Dear Friends,
While Nicaragua has been known for drugs and gangs as many countries, it has been very uplifting to see what God has been doing in the last number of years. He has been raising up a generation of young leaders with the vision, drive and talent to change their lives and the lives of their families and communities.
I have been telling the young children of Central America that they need to learn English and computers to have a future and participate in the world economy. English is the international language. Computers are the increase in knowledge that was prophesied in the book of Daniel, and English is the language of computers. We have given out many laptop computers to orphanages and young people.
Now we are seeing many young people in Nicaragua getting jobs in banks, call centers, hotels and tourism. And not only young people but many women. It is encouraging to see young women getting ahead and having a vision for their future that is more than being pregnant at an early age. Two years ago I saw the first billboard sign in Nicaragua that said, “it’s really hard to have a child when you are still in school” and some drawings depicting how hard it is to be a young single mother.
I want to introduce you to two new young women who are changing the profile in their country and communities. Escarlett is 22 years old. She is the third and youngest of 3 girls. She is now finishing a degree in Mechanical Engineering and wants to design new products to make life easier like ovens, stoves, appliances etc. Her two older sisters had several children at her age. But she is believing that God has a different plan for her. In this picture, taken in her home in a small village, Arturo and I are giving her a laptop that is allowing her to finish college.
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There is also a young woman of 19 years of age named Emely who Arturo has gotten to know. She is smart and motivated! She wants to be an Attorney in Nicaragua which will take 5 years of school and another year for exams and something like a practicum. It will cost $100 to enroll and about $60 per month for this education. Her family does not have enough money. We have committed to support her for $50 per month as long as her grades are good. She is another example of a very capable young person trusting God to give her a future. And it is particularly great to see more and more young women having choices and opportunities.
In Nicaragua, as in most of the world, the average age is dropping as the population grows. The average age in Nicaragua is now about 21 years old. It’s hard to have a stable growing population so young. The average age in developed countries has dropped from 42 or 43 and now, it is about 39.5 in the U.S.
In this crazy world that is so often filled with evil and negativity, even as believers we have to fight to stay in the place where we believe that God is good. Psalm 33 says that “the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord”. WE have to FOCUS ON WHAT THE LORD IS DOING, not what we think He is not doing. As Bill Johnson says in his new book “God is Good” subtitled “He’s Better Than You Think”, “I have a responsibility to steward the knowledge of His goodness. … I must think consistently with who He is and what He is like, or I will feed my soul on the inferior. … Anchoring our souls in everything but His goodness is the ultimate waste of time”.
May you discover more of His goodness this year and take more opportunities and risks to pursue the abundance that is God Himself, for He is faithful and true.
Cam
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www.avoiceforchildrenintl.com | avoice4children@gmail.com | 50 S Steele St, suite 1000, Denver, CO 80209 | 303.320.6929