Neighborhood Impacts!

By -
Association of Christian Entrepreneurs of Nicaragua board

During the summer of 2016 when I was telling a good friend Paul Pierson I was leaving for Nicaragua and so I needed to close my company Satisfied Wages, Paul said, " Jesse, your not closing. Your going international!" With that new perspective I was able to stay encouraged and make the move to Nicaragua a little bit smoother for Jari and I. Soon I saw the plan God had for my business was the same it always has been. Coach and mentor people in their personal and business finances. I was doing what I have been doing for years, just in a different place!

We have had a great first year in Nicaragua. Jari and I have been able to stay encouraged and feed off the energy of entrepreneurs. We've taken day trips and stayed over night in hot hotels in the cities of Leon and Chinandega for business mentoring with the board member of Association of Christian Businesses of Nicaragua (AECNIC).

There have been very few times of sadness and crying, at least from the Nicaraguans! For all the things a person from the U.S.A could try to claim they lack, they are full of joy and a determination to succeed and prosper! 

Elizabeth and her son Johanan with their business canvas
Why are we mentoring Christian business owners? AECNIC board president Elizabeth Lopez owns a pulperia, small convienant store out of her house. She sells things like milk, bread, fruits, juices, toiletries and other similar things. Her pulperia serves a neighborhood of eighty or so people. 

This past July, four houses down from her pulperia, a single mother of 3 young children committed suicide. The three children are under the age of 12, left orphaned now living with aunt and other family. We would think they will be taken care of well by their family, but in poverty, extra people to care for can be hard on families, and not always welcome. 

These children know Elizabeth and they come to her often for help, prayer and support. In fact, many of the people come to her for more than just convenient household items. They seek out Elizabeth for hope and friendship! The hope Elizabeth shares is from the gospel of Jesus Christ! Her business supplies the needs of the neighborhood in so many ways!

Jari and I have the pleasure of learning, sharing and becoming friends with Elizabeth too! The stronger her business becomes, the more lives are impacted and improved, including myself!

Thank you all for partnering with us through our first year! Press On and Rejoice!










Location: Nejapa, Managua, Nicaragua

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Erica changed my perspective

By -
Image
There is a change in our method of working with businesses in Nicaragua than when we first arrived in 2016. It is easier to explain this difference with a story! Five years ago I started working with the Association of Christian Entrepreneurs of Nicaragua, (AECNIC). An association started out of the Nehemiah Center. You can read about this association in older blog posts. (I don't know why the pictures do not show up anymore, blogger website problem?) I spent a lot of time mentoring the business owners who made up the board of directors for the association. Hours were spent helping these individuals get a stronger accounting system and flow process in their businesses. I loved working with all of them. Their positive attitudes and faith was, and still is, inspiring today.  In 2018, Nicaragua went through its political crisis. During those months many businesses were hurting and barely surviving. I met with Erica* to see how she was coping with the crisis we were all living through....
Read more

Project Mature Bean! Part 2, We Harvested!

By -
Image
Jari and I arrived back home in Jinotega late December, just before Christmas time. We took a few days to rest and recover from our travels and a small cold that traveling brings. We couldn't wait to go and see the field of beans now that it was almost harvest time. Up to this point, we only saw the field in pictures, but now it was time to be present and see the beans flow in the wind! The plants did not disappoint us in person. They were healthy, bushy with big leaves and plenty of bean pods maturing to a nice deep reddish color. Some of the plants leaves had started to turn yellow as they were reaching maturity and dying off, putting the last of their nutrients into the beans. Darwin had done a great job caring for the plants and now he was preparing for the harvest, but when would they be ready?  The answer was, wait. A test of patience. In the first week of January we saw large portions of the bean field dying off. Since this was Darwin's first time planting beans he wasn...
Read more

FINCA AVODAH

By -
Image
Our ministry is based on a simple but profound concept, work as worship! The Hebrew word AVODAH,( עבדה ) means service. It carries two other meanings, work and worship.   In the Old Testament this word was used when the nation of Israel was called to serve God, and worship him. It is also the same word used to describe work! We can say this word, Avodah, is spiritual service. (Exodus 23:25) This concept is expressed again by the Apostle Paul in Colossians 3:23. When we “work” as unto the Lord it is an act of spiritual service and is also worship.    Whether we are giving a workshop in the Jinotega Chamber of Commerce, or in a farmer’s field of beans, the concept of Avodah is what we live out and teach. It is in this field of beans where we have the most potential to reach our region of Nicaragua with the Gospel! We are now purchasing a small farm to invite farmers to experience avodah with their own senses. We have certified red bean seed, sorghum and hybrid corn availa...
Read more