Seven years ago, Nicaragua’s National Assembly made it official that the last Sunday of September would be dedicated to celebrating the translation of the Bible from Greek to Spanish.Throughout the national territory we celebrate. Sunday, Sept. 27, was the 440th anniversary.

In every department and/or town, churches from different denominations get together to celebrate.

Flowers, palm leaves and banners decorate trucks, and children dress in Bible costumes during the parade in celebration of the Day of the Bible.

Compassion Nicaragua understands the importance of the Word of God in the lives of children. That’s why in an effort to release children from their spiritual poverty, Bibles are given to every Compassion-registered child. The children receive Bibles that are appropriate for their age.

This year, 9,663 Bibles have been distributed. (more…)

More than four years have passed since Haminton (age 11) wrote, with the teacher’s help, the first letter to his sponsor. His relationship with his sponsor has grown over the years as both of them share their heart and experiences through their letters.

Haminton has had the same sponsor all these years. He was one of the first children from his child development center to be sponsored, which is a great blessing for him.

Our Program Communications Field Manual states:

“Child letters play a key role in the relationship between the sponsor and the child. Quality child letters, sent to sponsors on a regular basis, inspire sponsors to a deeper commitment to the child they sponsor. Sponsors consistently rate child letters as one of the most valued pieces of correspondence they receive from Compassion.”

For children, it is also valuable and a reason to rejoice when they hear they have a sponsor and every time they receive a letter.

Haminton’s classmates tell him he’s “lucky” to have someone writing to him very often. (more…)

Three weeks have passed since Palabra de Vida en Acción opened its doors for the first time to the children of the community. A formal process that started almost a year ago is finally finished and running.

The child development center is located at the Baptist Church Palabra de Vida. The church first heard about Compassion through a relative of the pastor.

Everything started by seeking God’s guidance — both the church and Compassion Nicaragua staff prayed. After a few months of prayer and talking to the church leaders about the vision and how Compassion works, the church sent a partnership request to open a child development center.

Daniel Hidalgo, the Compassion Nicaragua partnership facilitator who works as the link between the country office and the church partners says, “This [prayer] is the most important. There are many churches and much need, and we pray for God’s guidance to find the best partner.”

The churches that we partner with must fulfill some requirements, such as: (more…)

Sitting under a tent away from the hot sun, talking, smiling and enjoying a plate of rice and chicken is a group of teachers from Fey Esperanza Child Development Center before the beginning of another afternoon with the children.

The teachers are having a good time with each other, but after they finish their lunch, each of them go to their classrooms with excitement to prepare for the afternoon classes.

Seventeen people work at the development center. Most of them have been serving the children since the center started two years ago, and more are being added as more poor children are registered.

Each of these workers were carefully and prayerfully chosen by the pastor. Before selecting staff, he wrote a list of names to present to the church committee, which considered each one. The committee considers each person’s vision and commitment to working with poor children.

Each worker must have at least one year of high school and a good relationship with God because it is in their hands that the life of the children will rest while working at the development center.

These workers are ideally church members, but if the partner church is too small, then applicants from neighboring churches or from the same denomination can work at the student center. Each person is interviewed by the pastor and committee about their willingness to work at the center.

Child development workers are volunteers who receive an “offering” every month, not a salary. They have limited job opportunities and are at the center because they love God and love to work with poor children. (more…)

It’s 11:30 a.m. and lunch should be almost ready, but this home of seven people has only a small bowl of boiling water on their firewood stove.

The father just came back from a busy morning at the farm, bringing some beans that would be used for lunch, the only ingredient of the first meal of their day.

The global food crisis has hit so many people. Guillermo, father of three Compassion-assisted children and another who isn’t registered, used to have a steady job making bricks. But now he is no longer permanently employed. He lost his job because there wasn’t enough demand for bricks. He found another job at a farm taking care of beans and a corn plantation. Those two partial jobs together make an income of about $37 per month for Guillermo and his family.

Ventura, Guillermo’s wife, in her effort to help the home’s income, baby-sits her granddaughter, making about $75 per month with which they have to find a way to cover all of the family’s expenses such as food, clothes, water service, school supplies, soap, toothpaste, etc.

Since the family cannot buy as much as they used to, what they have in a normal day for breakfast is a cup of coffee with bread or just coffee.

For lunch, beans, a piece of cheese and tortilla that Ventura makes. And for dinner, most of the time is just another cup of coffee.

“The crisis has affected our health. We cannot improve our home or buy new kitchen utensils. My husband is working extra but still getting the same,” says Ventura. (more…)