Restoration of the Nations

Monday, October 18, 2010

Abner

Abner Gutierrez at 20 years of age is our oldest student in the morning session. He lives with his mother and two out of the six of his siblings. He is not only the oldest, but the tallest and the most quiet of the students. He discontinued school in his 11th year.

He has worked some in the past as a "helper" in construction. He really seems to enjoy the math that he has learned in our school. As you can see in the picture, he volunteered to work on some fractions for the benefit of the others. He thinks math and fractions help him to refine his skills in measuring. So far, he said, he likes everything that has to do with carpentry. He is more meticulous in his work than the other students which is not surprising to us.

He likes basketball, watching TV and being with friends. He was quick to add "healthy fun" with his friends.

I mentioned that he is very quiet and is comfortable in his own space, which he has claimed for himself in the window area of the building. Abner is a very dedicated young man, serious about his relationship with the Lord and serious in his quest to carve out a future for himself.

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Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Mission Team Visit

Recently, a small group of people from multiple churches in the High Point, NC area traveled to Nicaragua for a short term missions trip. We were privileged to have them stop in Leon and minister to the students in both sessions of the school. Pastor Eddy from La Casa del Padre Iglesia in Managua accompanied the group.

The team prayed over the morning session and immediately started getting Words of encouragement from the Lord for each of the boys. One of the students is an adult who pastors a small church in an adjacent town; Pastor Oscar was deeply touched by the group's visit.

On the following day, we took time to talk to the class about what they had experienced. The boys said they were grateful for the prayers and the Words spoken over their lives. Pastor Oscar shared that it was a miracle for him. The mission's group had no idea that he had been wondering how he was going to feed his family that day because he had absolutely no money. Before the group departed, they blessed him with money.

One of the boys was absent from school when the team visited. We did a quick teaching to the class about how to hear from God; then we asked each of the students to share a Word with Nelson. Every one of the boys and Pastor Oscar received a Word from God to encourage Nelson. As each one spoke to Nelson the message they had received from God, it became evident that there was a connecting theme throughout. Nelson received a tremendous blessing from his peers. We typed up what had been spoken, dated it and gave it to him for future reference.

It is hard to describe the changes that have taken place in Nelson from that experience of knowing that God notices him and used his fellow classmates to pray and encourage him. He has come alive and exhibits a new found confidence.

The team stopped by the school to meet the afternoon session. God showed up in a powerful way. Tears flowed, hearts were touched, walls crumbled, lives were forever changed. Each boy was touched in an individual unique way, a healing that was designed especially for him from Father God.

A father's blessing was spoken over the boys in each session by Mike Adams from Center City Church and his wife, Sharon followed with a mother's blessing. Most of these boys do not live with either parent and the boys in the rehab facility haven't known the presence of a parent in a long time.

We invited the boys of the afternoon session back to our house at the end of the next day's class for refreshments and some dialogue. We could see the changes in their faces, in their walk, in their peace and we wanted to hear what they had been experiencing during the last 24 hours.

One boy, Michael, was still emotional and he said he didn't care if his friends saw his tears. He said there was a time when no one would see him cry, but now it didn't matter; God changed that for him.

Israel is the young man from Honduras who is very quiet and keeps to himself. The changes within him seem to be the most noticeable amongst all the boys. His face is so much softer and when we ask him what God is doing in him, he says "something new, every day".

One of the changes we have implemented in the classes is the addition of HUGS. We announced that it would take effect immediately. At first some of them were a little stiff, but most of the guys now welcome the hugs. A couple of them enter our presence with their arms wide open in anticipation of getting their hug.

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Friday, October 8, 2010

Ander

Ander Laguna is a student in our afternoon session. At 17 years of age, he finds himself living in the Remar rehab facility. For five years he had been abusing alcohol, marijuana and crack. His mother sent him to the facility here in Leon for help. His parents have not lived together and his father has been at the Remar facility in Managua for one year. Ander has 3 younger sisters.

Ander is not as talkative as the other students. He associates with the other boys and works hard at the projects, but usually has very little to say. He is polite, well-groomed and has a desire for change in his life. His wants to go back to school and one day work full time in order to help his mother.

To look at him, it is hard to imagine someone of his age being anyone other than a "normal" teen, hanging with his friends and doing what teens do to have fun. Life must have been unbearable for him to make the choice to begin using mind altering substances at such a young age.

He now has hope for a future and we know that God has His eye on him. Last week, a group from New Day Church in North Carolina came to Nicaragua for a short term mission trip. They spent time in our school praying over the students. Ander was one of the many boys who received a life-changing touch from Father God. Tears drip from his chin, a sign that life will forever be different.

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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Afternoon Fall Session

We have been in conversations for a couple of months with Remar International. They are a rehab ministry founded in Spain with facilities here in Leon. The director liked the concept of our vocational education to young men. After several talks back and forth with the headquarters, they have agreed to allow some of their residents to attend our classes.

We began an afternoon session with 7 young men. They come from very abusive backgrounds and had been on a path of self-destruction before entering the rehab facility. These guys are hungry to learn.

The youngest of the group, Pablo, is 12 years old which is way outside of our criteria. He was brought to us with the group under false pretenses. We agreed that we would observe him for a couple of days and make a determination by week's end as to whether he would continue on in class. Pablo is a very determined young man and we feel that he deserves to go as far as he can with the class. He works extremely hard and is well looked after by the other guys. If he is already in rehab at the tender age of 12, without hope being instilled in his life, who can say what his future would be.

Unfortunately, we lost 1 of the boys. After only one day, Abel had been made fun of by other guys in the rehab facility and ran away that evening. He did not know how to read or write and had very tender feelings about this. He was much larger in size than the guys and used his size to intimidate others. He told us in the interview process that he loved to BOX. We are concerned for Abel, but need to trust God for his keep.

Remar came to us again and asked if we would take 2 new boys into the school. At the beginning of the 2nd week, they came to class, reluctantly! One of the boys, Lenin, lasted only 4 days in class before running away from the rehab facility. He did not easily conform to the rules of the facility and did not like living in the "city". The other boy, Kevin, has a lot of issues with self-discipline and is disruptive in class. We've come to determine that much of his behavior is based on getting attention. We will continue to monitor his actions so that it does not influence or interfere with the unity of the original members of this class.

The morning and afternoon sessions are as different as night and day. The afternoon class presents many challenges, but each day we look to it with anticipation for how it will unfold. The Remar group is a good representation of the heart of Restoration of the Nations. Most of the young men in our local area are "at-risk" youth, some more so than others. These young men would be lost members of society without programs such as ours to stand in the gap for them.

As the weeks go by, we will post pictures and information about each of the students from both of the sessions. Continue to monitor our blog for these stories and other updates.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Gersan

Gersan Lopez is 19 years old and attends our morning session. He is one of 10 children and lives with his grandmother. He did not finish school, leaving in his 6th year. He has gone to church most of his life but around the age of 10 started going to "the streets." He was in jail for a month, for what reason we do not know. He became a Christian this past year and promised God that he would serve him. He describes himself as quiet and calm and we agree. He is very pleasant to be around and has a good sense of humor.

In the past he has thought about being a mechanic because he is attracted to vehicles. He likes working with his hands. His desire to
attend the carpentry phase of the school is because its another avenue of education. Occasionally in class, you see him struggling in trying to understand the math and how to figure how much wood is needed for a project. When he finally understands, the smile coming from him is huge. Regardless of the vocation he chooses, he knows that carpentry can always be useful in his personal life as well as provide alternative income.

Pray for Gersan (Hersan - Spanish pronunciation) that God will continue to show him favor in order to continue attending school and that he begin to get a glimpse of God's plan for his life.

Monday, September 13, 2010

1st Project-Fall Session

Last month, I talked about the issue of commitment among the students or shall I say lack of commitment. In the first month of school, we lost 3 students. They happened to be brothers and as one brother chose to not continue with the school, the others soon followed behind him. The remaining two students were puzzled and frustrated by the departure of the boys they came to know. One of the students, after another week of classes, made a decision to leave the country and move to Costa Rica with the hopes of making money working for a relative in a small store. Like any 18 year old, having money to buy the things that are "meaningful" to someone his age was more important than educating himself for his future. Our final student, William, was beginning to have problems with his addiction again. We tried for a couple of weeks to talk with him and encourage him, but to no avail. He spent time in jail and once released would show up at our doorstep in the middle of the night, drunk, hungry and soaking wet on a nightly basis. We have learned that he is back into a rehab program and we are praying for his recovery. He was an excellent student with a lot of potential and we hope to have him back with us again. It was discouraging for us to lose all the students so quickly. We anticipated that one or two would not finish the program, but we were not prepared for all of them to depart. We can't begin to describe to you the mindset of the people here in regards to commitment and responsibility. It is very easy for them to walk away from any and everything because no one ever puts requirements, demands, or expectations on them.

This all proved a great teaching lesson and caused us to change our method of choosing students. Once we made our selection of students, we invited the pastors of their churches to attend the school orientation meeting with them. We sensed that if we could get the pastors to feel a connection to the school, they will be able to encourage their guys to continue the program to completion. Currently we have 9 young men ages 15 to 19 enrolled for the fall session along with one pastor. Yes, Pastor Oscar asked if he could be a part of the class.

The day's session begins with prayer and either a small biblical teaching or a question for the guys to ponder for discussion later. We've spent a lot of time teaching math and fractions in order for to accurately measure. It's exciting to see the light bulbs go on when one of the guys grasps the concept of fractions. They are so enthusiastic, that they begged for homework. The highlight of their morning is when they get to actually learn and handle the tools for working with the wood. We have introduced them to hand tools and the importance of mastering them. They can begin a business of their own or work for someone else without the expense of electrical tools. We wrap the morning up with discussion about the question that they were asked to ponder. They all pitch in to clean up the shop before departing for the day, we are talking about sweeping and mopping of the floor also.

In the first week of class, they have mastered fractions, reading a tape measure, cutting wood with a hand saw and planing the wood to make it smooth. They will begin to assemble cut pieces in order to make stools to sit on during class. The school needs additional saw horses and work bench which will be projects for them to work on. This should give them a good grasp of fundamental techniques in order to begin work on some case-goods projects. There are no closets or dressers in our home, we live out of trunks. The guys can make a couple of dressers and armoir for us in order to sharpen their skills before turning them loose on other furnishings and cabinets to be made for retail. They are really excited at the prospect of making furniture pieces.

The youngest of the guys, Nelson, is 15 and comes the farthest distance. He missed the second day of school because of the dread of having to walk due to he has no means of transportation or money for the bus. However, he did walk many miles the next day because of his desire to be in school. He is small and frail, it had to be difficult for him.One of the older students took it upon himself to spend extra time alone with Nelson in order to bring him up-to-date on the math work that he missedThey are all truly working together as a team. We talked to the students who have been "blessed" with the use of bicycles and asked them to be understanding of our desire to bless Nelson with the money in order to take the bus everyday to get to school. He was not being singled out for favortism but to be blessed so that he could have the same opportunity to learn. The others seemed to agree that it was good to do so.

Our hearts are full and overflowing with love for these young men. There is so much potential in them and they are seizing the dream of a future loaded with lots of prospect.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Fall Session Begins

Our hearts are full and overflowing with love for these young men. There is so much potential in them and they are seizing the dream of a future loaded with lots of prospect.