In February 2005, the people of Amak on the Rio Bocay approached us about help for their community. When we asked why they came to us they said, “The Ministry of Education said you were the only ones who might consider coming to the area.” In June 2005, with that invitation and the help of the mayors of Wiwili and San Jose Bocay, we made our first trip down the river to see if it was an area we could serve.  The area consists of 51 communities with populations ranging from less than 100 to around 2,000, totaling around 48,000 people, over fifty percent of whom are under the age of 17.
 
This is considered home to the Miskito, an indigenous people that make up the majority of the population across northern Nicaragua to the coast.  Here, you leave poverty and enter the primitive lifestyle.
 
Recently, the Nicaraguan Quick read more or view full article government has recognized the area as an autonomous region, making it another department or state. Nicaragua now has three autonomous regions, the RAAN and RASS, which is all the east coast of Nicaragua, and now this area of the northern Jinotega area, autonomous regions are similar to the Indian Reservation in the United States in that they are self governed with the central government providing basic security, medical and education.
 
In 2006 the mission expanded its work to the Rio Coco.  Martin Osrazo, the leader for the group in Raiti, which is the most northern community on the Rio Coco in the Jinotega Region, said to me on the first trip, “Benny, many have come and looked at the needs in our area, but none have returned. Will you be like them?” I replied, “I don’t know, but I know this: if you see me coming down the river, know that God has sent us.”  
 
Due to a number of factors in 2008 we made our main focus working on the Rio Coco. God has blessed us to return many times, but the challenges witnessed on our first trip remain great for many reasons:
 
Accessibility: The only way into the area is by boat, and it is a seven-hour ride to the first community of the indigenous region.
 
Lack of Resources: Everything that is necessary to serve on the river must be taken with us by boat. There are no resources there to use, so if we run out or leave something there is no way to access it.
 
Malnutrition: There is no starvation in the area, but the very limited food supply is detrimental to the health of all.
 
Water Contamination: Clean water is extremely limited on the river, so waterborne diseases and parasites plague both young and old.
 
Unemployment: Less than 3% of the people have an income. This is because, other than a few health and education jobs with the government and fewer NGO positions, the only work available is fighting to be day labor (less than $3 a day) for the cattle ranchers across the river, in Honduras.
 
Healthcare: The medicine and medical professionals in the area are few with limited medicine and supplies. The number-one cause of death in the area is maternal complication.
 
Limited Education: The opportunity for education is available but limited on the river due to inadequate facilities and supplies. There are very few desks so many sit on the floor for class. Books are sparse in these communities, and those they have are in Spanish, not Miskito, the native language. There are no pencils, paper, notebooks or any other, general school supplies.
Upon our return from the river in 2005, we began to plan and develop what we call Esperanza del Rio(EDR) (Hope for the River). 
 
In Five Years of SERVING the area:
 
We have been blessed with the ability to respond to ongoing physical and spiritual needs of the area as well as those caused by natural disasters (five tropical storms, two hurricanes, rat invasion and torrential rains). During the years following our initial trip, thanks to the partnership of many, we have taken seven medical teams, trained Community Health Promoters, delivered over 50,000 pounds of food and clothing, purchased building supplies, provided school supplies and salaries for teachers and administered parasite medicine to over 10,000 children each year. The Nicaraguan military has helped deliver food and medicine for us to areas of the river that we were unable to go.
 
In 2010 though, we had to ask ourselves, “Do we continue?”  Esperanza del Rio is difficult and expensive.
 
We knew that to continue we had to get in or get out. We could no longer just do what we did with the limited resources we had. We knew that we had to develop additional funds to be able to have a more stable position on the river. Thanks to the Harvest Sunday contribution of the Saturn Road congregation in Garland, TX, we were able commit $8,000 to EDR in 2011. Those funds provided the resources to take four additional trips on the river, and the time to prayerfully consider if we could and would continue.
 
This year, we found that the base and relationships we started in previous visits were stronger than expected, and the congregations planted were continuing to grow. Our reassessment also showed that the need was still great. We decided to continue to develop EDR, focusing first on the six communities in which we have congregations.
 
In August, thanks to the Metro congregation in Orlando and Harding University, we took a group to those six communities to bring supplies and resources, and to develop a long term plan to maintain the mission’s objective of “Sharing Jesus as We Serve People,” on the river specifically.
 
On this trip we were able to: 

1. Deliver more than 4,000 pounds of soup mix (Kids Against Hunger) with an additional 30,000 committed
2. Deliver supplies to six schools
3. Provide water-purification units to congregations in six communities, with training.
4. Administer parasite medicine to 1,000 children
5. The official start of our Bible Institute, The Institute for Preparation of Workers in San Andres. The institute is part of program started six year ago in Jinotega to mature workers in the region for service to the church.  
6. Show the “Jesus”  movie each night   in the native, Miskito language
7. Provide building supplies for two congregations.
8. Purchase land and location for the congregation in San Andres
9. Purchase a coconut tree in Esperansa

 
Upon our return, we contemplated our next steps. 
 
Some of those plans for the future are: 

1. Meet with the area Director of Education for approval to work directly in six schools to remodel the current locations, fund construction of tables and benches and purchase school books and supplies for the students.
2. Provide water-purification units for each community in the area, which would be 75 additional units.
3. Expand our Community Health Promoters training on the river to train midwives and provide them with greater resources.
4. Build a Casa Materna in San Andres.
5. Build a location for the mission, housing for groups and the church in San Andres on the land that was purchased. This would one building with many purposes.
6. Help the other congregations finish their buildings.
7. Supplemental food distribution, primarily the soup mix (Kids Against Hunger).
8. Develop additional Bible material in both Miskito and Sumo, the native languages.
9. Continue development of the Institute for Preparation of Workers.
10. Rubber boots for 10,000 children. 
11. Development of Hope for Life, to provide training and resources for sustainable living with goats, chicken and gardens. Hope for Life in new project being developed by three couples moving to Nicaragua in the Fall of 2011.  Working for find additional ways for people to help themselves.
12. Work with the military and MINSA (Ministry of Health) to help with basic medicine.
13. Secure equipment for an FM radio station. The church and community would split the airtime.
14. Continue to expand our relationship with the Army for their help with transportation of supplies and people.
15. Purchase two boats and motors for transport.
16. Purchase land and construct of a small location in Las Peirdas for emergency shelter on return trips on the river.
17. Secure four full-time workers for EDR that would include a medical professional, agriculture expert, a teacher and an evangelist.

     
None of this would be possible without God’s blessings and the partnership of people like you… by you doing something, we doing something and God putting it together we can do something we could have not done apart from each other…
I Cor. 12-13/Philippians 1:3-5

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