We Love Testimonies Part 2

Enjoy these awesome testimonies from our participants of the Finances for the Kingdom. We followed up with three of them a year later. They are encouraging to us and we hope they will encourage you as well!

Pastors Roberto and Ligia Hernández from Mateare, Managua are in their late 60s and currently pastoring a church called Iglesia Siloe. They have been in ministry for many years, and are retired business owners of a printing company in Managua. They both participated in the Good Sense Budget Course in April 2019. At the start of the course pastor Roberto was not in agreement with the teachings. However, during the mentoring sessions this was his response about the course, "God is changing my life and the way I think, the course not only changes finances but also lives.” Here is their testimony:

    The Good Sense budget course has helped my wife and I, and has opened our minds and transformed our finances. It has helped us be more discipline in making a budget and take back control of our expenses. Once we began to apply these principles, we were able to see how we were spending our money and how we were utilizing our investments. We also began to make financial decisions together, something we did not do before this class. We learned the importance of starting a savings fund of 10% (of our income). Now, we believe we have a functional budget to guide us in managing our money better. We also learned to give and bless others in the Kingdom of God. We are more cautious now when using credit cards, and we are using our debit card instead of a credit card.  Thank you. 

Pastor Medardo Castillo and his wife Socorro Gómez from Nejapa, Managua.      Pastor's the church, Praise and Worship Center Shalom. Prior to the Good Sense Budget Course they earned a favorable income from the previous church they pastored. However, when their denomination transferred them to their current church their income became three times less than what they earned before. They started to take on credit from the convenience store down the street (the Pulperia), this debt accumulated to 4,000 Cordobas ($113 USD). They started the finance course in April 2019 and by June of that year, they were able to pay down their smaller debts. Pastor Medardo expressed, "I have stopped buying unnecessary things and have prioritize my expenses, now I only have 900 córdobas ($26 USD) left on the 4,000 cordobas I owed." They have reduced their debt by 78% in a short amount of time, and God has blessed them. God has provided the means for their teenage children to continue attending a private school.

Pastor David Guido and his wife Lisset Castillo are in their mid 30s and have pastored Maranatha Worship Community Church for four years, located in Ciudad Sandino, Managua. David first learned about the Nehemiah Center when he was in college, but had never participated in any of their workshops. The Good Sense Budget Course was the first training David and Lisset received at the Nehemiah Center. Pastor David shares their testimony: 

The training has been very helpful, but at the same time very difficult to put into practice, but we keep trying. Our financial situation was a disorder. As a young couple, we set a goal to become financially free by the age of 50, but we did not know how to reach this goal. We started a school transportation business 7 years ago with two vehicles, and because our finances were a mess, we could not see any profit. We would work hard and had earnings, but most of our income went to pay off debt. We started the financial training in January of 2019, and at that time, we were indebted 40,000 cordobas ($1,130 USD). Before starting the training we were planning on taking out another loan, but when we took the Good Sense course that all changed. These teachings came as a blessing, and has led us in a better financial direction. We have paid off the C $ 40,000 we owed, and we are not planning on taking out any more debt.  Another goal we had was to start construction of our house, but we had not been able to do so.  We now have a budget and the money we've put away has allowed us to start buying the materials to begin construction. 

    It (the training) has been a great help and has made a big difference in our lives because it has taught us to be responsible in our finances. I now feel motivated and with the desire to share them (the teachings) with the brothers and sisters in the church. We have made the commitment to teach others, because now we know how to do it. We learned to take back control by organizing our finances, before we would spend money base on our emotions. Now we ask ourselves if it's something we need now or can it wait? Also, we started a budget for our medical expenses, which we've never done before. Before we only thought about eating, and spent a lot of money eating out. We didn't care if we had enough money leftover for the following week. Our priorities have now shifted and our lifestyle has changed, because this area was drowning us financially. We hope to meet our goals by implementing the tools that we have been given. Creating a budget is a very useful tool for our financial wellbeing. Despite the economic crisis in our country, I feel the peace of God in my life as I free myself from the financial stress. 

     Our way of thanking them (Finances for the Kingdom program) is by praying for them and reproducing what we have been taught.

     Thank you finance team for giving us your time, knowledge and trust, and above all for transmitting God's love to our lives.

Testimonies collected by Jinnette Toruño, (Nehemiah Center Communications) and translated into English by Jari Rodriguez.