School Ministry:

Education was one area that Matthew and Jennifer felt the needs in Nicaragua. As soon as they landed in Nicaragua, God led them to another missionary who had founded a Christian school in a very poor neighborhood. Well, to make the long story short, the missionary needed to take his one year sabbatical and was in need of someone to take over his school or else was going to close the 10 year old school due to his personal situation. Matthew prayed, took over as the director of the school and has since enlarged the school. The elementary school, which consisted of 140 students then now has grown into 260 students. Matthew also initiated the secondary school by opening grades 7th to 9th grades in 2007 and grade10 was added in 2009. However, God has called Matthew to a new secondary school project. Matthew is sad to leave the school he has overseen the past 5 years, but is excited about the new project that will begin this year in 2010. The new school will be located near the airport and the construction will begin this year, God willing.

Jennifer continues to serve at the American Nicaraguan School, an international school that has the most of Nicaragua's elite families' children attending. Every day, Jennifer prays that, through her teaching, God's love is shared. She also continues her work with the Young Life ministry in Managua with its leaders.

Sharing Ministry:

Mercado Oriental Ministries: Currently, there is a feeding center, a medical clinic and a soon to be a children's ministry/ women's shelter building. The prayer for the Mercado Oriental Ministries is to make greater impact for the area and beyond. We are excited to see how God will bring changes in the area. 

Feeding Center:

One of the reasons that Matthew felt the call to Nicaragua was seeing the poor kids on streets who begged for foods. He wanted to give them the basic needs like food and sanitation. Matthew and his family began making over 100 sandwiches and took them to streets of Mercado Oriental, which is the biggest open market in Central America and where many of the street people live: Many of the homeless live off the foods coming from the vendors at the market. After a couple of months, Matthew's heart was filled with a desire to feed them at least one hot meal a day. So, in late 2005, he rented a small kitchen on the street where many homeless gathered and lived and began to distribute hot meals. First, the meal was given once a week, then twice a week, then three times a week, then God answered the prayer by serving hot meals on Mondays through Fridays. Currently, the ministry feeds over 200 people daily. Then, Matthew wanted these homeless to have a place that they could call it their "home". He looked for a lot to build a center for them. And that's how their current feeding center, The Center for Hope, was born in October 2006. Matthew built a shower and a bathroom for these homeless to use to wash themselves as well as their clothes. The center also holds a covered area where worships and AA meetings take place. Most of these homeless are addicted to glue: sniffing glue all day long, they do not have any connection to reality sometimes. For the past two years, several local Nicaraguan churches have volunteered to make lunches on Sundays after the worship at the feeding center. This collaboration has truly been a work of Christian brothers and sisters who have the same goal of serving our Lord. It truly is a beautiful relationship. 

Medical Clinic:

The clinic has been relocated. When the idea of a medical clinic was lingering in Matthew's head back in 2007, God opened the door by having the next door left of the feeding center become available for sale. The lot was bought and was then  renovated into a clinic with a pharmacy, a dentist office, a medical examination room, bathrooms and a waiting area. However, due to its location, it did not serve many patients. Matthew believed that a new location was needed for our medical clinic to serve many patients. After praying for a while, God opened up another clinic 3 blocks from the original clinic, located at the center of the Mercado Oriental streets. With Matthew's take over, the clinic will have a pediatrician, an OBGYN, an Internal Medicine doctor and a dentist. It is our prayer that this is only a small step for the greater vision. There are so much needs for the medical service in the area and around. The clinic is seeking for the approval from the Ministry of Health (MINSA). This will bring a perfect opportunity for sharing hope and love of God.

Children’s Ministry

Since many of the people do not send their kids to school, the children just play outside during school hours. This pained Matthew. So, he began the children’s ministry for these kids at the feeding center. Two teachers were hired, and daily there are two classes for 25 kids. But, having these kids in the same room where the food is made daily distracts the kids' learning. However, it is better place for the kids to be with caring and loving teachers. Matthew hopes that, through love and care, the children will not end up like others on the streets. Hopefully, with consent of their parents and our financial support, we can enroll the children to schools and give them a opportunity for learning.

Pastors' Support Ministry:

This ministry has taken its shape in 2008. Ten (10) Nicaraguan pastors gathered and formed a support group to encourage one another. Matthew will provide free medical consultation and medicine to all pastors' family as a part of this ministry. He has meetings with these pastors twice a month: discussions include any events taking place in each of their churches, share prayer requests, and study bible together. Having grown up as a pastor's child, Matthew realizes the needs of pastors' kids: He will financially support education needs for these pastors' children through a scholarship fund set apart for them. The pastors and their churches are partners and participate in the ministries of the Hope Nicaragua. They will provide services to the Homeless and the school (CCP). Mission teams will work with the pastors and their churches to spread the love of God.