Pray for Nicaragua on Sunday, June 22, 2014

Lectionary Selection: Matthew 10:24–39

Prayers for Nicaragua:
Loving God, whose eye is on the sparrow, you number the hairs on each head, you care for each one of us, your children. Help us to treat one another with the awareness that each one is precious in your sight. Open our eyes to the consequences of our choices and our living. Give us wisdom to see what is spiritually damaging, especially when it is disguised as material blessing. Free us from fear, help us to live with the assurance that it is in losing that which seems so important, that we can find what truly matters in service of you.

We pray for Nicaragua and La Misión Cristiana (the Christian Mission Church).

We pray for the whole country, as they face drought when the rainy season should have begun, and the farmers who do not know if their small plots will yield enough to live on this year. The price of red beans, a staple, has gone up, making it difficult for the poorest families to get enough to eat.

We pray for the president of the Christian Mission Church, Enrique Rugama, elected in March, the national board, national staff, and all the church leaders, that they may be strengthened, and continue to be guided by God’s Spirit in their work of living out the gospel in word and deed.

In thanks for the Christian Mission Church, that lives out a passionate commitment to serving God by loving God’s children, may their example continue to inspire and give us courage.

Amen.

Mission Stewardship Moment from Nicaragua:
Reverend Rolando Boniche, who was church president for most of our time with La Misión Cristiana until his death last July, liked to remind people that when Jesus called people into his service, it was by saying, “Take up your cross and follow me.”

There are plenty of preachers whose messages arrive in Nicaragua from wealthier countries via television, radio, web streaming, etc., declaring that those who are faithful to God will be blessed with material prosperity. (Of course this faithfulness is best expressed by sending a check to the ministry in question.)

In contrast, the First Christian Mission Church in Acahualinca, a poor neighborhood on the edge of Lake Managua, has a motto to describe their community outreach: “From the poor to the even poorer.” They have rejected the lie that spiritual and material abundance go hand in hand, and they do not let their own economic hardship prevent them from reaching out to people in even greater need.

It is amazing how many ways this small, poor denomination of 50 small churches is able to serve those who are even poorer, because of the depth of their commitment. They have founded schools and afterschool programs, manage seed banks, build biogas stoves for cooking, send urban kids to work on reforestation projects in the countryside, take up collections in the city to help poorer rural communities after natural disasters… the list goes on. It is amazing what people can do in God’s service when they have left fear of scarcity behind.

Thank you for your generous support and prayers that make this ministry and these programs possible.

(Prayer and Mission Moment by Laura Jean Torgerson and Tim Donaghy)

Mission Partners in Nicaragua:

More information on Nicaragua:
http://globalministries.org/lac/countries/nicaragua/

Global Ministries Missionary in Nicaragua:
Laura Jean Torgerson, a member of University Christian Church, Hyattsville, Maryland, served with the Christian Mission Church in Nicaragua. She worked as a consultant to the church’s national Education and Theology Department and assisted in the formation of pastors and lay leaders in the liberating theology of the church. She also taught New Testament to undergraduate theology students at CIEETS (the Inter-Church Center for Theological and Social Studies). Laura Jean ended her time there in March 2014 and is now on home-assignment.

Tim Donaghy, a member of University Christian Church, Hyattsville, Maryland, served the Christian Mission Church in Nicaragua through March 2014. He worked on church projects in environment, food security, and leadership development and taught about environmental issues at CIEETS (the Inter-Church Center for Theological and Social Studies). Tim is now on home-assignment.