Managua, Nicaragua

On September the 7th, eight young men arrived in Nicaragua to help Mark & Brenda and Ally & me in intense gospel work throughout the city of Managua. It was almost a year of preparation before they arrived with invites being sent out to different exercised young men and their oversights. As confirmations slowly trickled in, it became evident that this would be the largest group of young men we had ever worked with at one time in Nicaragua. As the group formed many of the practical pieces needed to fall into place from living space to language study. As we arrived at the airport to pick up a nervous group of young men, it was with a sense of privilege and responsibility that we will work alongside these exercised young brethren for the next year.

Managua and the gospel:

How would you best reach a city of 2.2 million people, a city full of religion, confusion and darkness? Two assemblies have been formed in this large capital city, a city that takes up nearly 25% of Nicaragua's population and the needs are overwhelming. It is with this burden that we plan to hit new areas and communities with the gospel and pray that many more souls will come to Christ. I do not believe there is any secret to success; there is no formula that can be followed, no perfect way to carry out gospel work as we are just weak men fully dependent on the power of God. We believe that we are called to be fully engaged in proclaiming Christ to as many people as possible, and we aim to reach the many thousands upon thousands that do not know Christ as their Saviour.

Outreach:

The practical fulfilment of reaching others is fairly simple but is costly and time-consuming. Before the end of the year, we hope to have reached four new areas of the city with the gospel. As of writing this (October 20th), we have been able to have two series of gospel meetings in two new, different "barrios." Along with the preaching of the gospel during the evenings, we are involved in door-to-door visitations and children's meetings during the days. Each day is very busy, and it is one of the ways that these young men are learning that gospel outreach takes a tremendous amount of work. We are thankful for the enthusiasm and willingness on the part of the team to be fully involved, even with limited Spanish, in trying to reach others.

Besides reaching out into new areas, we are trying to balance the focus on the local assembly as well. Current outreaches to young people at the local university have been very encouraging as 80 - 120 University students have been coming on Wednesday nights to the hall to study the Bible, sing songs and play games. Home studies throughout the city in 4 different locations are going fairly strong, and we pray that the Lord will open up more homes to preach the gospel in each Thursday night.

The needs are vast the burdens continue to grow, and in all, I have written it will only be useless words, ideas and plans unless the Lord is with us! We long to see God work not only in the hearts of the Nicaraguan people but in our hearts and the hearts of the young men who are with Mark, Brenda, Ally and me for the next year, and so we value your prayers on our behalf

Prayer:

Remember the young men as they study in the local university and learn the language.
That our hearts will be burdened with the weight of seeing souls saved and that a deep love for the lost will be evident in our lives.
Our family as we work and serve others, that our children (Annalise - 4, Lucas - 2, Nathan - 5 months) will grow and trust Christ at an early age.
The Lord will protect, guide, supply, and bless His ever growing work here.
The assembly in El Valle that we left to work here in the city and for Silfredo and Nicolas as they lead and shepherd the church.

Autumn 2016 Written by Kyle and Ally Wilson - Nicaragua kyleallywilson@hotmail.com