Update – December 2006

A house in Diriamba and Charles with a family from Diriamba

The World Racers are a group of young men and women ages 22 – 35 who will spend the next year traveling the world and learning the basics of cross-cultural aid and ministry. Along with their stated purpose of meeting the felt needs of the people and communities they visit, they will be helping local churches with outreach and programs. Our task over the next few months is to prepare 3 or 4 locations for them to work within. We believe we have identified several places where their presence would have a huge impact. In particular, we expect part of the team to work in the nearby town of Diriamba with the families living at the dump. Charles has made several trips to the area already and has befriended a family (pictured above) who recently suffered a trauma perpetrated on their retarded daughter. The local church rose to the occasion and a formerly childless couple now has a new baby!

 

The volcano on Ometepe and fishing on Lake Nicaragua near Ometepe

Another promising location is the island of Ometepe. This beautiful volcanic island is home to more than 50,000 people. But its beauty masks grinding poverty where many inhabitants still live with no running water or electricity. If this were not enough, one of the volcanoes that make up this island has recently come back to life. In the midst of this poverty several wonderful orphanages are bringing order and meaning to the lives of abused and homeless children. We have found several pastors who are having great success in breaking the cycle of hopelessness, especially among the young. Seeing people enjoy the simplest things is a reminder that it doesn’t take much to experience a full life.