In Nicaragua more than 300 children have learned about the gospel from the Fuente de Vida Church, which runs the Amiguitos del Rey Child Development Center. Dozens of children and families have come to Christ and are an example that the real difference in their lives is their faith in Jesus.

For eight years the pastor, child development center staff, and church committee have worked with these children to help them grow. The results of the everyday effort of these people is rewarded when a child, parent or other relative comes to know God.

Fuente de Vida is very well-known in the Los Brasiles community, located 16.5 kilometers (10 miles) west of the center of Managua. The church has grown and the facilities have been improved to the point that they have a big new temple and the old one is used for classrooms. And, there are plans to buy new properties next to the church in order to continue growing.

Shisel, a Compassion-sponsored young girl is one of the children affirming her faith in God. At only 15 years old, she battles with the fact that her parents, her only brother, and some of her other relatives have different religious beliefs than she does. However, Shisel can tell there is a difference in her since she gave her life to the Lord four years ago. Her family, friends and development center staff confirm that too.

“Shisel is on her way to spiritual maturity. Learning God’s Word, taking time to pray and other spiritual activities at the center are helping her to grow. She’s always willing to open her heart to God. I think that’s good because most teenagers put up a wall when it’s time to be in God’s presence and don’t receive what He has for them,” expresses Alicia, Development Center Director.

“My decision to accept Christ came out of my heart. I used to say that if I wasn’t walking in God’s way I had no right to have eternal life. My aunts have also encouraged me to seek God. I made the decision during a devotional time, and I felt different,” says Shisel.

The activities and benefits at the center are helping Shisel as she’s growing closer to God. At 15, Shisel has benefited from Complementary Intervention Programs (CIV) like attending camp and computer, bakery and beauty classes. The camps for youth in Nicaragua have proven to be some of the most impacting events the development centers offer.

Shisel recalls her experience on the first night of the youth camp:

“In the camp I felt the Holy Spirit, we were all crying, we hugged each other praying and asking for forgiveness. I feel that night I reconciled with God.”

Many teenagers like Shisel felt an experience with the Lord those two days. Since then, the development center staff have seen more faithfulness and commitment from the teenagers in attending church and participating in various activities at the center.

“The games at camp were not simple games; all of them had a message. The one that impacted me most was when we had to crawl through wet dirt. We all were covered in mud and that’s how the devil wants to see us, full of sin,” Shisel shares in tears.

The child development center staff visited every school director to get the schools’ permission for all registered teenagers who were going to the camp. During those visits one of the school directors congratulated us for the work we do.

“I’m happy because the school is most interested in the transformation of the young people. I wish there was Compassion everywhere, it would be a blessing for us. Because of Compassion communication with schools is more open.”

Although we can provide many benefits for children living in poverty, their life really begins to change when the Holy Spirit starts to transform them and shows them the life He has for them.

“The Word of God is what provokes changes in the children. When the Word comes into the life of the children, they begin to understand God’s plan for their lives, they understand what God wants to do in them. It is also central because our work depends on the Word of God. The Bible says, ‘Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain’ (Psalm 127:1, NIV). That’s why the gospel is central to the work every development center does,” shares Alicia.

Half of the children registered in the Amiguitos del Rey Development Center and their parents have accepted Jesus during these years of partnership with Compassion. Some of them go to different churches closer to their homes in the community and their faith has become stronger.

God works in ways we cannot understand to transform people’s lives and that is what’s happening to Shisel and many of the children at each development center. Little by little that faith is becoming unshakable and bringing fruit. People in the area who didn’t want to come to church are now attending regularly, and no one is forcing them to do it.

“I glorify God because of the work He does,” says Alicia. “Jesus is making the difference in their lives.”

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The Leadership Academy in Guatemala was implemented in 2005 for the first time to prepare students to enter the Leadership Development Program (LDP) and find good candidates for the program.

Maria, the former LDP Specialist in Guatemala who is now the LDP Specialist for the Central America and Caribbean region, says,

“We believe God wants students to be successful, and it is our goal, through the Leadership Academy, to help students rest on this promise and help them to be more prepared and confident as they start walking on the path God has for them at the university.

“The idea consisted of a leveling up camp called ‘Leadership Academy.’ Guatemala learned from the Dominican Republic’s experience … We adjusted their idea to our country’s needs and came up with a two-to three-week camp to offer tutoring, leadership training and orientation as the final stage of the selection process.”

The young men and women are at the academy for two to three weeks. They wake up every day at 6 a.m. and don’t go to bed until 10 p.m. They learn about topics such as how to manage their time, how to be more responsible, how to study, how to have a stronger spiritual life, and how to be a good leader.

They also learn more about math, physics, history, orthography and writing, and even about attending church. Devotionals are made as the day starts and as it ends, giving them the opportunity to strengthen their relationship with God.

After the camp, a report is compiled about all the participants by all the people that took part in the Leadership Development Academy: tutors, director, LDP specialists, etc. Then the LDP team takes the report to the advisory group that will guide them in making the final decision about which young men and women will enter the Leadership Development Program.

The academy not only helps the LDP team select the leadership development students, but also helps to prepare the youths for what awaits them at university. Maria continues,

“After actively participating in the Leadership Development Academy, our new students will be better equipped regarding their level of cognitive, emotional and relational abilities to start their university and leadership development program challenges.

“They will also come out with stronger relationships as a group, and with their specialists, a foundation that can be built upon in the following years.”

Elvira, Cindy, Edgar, Julio, Edgar Geovani, Gladys and María shared with me their incredible testimonies.

They shared their dreams of becoming a computer science engineer, a professional nurse, a mechanical engineer, a nutritionist, a theologian. Each has a unique story to share. Julio, 18, entered our child sponsorship program when he was 7 years old.

“With the help Compassion International gave me through my sponsors, I was able to finish my high school,” states Julio, who is the leader of a choreography group in his church and also works for the Bible Sunday School at his church in Petén, Guatemala.

Elvira has a different testimony from the others: She was in this academy last year, but was not admitted to the Leadership Development Program.

“I was not expecting a ‘no’ as an answer, but thanks to that, I now know what I really want from life and what I want to be: a professional nurse. If it was not for the ‘no,’ I perhaps would be studying something different … something wrong for what I now know is what I really want.”

Cindy is a bit more shy than the others at the beginning, but she then starts talking with a more secure tone in her voice. “I love to teach, but I want to become a computer science engineer,” she says. Cindy has a heritage of teaching as her parents are still teachers in her hometown, a village nearby.

Edgar is a young man with perhaps the hardest past experience among these seven young people. With tears he says, “People have told me I can’t do things. I have chosen to not believe them but still it is so hard for me.” His dream is to become a mechanical engineer.

Life for Gladys has been difficult, too, but thanks to Compassion International, she says she is a happy and very blessed person. Her dream is to study theology and after that, become a missionary.

María wants to become a nutritionist, and she has been in our program since she was 7 years old. “Compassion International has given me the chance to study and finish up my high school,” says María, whose nickname is “Luli.”

Edgar Geovani is a daring young man whose dream is to create his own mechanical devices. “If others are capable of inventing things, why not me? Why not?” he asks. His resolution leaves me impressed and mute. He is so ambitious!

Each of these students has experienced difficult times. As the interview was over, Julio said to me, with an urgent tone in his voice,

“I want you to know that some weeks ago I was assaulted. Those three burglars pulled out their guns after they searched me and yes, they attempted to shoot at me many times … but the guns got stuck!

“The thieves were confused and did not understand what was going on with their guns but I know what happened: God heard my prayers I made at that moment and guarded me from a certain death.”

I know Julio has found a special place before God’s eyes, and He has great plans for him!

Elvira has a different story to tell. Her dad was an alcoholic during her childhood and that caused many troubles at home with her mom and her siblings.

“When I accepted Jesus into my heart, I asked Him to change my dad. Time kept passing by and I did not see any changes in his life. There was a time my dad was really sick, and I thought he was going to die. I did not want that to happen to him and prayed hard for him to recover.”

Her dad made it and ever since, he quit drinking. “I now know God perhaps won’t answer right away, but he will answer in His time” says Elvira, with a wide smile on her face.

Edgar has also faced tough times. With his gaze always down as we talked, and tears he fought hard not to come, Edgar said,

“My past has been a hard one. My mom had to work in the local market and I was embarrassed by that because I had friends who had everything they wanted … and I did not.

“I always heard my friends saying that they went to watch a movie, that their parents bought them new toys, that their rooms had everything … I remained silent because my life was not even close to that.”

All of this could have made them abandon pursuing their dreams. But they still dream they have bright and promising futures, away from the oppression of poverty.

Each student who attended the Leadership Development Academy is perhaps praying at this very moment to get in, waiting for that phone call that will let them know if they will be part of the Leadership Development Program or not.

“We spend Christmas and New Year’s time pretty stressed waiting for the answer,” says one of the prospects. But, he adds, “This is worth it”.

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