Jairo

No Thanksgiving would be complete without the story of Jairo Moise Hernandez Salina.  At 17 years of age, he made a decision to turn his life over to the Lord Jesus.  During one of our daily devotions, we had a teaching about Nicodemus and Jesus discussing how a person is born again.   It touched the heart of Jairo and he asked if he could give his heart to Jesus.  

What is so amazing about this story is we have considered Jairo to be our "resident" prayer leader since the first day of classes.  Every day we start the class with prayer and Jairo is the first one of the boys to volunteer to lead the group in prayer. 

Jairo use to go to church, but quit attending because he felt so bad about himself for getting high.  His past has been marred by drugs and alcohol and he lived on the streets for 8 months.  He spent 3 days in prison, the local term for jail. He wanted to make changes in his life and grasped the opportunity to attend the Remar facility in Leon. 

Since we have known Jairo, his grandmother has died.  He was not able to see her and it affected him very much.  She was the only person who was loving toward him.  When he came into class on that day, he said he wanted to run away.  He was hurting so bad and did not want anyone to see him cry.

On another day, he was having a particularly bad time at coping with life.  This was before we moved the school into the house.  Preston said Jairo wanted to see me (Sandra) and brought him to the house.  It seemed he just needed a hug; some assurance that someone cared about him. This is huge, because when you hug him it is like hugging a tree; he just leans in toward you stiff as a board.

Jairo is probably our most photographed student but we will never get a picture of him with a smile.  He is missing his 2 top front teeth.  Once we had ice cream bars for a snack and he took his into the back room to eat it out of sight from everyone.  He is very self-conscience about having no teeth.  Dental work is very inexpensive here in Nicaragua and we hope to be able to get his teeth replaced before he leaves Remar.

Jairo is a special but complicated boy.  We love him and enjoy his presence in class and in our lives.  God has a plan to use Jairo's gift of prayer.

SIDENOTE: Preston and Jairo just came into the office.   Preston had a straight edge with him and showed me how Jairo had planed a board that is to be used as a chair leg.  The board was perfectly sized, straight, smooth as glass AND he had not sanded it yet.   Jairo is one very proud young man right now!

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Michael O.

Michael Alberto Ortiz Espinoza is an 18 year old mighty man of God.  He just does not know it yet.  We have seen tremendous changes in him in the short time that we have known him. He is a born leader.  He is very outgoing, has a great wit and is thoughtful.








Michael has been at Remar for 6 1/2 months and is required to stay as long as the judge decrees is necessary.  From what we have learned of him, he got into trouble on the streets while living in Managua.  He had problems with drinking and stealing.  There was an incident with a mugging that brought him to a crossroad in his life.  In his time at Remar, there is unmistakable evidence of his repentant heart.  He was the first of our students to request a Bible from us for his personal use.


He has a 1 year old son who lives with the baby's mother.  Michael's desire is to become a better man in order to be a positive influence on his son. He also hopes that when he leaves Remar that he can begin to work on his relationship with his son's mother and one day become a united family.  For now, he feels that God has a purpose for him at Remar; he struggles with the need to stay there for as long as it takes to turn his life around and the desire to go home.




In his future, he sees himself spreading the Word of God and working to help guys who have taken to the "streets".  He is very appreciative of the chance to learn carpentry from our school.  He works hard at all the projects and is extremely helpful toward the other students.  He gets it, he knows that this is his time to grasp the opportunity of a new life, both vocationally and spiritually.









This young man has touched our hearts deeply and we look forward to seeing him step into the Man that God created him to be.  Michael has a future that will be huge; one that will match his huge loving heart.  Please keep him in your prayers.

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1st Pantry Cabinet

The boys have finally shifted from building stools and shop equipment (sawhorses & workbenches) to making cabinets.

The work all started with a lot of instruction in teaching them about measurements, fractions, design layout, figuring materials lists and finally a material cut list.  Then the day came to make the first cut on the plywood.  The boys all helped Preston in making a cabinet in order to learn the fundamentals of cutting and assembling a cabinet.

We have divided the boys up into 4-man teams and assigned each team a project.  They will build 2 very large pantry cabinets to store the tools and supplies for the school, as well as a large cabinet in the laundry room to store away brooms, ironing board, ladder and other materials.

Beginning in December, January at the latest, we anticipate the quality of the boys work to be acceptable to the point of building an entire sample kitchen display of base and upper cabinets.

On our second visit to Nicaragua almost 3 years ago, Preston had to make cabinets for the kitchen area of the rental we had at that time.  There was a shell of a room and he turned it into a kitchen.  During the building process, as he was working on the sidewalk outside of the house, people would walk by and inquire as to what he was doing.  There was a lot of interest and several expressed a desire for him to make them cabinets.  We explained to them that we were not able to help them at that time.

Now, as we train the young men in carpentry, we want them to be able to build cabinets and turn it turn into a source of income for the ones that choose to stay on in the apprentice phase of the program.

In Nicaragua, the cabinets that are found in stores are usually of a hoosier type unit.  Or as in the rental house that we now occupy, there are one piece base cabinets installed upon cement with no "floor" or "backing" to the cabinet.  Thus you have a very damp and musty cabinet.  The concept of individual cabinets in specific sizes that the customer can purchase, take home and install themselves will position the boys to be prepared to meet the future changes that are coming to Nicaragua.  By having individual pieces, the customer can buy a single cabinet to meet a present need and add to the cabinets as their finances will allow.


We speak to the boys about them being chosen by God for "such a time as this".  We consider it an awesome privilege that God has chosen us to train up these young men.   Most every day, there is a lesson within the class or a life experience that can be used as a biblical principle.

These young men are special to God and He hears their prayers.

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Combined Classes - 1st Week

In a recent post, we spoke about the changes that were made in regards to the school location and the class structure, this can be reviewed in the post entitled "Changes".

When we announced to both classes that we were going to combine the two sessions, there was a mixture of emotions.  The morning class had always expressed a desire to meet the afternoon class.  The sentiment by the afternoon class was not as enthusiastic.  They had anxiety over how they would be treated by the other class.

Day 1 of the new session was interesting.  Some of the boys from the Remar group walked into the class with their armour on ready to do battle if need be.  Each of the boys sat in their own familiar, safe cluster of friends throughout the day eyeing one another.  

Not only were the boys in a new environment but we were all without our trusted friend and interpreter, Scarleth, for the entire week.   Her presence is comforting for us all, not only to handle the language barrier but in helping with the cultural differences.  

On Day 2, we broke them into small groups and integrated the boys.  During any type of break in working on their projects, they would move back into their safe cluster for conversation.

As the week went on, the barriers began to disintegrate.    After all, they are teenagers and teens are naturally curious about their peers.   On Friday, we had a field trip planned to take everyone to a Furniture Co-op.  This would allow the boys to see furniture made by locals and inspect the quality of the pieces. They enjoyed the trip to the co-op, inspecting the furniture, getting ideas for future projects and seeing what furniture sells for in the marketplace. 

Our other objective was to get the boys outside of the classroom in a casual atmosphere.  We stopped on the return trip at a local park near our house.  We purchased "frescas" and chips for everyone.  Can you imagine everyone having their own bottle of soda and a bag of chips, 16 people in all and the cost was $8.10 US.   When we observed the boys talking and laughing with one another, we knew combining the classes was the right way to go.

After the field trip, it was the first pay day for some of the students who had finished their stools and sold them.  They worked as 2-man teams and shared in a portion of the profit.  Making stools will be an ongoing project which we hope will be a constant source of revenue for the school and the students.   

It was a week with lots of challenges in combining personalities, stretching the boys beyond their comfort levels, and teaching them tolerance of one another.  This is just the beginning, it can only get better with time.  They each are unique in their ways but even the "stinkers" are a joy to have around.  The week was exhausting, but we are ready for more.