It was a humbling experience to be on the giving side of such need in Nicaragua and to indeed be a father to the fatherless. Erik Sampson (Erik the Flutemaker) and I went from Saturday to Friday and it felt like we were there a month. We got so much done with the money that you sent and the prayers that you equipped us with, it was truly amazing.
We did street ministry and ministry in several schools as well. Erik had led two cab drivers to the Lord by the time we got to Cascabel. He is an anointed evangelist when he hits the streets and speaks great Spanish.
We got to see the land that we purchased for the children first hand and it is amazing how far that they have come along.
We have a pig, 5 or 6 chickens, a full garden planted, fruit trees planted,
an operating well, a temporary kitchen, an outhouse, and a security building that is being used as a house for about 8 of the boys. (see the photos
)
We were able to bring hundreds of balloons donated by David Vick of the Cascabel God Squad for the Balloon ministry.
Heidi Sampson of the Cascabel God Squad was able to provide 2 suite cases of Sports clothes donated by her school. Every one loved the clothes.
We also bought $90 of art supplies. The little kids were glued for hours with crayons and coloring books while I gave an art class to the older ones who created lots of art that we are hoping to make greeting cards out of. (Another strategy to raise funds.)
What we will be able to accomplish with our offerings:
Metal cover for water tank $192
Security shed for well pump $210
Metal shed for the shower and paint $110
Enclosure for outhouse $169
Concrete sink to wash clothes $89
Metal pot cover $5
2 plastic tables $50
10 kid's chairs $25
20 adult chairs $116
Protective fence for dangerous area $110
Toothpaste $13
Garden seed and Chicken wire $100
Craft Material for revenue $30
Special offerings included:
$400 from a Christian carpenter for Pastor Carlos as he saw fit.
Small oven and flower money for Mercedes whose kids have been with the Cascabel Kids for a year. This destitute family will now be able to make a living baking and selling bread $234
50 Cascabel kids go to Pastor Carlos' Kid's church on Sunday so we are funding their church bathroom. $730
We also sent $100 to help Dennis and his mother. This was the little boy with the big head.
All these offerings have relieved so much weight. And now we can plan on their home.
Looks like the well is working fine with the help of a generator due to low electricity out there. They had to burn the mattresses that we had bought them last year because of bed lice, but now that they have showers, that won’t happen again. They actually have warm showers because the water tank is on top of a hill and gets warm from the sun. It was the only warm water I saw in Nicaragua outside of Managua . The water is also serving about six local families as well as causing the gardens to flourish. We ate the first fruits of the garden for lunch, they had waited for us to arrive.
Again, we were able to get so much done for so little and it was because of your participation in this project. The next step is to poor a foundation for the 2 story house. It will cost about $7000 to get that done. We are looking for people who would stand with us on a monthly basis. We are now a tax deductible organization and your contributions will be solely used for the care of the children and the building of the home.
I wouldlike to do another trip in the winter. It would probably cost about $1000 per person and that would include an offering to the children. This would be a trip focused on training the children to do art and crafts that they could sell.
We would also offer other services such as medical, English lessons, etc if you have gifts to offer. We will probably be doing some preconstruction projects as well. If you would be interested, please let me know.
The Lord’s heart is after the poor and the fatherless and this project shows his affection for these kids who have been rescued from a life in a dump. Please continue your prayers and financial help.
You are changing lives!
Thank You!
Chuck Caine/ Joint Effort Ministries, March 2008
Elmo The Clown (David Vick) stops for a foto in Nicaragua 2007
the kids of Cascabel loved his ballon tricks
