to the Lord and one man was delivered from a demonic spirit as we prayed for him. At the end of the service, I felt there was someone who had a specific call to be an evangelist and I asked them to come forward so we could pray for them. Four people came forward and we prayed over their future ministries. It was an incredible time in the Lord.
That afternoon, we met up with Pastor David and his wife in an area not too far from Project Samuel. They are working in a small village and have a church as well as a childrens ministry. We delivered food bags to many in the community and prayed for families. It was a very impoverished area and many lived in one room homes with an outdoor fire for a kitchen. They were so welcoming to us and many became emotional when we prayed for them because they realized God was reaching out to them in love. The final area of the village that we visited had around ten families that gathered together to receive the food bags and prayer. Many of the adults had received Christ already, but I felt led to give a call for salvation. About ten kids all said they wanted to give their lives to Jesus, so Rob led them in a prayer and we rejoiced together at how the Lord was drawing children unto Himself. It was a really sweet moment as we watched God touching the hearts of children in the village.
Monday
We had an all-day pastors conference at a church in Tipitapa. It was very encouraging to see the leaders reading the books during their break times and seeing their hunger to learn and be trained. One young man told Rob, “We need more of this training in our country.” As we shared the challenging teachings from the book, the leaders were very attentive, although the room was very hot and everyone was tired. We found out that there had been a miscommunication and the pastor had thought the meetings would end earlier in the afternoon. He decided to ask the leaders if they wanted to leave early due to the heat and the previous communication or if they wanted to stay. Everyone decided to stay to experience the rest of the conference. We had a great time praying over them at the end and God was so faithful to minister His grace to these precious servants of God.
That evening, we went out to a restaurant for dinner. When I asked our waiter if he wanted prayer for anything, he asked us to pray for his family. After we did, he began to cry and said that he felt the presence of God. We reminded him that God loves him and left him a large tip to bless him and his family. Throughout the trip, we had encounters like this which was a reminder that God is focused on people as individual souls. Even in large meetings with hundreds of people, the Lord is pursuing them each individually. He’s the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one!
Tuesday
On the final day of ministry, we did a second ministers conference in Tipitapa at the church of Pastor Oskar. It was extremely hot in the church, but the people were still very hungry to receive the teachings. At one point, we went to a corner store to get cold water for our overheated team. We spoke with the owner of the store and he brought his children over to be prayed for. We blessed their business and asked for protection, healing and a revelation of the Lord for their family.
After the final session of the conference, we asked any of the leaders who wanted prayer to come forward so we could pray that God would pour out His Spirit in and through them. When we finished praying, the pastors asked to pray over our team. When they began to pray, it was like a refreshing move of the Holy Spirit came upon our team. They prayed heaven down on us and it was such a blessing to have them pray so fervently for us. I know I needed it after several days of intense ministry. It was a great ending to our ministry time.
Overall Thoughts
Looking back, it is really amazing how much the Lord can do in such a short time. So many lives were touched. The lost came to Christ and the church was encouraged in their walk with the Lord. It is impossible to know everything that the Lord accomplished, but even just based on what we saw in the natural, it was a very fruitful and effective trip.
Rob let me know that he has already scheduled another pastors training on The Crucified Lifestyle this summer. Those books will continue to be a blessing to the Nicaraguan church. I look forward to hearing testimonies of how the Lord continues to use the training in the country.
On behalf of our team, I want to thank each of you who spent time interceding for the trip. The spiritual weight of trips like this is hard to describe, but it is the prayers of God’s people that make it possible to persevere. God did what only He can do in response to our prayers, and I’m very thankful for that.
Also, a special thank you to those who invested financially in this trip specifically, as well as those who support Make Way Ministries on a regular basis. We could not do what God has called us to do without your support.
I recorded an eight part Vlog that you can watch with testimonies, updates and video clips from the services. You can watch the first one here:
https://youtu.be/KMfv6xdeDiw
