POST by NESTOR (Nicavangelists' Youth & Worship Leader): Runaway Roberto

Nestor in San Antonio, Texas

Roberto, when he was just 8 years old, was a child like everyone; cheerful, naughty and clever. He met many friends at the school he attended, which was the poorest school in Nicaragua. His parents didn't have enough money to send him to a private school.

Roberto didn't know Jesus. “God” was just a part of his messy mind like the hero in a magazine. At home he was never loved, even though his grades were very good.

One day Roberto decided to leave home and never return. He was 19 years old when he started to explore the world by himself without any money in his pocket. Life sucked! Everything was going wrong for him. On that journey he wasn't lucky enough to find shelter, nor a steady job.

Being a homeless young man, he fell into the world of drugs, turning his life into a complete disaster. As time passed by, Roberto started to survive by robbing people in the street and bullying the kids around him.

One day Roberto bumped into an old friend of his who used to study with him at school. They talked for a while and the friend advised Roberto to change his life and live for Jesus only. Roberto smiled at him and said “Jesus doesn't exist, he’s just a man from history, from the bible, he’s not real.” Roberto then went on to blame God for everything he had been through in his life.

His friend asked Roberto to pray, and promised to leave him alone after praying, and so that’s what happened. The prayer touched Roberto’s heart and after a few minutes he began to cry. He realised that God had been with him all the time even during the worst times of his life when he was without a reason to live. He realised that God had protected him from evil that had surrounded him. 

One month later Roberto was sharing his testimony at his friend’s church. He praised God for everything and promised, in front of the assembled people, to honour him for the rest if his life.

Now Roberto is one of the ushers at my church. He works very hard and has a new reason to live. Can you image how powerful the love of God is, that with just with one simple prayer God was able to change Roberto’s life? God loves us all, no matter who we are or what we have been through. He has a plan for you and sooner or later you will realise what God’s plan is for your life here on Earth.

Nestor at home in his Native Nicaragua

POST by JED: Home Sweet Home

The Nicavangelists performing in Chicago

I had stayed up ALL NIGHT LONG. Seven of our troupe had already left, in two groups, utilising car, taxi cab, train, bus and plane to get back to Managua. I was left with the ones I trusted supremely, and the others I had no faith in whatsoever.

Lorenzy gently asked, “Dad, it’s 2am now. May I please sleep for a while?” I stared hard at the floor, wondering how they managed to get the wooden panels to shine the way they did. “Sleep? SLEEP?!!! Heck no, we’ve got to get ALL of our belongings into one place, pack everything to fit into the few suitcases we have left, and clean this house from TOP TO BOTTOM!!! No you may not sleep. Not now, NOT EVER!!!” Lorenzy’s exhausted 13 year old frame meandered away.

Elizabeth is our “packer.” Without question, she is amazing. This woman can get an elephant into a handbag, and a house into a suitcase. She rolls, pouts, pushes and screams! It’s almost the same as her giving birth. And with both scenarios I do the same thing, drink coffee and say “yes dear…”

American punctuality I cannot fathom. At 3:59am, I do not lie, in waltzed valiant Pastor Dominick of the Center Moriches (Long Island) Assembly of God, toting gloves, hat, and a grin from ear-to-ear. His early morning cheer offended me. I skulled a cup of hot coffee a little too fast and ran around inflicting torture on everyone else as I transformed our dormant house into the semblance of a brightly lit Christmas Tree. If I must suffer, than SO MUST YOU!

We dawdled to the van and plonked our bums on the clean, fabric seats. Thankfully, we’d packed the van the night before, and didn’t need to coordinate anything. I checked that we had our passports and paperwork for the 50^th time and then proceeded to make RIDICULOUS attempts at 4:05am small talk.

Pastor Dominick understood my pain. He kept the conversation light.

The Long Island Airport (Macarthur) was barely alive. I was thanking my lucky stars I hadn’t had us fly out of LaGuardia or JFK. My good friend Deidra, from the Evangel Church in Long Island City had helped me out with purchasing our homeward bound flights. The woman was a brainiac with all things aviation and internet, helping me to save hundreds of dollars and my sanity.

We wheeled our 3 trollies of bags into the terminal, and I don’t mean the conventional passenger trollies, I mean the heavy duty, 3 metre long types. There were no other passengers waiting at the US Airways check-in area (America’s equivalent to Air India – soon to be merged with American Airlines, and hence to become America’s very own equivalent of Air China). We began to shift and shuffle suitcases, backpacks, pillows and blankets. I checked in for our flights via the kiosk (American efficiency, I LOVE IT!!!).

The first bleary eyed worker came out of the back office and I knew my work was in front of me. Airport workers will bend rules, but you have to get them onside first. Men are generally more willing to turn blind eyes, but there were none available.

I struck up a conversation, smiling broadly (not authentic, and I could feel the cracks in my performance from the outset) and bunging on my most Aussie accent. “G’day love!” I said as if I knew her. It worked… Phew! From that moment on it was “Australia” this and “Australia” that from her. I stopped smiling after but a few moments, and almost interrupted her to say “look, could you just hurry up!” However, I restrained myself. We hugged and kissed like long lost cousins, and I retreated to the wiry metal seating close to the revolving entrance door.

“Right” I said. “The time is now!... Jonny, I am entrusting you with my very own often forgotten son. Please, please, PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE take care of him, just as if he was YOUR very own offspring… and if you lose him, I will hunt you down and GUT YOU LIKE A PIG!!!” (One of my favourite lines from “The Grinch!” I use it whenever I am nervously serious, and need a little light relief) More hugs and more kisses. The boys toodled off towards the security zone and the departures area.

I slowly bent my knees, not wanting to frighten them with a fast sitting motion, and reveled in the sensation of my botty being cut into a hundred pieces. Lorenzy asked a further 1,000 unnecessary questions and I answered them all, at times referring her back to answers I’d previously given.  We stared at each other without expression, just comfortable not to be busy or in a hurry.

Just as the very last muscle in my tired body began to relax, my long lost cousin from check-in appeared before me. I looked up. “WHAT?” I wanted to ask. I again, restrained myself. “Are you guys okay?” Now honestly, this is not a question to be asking a missionary travelling solo with 12 kids in his charge. I wanted to break down and cry, pouring my heart out to this kind and generous soul, but her facial expression didn’t emanate social worker type of love at this point, instead it exuded “there is a massive problem” kind of love.

“Your flight is scheduled to depart in 25 minutes! You have to get all the way up to the other end of the airport for your security check, and then all the way back down this end to board your flight!” I’d wanted coffee!

Up I jumped, everyone else (bar Lorenzy) unaware of the potential catastrophe we were about to face. I barked orders, having everyone put their 2 backpacks and pillow stuffed with blanket and many other items, onto one of the airport’s industrial sized trollies. (Side note: You can get away with murder when travelling with children – even as an elderly person, I’m going to hire my grandkids so that I can take extra stuff on planes: “Oh, that’s his teddy bear! He likes it… Bah, that’s his i-pad! It helps to relax him… Grrrr, that’s his pair of dumbbells! He needs them…), I fanged it down the departures hall, near-missing many a Long-Island-Business-Type-Person (I kept checking behind for the kids who initially strolled, then jogged, then pelted it too…).

By the time we arrived through screening, we were near naked (on account of belts, buckles, coins, shoes, socks, pens and paperclips being extracted from our persons) and exasperated. We flew past Sezni and Jonny, who had blank expressions on their faces.

We were the last to board the flight, and they had been just about to close it prior to our arrival. I pulled out a sock, a ladies feminine hygiene product, a toothbrush and an array of papers before retrieving our boarding passes. We skipped out onto the tarmac, once again happy to be alive, hearts thumping wildly, only to be turned around to retrieve our passports back at the departure gate, which we’d stupidly left with the airport worker.

As I approached the plane the flight attendant called out “THAT BAG WON’T FIT IN THE PLANE!” I turned my head sideways, pretending not to hear. I looked into the distance and saw an amazing picture – the sun was rising…

The annoying woman continued to call, filling my ears with more “no’s.” She should have realised that I was the wrong person to tackle on a Tuesday morning out of Long Island Airport. “G’DAY!!!” I yelled as I came to within a metre of her, sending her swiftly backwards towards the coffee pot, bee-hive becoming entangled in the handle. “PLEASURE TO SEE YOU!” I exclaimed, as I marched straight past her.

I didn’t get far, she hurried behind me. “Sir, sir, that bag won’t fit on the plane!” I turned around sharply. “Yes it will, it’s only blankets”, my hand harshly squishing the oversized object downwards, though the bag rebelliously not moving an inch making me out to look like a liar and a fool! Many of my fellow passengers’ eyes began to roll…

I arrived at my seat and pulled out a backpack from within my “backpack.” I handed it to her. She raised question mark arms with matching face and asked “where?” I opened the overhead bin in front of me, which was completely empty, stuffed the back pack and other bag in it, and then sat down, ripping the magazine out from the seat pocket in front of me, and pretending to read an article on some new emerging pharmaceutical drug. “Hmpf” and she was gone…

Our flights were dreamy. We made it to Fort Lauderdale, via DC, in record time. We took a taxi to Miami International Airport and made it to Taca. What a disaster! This airline is beautiful, inflight, but a bit chaotic on the ground.

I looked for the end of the line, however confusion reigned. I went to the check-out area and looked back across the empty queues. The congestion started at the back of the line, where bags were being weighed for extra charges, before people were permitted to queue(?).

I approached one of the “bag weighers” and asked him if it might be possible to move the scales halfway towards the check-in counter, so that people could queue within the ropes, rather than obstruct all the increasingly cranky Lufthansa passengers, who were also trying to use the terminal building to access their flights.

The lad looked at me as if I was from Mars. I asked for the manager, who suddenly appeared beside me. I again explained my brilliant idea, and she said “thank you for your ideas, but we have to abide by specific regulations (in queue procedure???).” I asked to speak to the airport manager. She explained that she was the airport manager.  Our exchange became increasingly heated, as I begged her to have an idea that might assist her in assisting others.

I marched away highly annoyed, and returned to my group, HOPING for some support. Not to be… As I approached them, Sezni, my gallant son,  started pointing his thumb in hitchhiker fashion, calling out loudly, embarrassingly and with authority “AH AH AAAAAH! BACK OF THE LINE FOR YOU!!!” Thanks for the support, Sezanator!

We arrived back in Nicaragua to huge fanfare. Thank you Elizabeth for the fuss! I was thrilled to be home and delighted to have our family reunited. We crammed, all 50 of us (she’d brought half of our barrio with her), into our currently running ute.

As we drove along Managua’s busy, people saturated streets, two things struck me about Nicaragua.

Firstly, people love, love, love people. They’re out and about, partly because of necessity and partly because they need to be with others. They’re human. One problem in the west is that we work our guts out to get the biggest house possible, and then retreat to them, henceforth creating a copious supply of loneliness in our societies.

Secondly, people are desperate. In the US, for the most part, I had NOT experienced hunger. Any time I felt a need, I filled it. Driving home I began to feel hunger, in Nicaragua hunger is my companion.

As we drove home Lizzie relayed the sad events of the preceding evening. Alex, a 17 year old boy and a regular at our center, had become entangled in a brawl on the street. A friend of his, unable to really help, ran to Alex’s mother and communicated exactly what was transpiring. Alex’s mother came to the aid of her son. She shot the offender and he is now permanently paralyzed. Both Alex and his mother have been sent to prison.

Last night, I went with Aben and Harrison to buy snacks. As we entered the petrol station it became apparent that the attendants were mopping up blood. “What’s going on?” asked Aben. “We’ve just had a machete attack.”

I had been so critical of much I’d seen and heard in the US. I had begun to idolize my beautiful Nicaragua. However, I am at the place of completely accepting that “None is righteous, no, not one…”  (Romans 3)

So where to from here? Nothing has changed and so because we know God, understand the call on our lives, we continue… we carry on… “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”  But wait, here’s the promise:  

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age!!!

(Matthew 28)

We currently have an urgent need. Our Brien children need an education. We've managed to this point, but cannot continue teaching upper high school classes to them (I'M A 4th/5th GRADE TEACHER!!!). We are enrolling them in an American online school, so that they will receive a Higher School Certificate. The cost is $4,000 per year, and we do not have this in our budget. If you feel to assist us with this need, please contact us (CapitalontheEdge@gmail.com). You helping us, will help us help others... Thank you! Jeddoxo

POST by MYRON: Look How Far I've Come

Myron at Niagara Falls, with Canada in the background

Five years ago, everything at home was very different. My dad would drink a lot of alcohol, a lot! He used to drink almost every day. My father would only cause destruction in the life of my mother and my siblings.

We were forced to go and sleep at my grandmother’s house. My grandmother was very loving and kind to me, because I was the youngest out of my siblings.

The years passed by and I was growing. My dad was starting to stop drinking, and me and my brothers and my aunt would always go to church. We learnt a lot about the Bible. I was eleven years old and I grew close to God in my heart.

My older brother started to drink a lot of alcohol, and he became a gangster. My mother was working and so was my dad, and I was going to school like other kids in my community. On my birthday we went out to eat and to go and see some cool places. My mum was very proud of me, and my dad was too.

Months went by and I met the Brien family and their group. I now am a part of the Nicavangelists dance crew, and that’s why I’m here in America. I am proud to tell you my stories. This is all I have today, thanks for reading.

This story was written by a Nicaraguan youth, and was voluntarily given to Capital on the Edge for publishing. The subject choice was his entirely. He has elected to write about his experiences for the glory of God and so that others may learn from his experiences. The translation of this work is performed voluntarily and not professionally, hence there may be some errors. Any decisive deviation from the text is in consultation with the author, and is done so to make clear the life events written about and to provide further information so that the story is more understandable.

If you would like to support this fellow on a monthly basis, please CLICK HERE

To learn more about our street theatre production, "CREATED", please visit our page,NICAVANGELISTS: "CREATED", North American Tour (2013)

If you would like to see a video of some of our Nica-Youths practicing, please CLICK HERE

We are not up to budget, and travelling with 14 people is very expensive. We need an investment from Christian people for our next evangelism tour to the Midwest. To support us or make a once off donation, please visit our page, Contemplating SUPPORTINGsomething significant?

To learn more about our home Church in Australia, please CLICK HERE

Myron dressed up as a demon for CREATED at Wellspring Family Life Church in Syracuse, New York

Bueno hase como 5 anos atras todo en mi casa era muy diferente mi papa bebia alcol mucho mucho bueno eso era casi todo los dias bueno no le pegaba solo discutian mi mama con mi y mis hermanos nos ibamos a dormir donde mi abuela mi abuela era muy carinosa com mi porque yo era el mas menor de mis hermanos bueno pasaban los anos y yo cresia mas y my papa iba mas dejando el alcolismo y yo y mis hermanos y my tia ibamos ala iglesia siempre ibamos aprender mas de la biblia yo tenia 11 anos yo asecte a dios en mi corazon y my hermano mayor bebia alcol mucho bueno ya era de una pandia mi mama estaba en el trabajo y my papa tanbien y yo estaba en la escuela como todo nino estudia bueno era mi cunpleanos salimos a comer y a barios lugares bueno y mi mama estaba muy horguyosa de mi y mi papa tanbien bueno pasaron meses y pude conoser ala familia brien y un grupo que haora por eso estoy aquí horguyoso de estarle contandole esta historia a hustedes bueno es todo lo que les cuento a ustedes grasias por hoirme.

POST by JOSE: The Ladies in My Life

Jose cooking dinner in the Ohio Valley (West Virginia)

Hello my name is Jose Ballardo and I would like to tell you a little bit about how Jesus came into my life and how I accepted him as my Saviour.

My life in the past: I hadn’t yet accepted Jesus in my life. When I was 10 years old I was very spoiled by my mum. She worked hard and spent most of her time with my brother. I had a babysitter that took care of me. My mum gave us everything we wanted and we were very happy because we had everything we asked for.

Bad friendships: Over time, things became worse for our family. My mum got fired from her job and we didn’t have enough money. I would watch my mother cry because sometimes we didn’t even have food at home to eat. When I was 12 years old, I made some friends who were going through the same economic circumstances as me.

Bad decisions: My new friends were poor and knew my life. I felt comfortable being around them. Yet I saw that they would go out well dressed and with elegant style. They would say to me, “Do you want to look like us?”

I looked at myself and thought about all the poverty we were lived in. I said “okay, I would like to dress like you.” They said, “Good, let’s go steal some stuff… We are going to teach you how to do it!” So I followed them.

We walked to a specific location and then my friends said, “See the lady who is walking along the road? We will follow her and you're going to grab her around the neck and you’re going to throw her down to the ground and then steal all the money she has.”

I started to think about it, because the lady was very old and it seemed like a really bad idea. However, desperate times call for desperate measures and so I agreed to the plan. “Alrighty, I'll do it. I have nothing to lose…” So I approached the old lady and robbed her of the money she was carrying. I then ran fast and far. When we regrouped, we split up the money somewhat evenly and I felt full of adrenaline.

After the “old lady” incident, I started getting into fights with other people. I viewed it all as a game. However, my mum did not realise what had happened or any of the bad stuff that I was now doing. I would skip school to go and get into trouble with my so-called “friends.”

FLAWS THAT ENTERED MY LIFE: I would escape with my friends and they began to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes, but I would only watch them. Then one day they said, “Jose, try this… You’re going to like it a lot and it will make you feel better, and you will forget about your troubles…” I asked them, “What is it?” They intelligently explained “It’s Marijuana.”

I started smoking the Marijuana and then began to feel really weird. After that I didn’t try it again, but I did try alcohol and cigarettes. Thank the LORD my body would reject these different drugs. I would ask my friends, “Why would you consume these drugs if you act like idiots after using them?” Their only response was to laugh at me.

The Sadness and suffering of my mother: as the time passed I would spend my time doing bad things. All I would think about were bad things and I listened to a lot of Satanic Rock and very violently music. I internally felt that my life was rubbish. I even came to a day where I cursed and insulted God’s name and blamed him for all my problems and thought about killing myself.

However, in these moments of rage, something would stop me. I would get really angry and I would yell and offend my mum and she began to cry because I treated her badly and would yell at her.

She had begun to notice me hanging around with bad people and doing bad things. I would never have acted like that in the past. My mother became very sick because of the problems I was causing her. She asked me, “Son, please change? Please go to church and seek God in your life?” It was funny to me and so I would laugh at her, “Who is God? For me God is like a whatever…”

Jesus touched my life: I was still into really bad things but one day a lady came and said to me, “Son, can I talk to you a little bit about Jesus?” I was 17 years old and I said “Okay, sure – why not…” This lady started talking to me about the Lord, and about the love he has for us.

She explained to me that Jesus sacrificially gave his life to save us and I hadn’t really known much about Him before this. When she had finished reading the word of God, she told me, “I’m inviting you to church tomorrow and if you don’t come I'll come get you and bring you myself.”  I told her I’d go because I had nothing better to do.

The next day I went to church to see what it was all about. When I entered, “wow” - I felt something different. I felt a heat in my whole body that comforted me and made me forget all my problems.

We started to sing and praise God. After that day I started going every week to church. God began to walk in my life. All the evil things I’d done were forgiven and I didn’t have a lot of problems in my life anymore.

Growing In Jesus: God has healed and changed me. Now I am a missionary and I give my testimony for the glory and the honour for God. Every day I pray for all the wonderful people that I have met on these trips.

My mother is healthy and everything is all falling into place, even though sometimes I fall down, God is there to pick me up and he says, “Come on son, I’m here with you. My hand is holding you.” In each church that I go to, I meet wonderful, nice people and I know that God has changed them like he has changed me.

This story was written by a Nicaraguan youth, and was voluntarily given to Capital on the Edge for publishing. The subject choice was his entirely. He has elected to write about his experiences for the glory of God and so that others may learn from his experiences. The translation of this work is performed voluntarily and not professionally, hence there may be some errors. Any decisive deviation from the text is in consultation with the author, and is done so to make clear the life events written about and to provide further information so that the story is more understandable.

If you would like to support this fellow on a monthly basis, please CLICK HERE

To learn more about our street theatre production, "CREATED", please visit our page,NICAVANGELISTS: "CREATED", North American Tour (2013)

If you would like to see a video of some of our Nica-Youths practicing, please CLICK HERE

We are not up to budget, and travelling with 14 people is very expensive. We need an investment from Christian people for our next evangelism tour to the Midwest. To support us or make a once off donation, please visit our page, Contemplating SUPPORTINGsomething significant?

To learn more about our home Church in Australia, please CLICK HERE

Jose & Eliezer at Niagara Falls

Jesús en mi vida y como me a cambiado

Hola mi nombre es jose ballardo y les quiero contar un poco de como Jesús entro en mi vida y lo e aceptado como mi salvador.

Vida pasada: En mi vida pasada cuando no había aceptado a Jesús cuando yo tenía 10 años era un chico muy mimado por mi mama ella trabajaba mucho y pasaba solo la mayor parte del tiempo con mi hermano y la niñera que nos cuidaba mi mama nos daba todo lo que queríamos y éramos muy felices porque teníamos todo lo que queríamos.

Malas amistades: Con el tiempo las cosas se fueron  poniendo peor a mi mama la habían despedido del trabajo y no ajustábamos con el dinero habían mas deudas yo solo miraba llorar a mi mama porque abecés nos hacía falta la comida en el hogar. Cuando tenía 12 años conocí a unos amigos que pasaban por la misma situación que yo.

Malas decisiones: Ellos pasaban por lo mismo y me sentía cómodo con ellos, pero yo miraba que caminaban bien vestidos y muy elegantes y ellos me decían quieres ser como nosotros, yo me miraba y pensaba en la pobreza que estábamos pasando y les dije ok si me gustaría vestirme como ustedes y ellos me dijeron vamos a robar  te vamos a ensenar como hacerlo y yo les seguí y me decían te vamos a explicar vez aquella señora que va caminando la vamos a seguir y tu la vas a sujetar del cuello y la vas a tirar al suelo y le sacas todo el dinero que lleva y llo me puse a pensar por que la señora era muy anciana, pero después me dije ok lo voy a hacer no pierdo nada y vine y agarre a la señora y le quite todo su dinero y salimos corriendo y nos repartimos y yo me sentía con aquella adrenalina.

Después de lo sucedido con la señora me anduve metiendo en peleas con los demás yo lo miraba como un juego hacer todas esas maldades, pero mi mama no se daba cuenta de lo sucedido y de nada de lo que hacia, yo me escapaba del colegio por andar haciendo maldades con mis supuestos amigos.

VICIOS QUE ENTRARON EN MI VIDA: Yo me escapaba con mis amigos y ellos comenzaban a tomar y a fumar cigarrillos y llo solo los miraba y un dia me dijeron jose prueba esto te va a gustar y te ara sentir mejor y olvidaras todos tus problemas y yo les dije que era y ellos me dijeron es marihuana y yo les dije que si y la comencé a probar y después me comencé a sentir muy raro y después de eso no la volví a probar y después probé el alcohol  y los cigarrillos pero gracias a dios mi cuerpo los rechazaba, y después yo les decía a ellos que para que consumían ese tipo de cosas si se miraban como estúpidos y ellos solo se ponían a reir.

Tristeza y sufrimiento de mi mama: Haci paso el tiempo y yo solo pensaba cosas malas y escuchaba rock satánico y músicas con mucha violencia y yo sentía que para mi la vida era basura hasta llegue a maldecir e insultar a dios y lo culpaba de todos mis problemas y pensaba en quitarme la vida pero siempre algo me detenía me ponía tan enojado que ofendía a mi mama y ella se ponía a llorar por que yo la trataba muy mal ella se había

 dado cuenta que andaba en cosas malas porque yo antes no me comportaba aci ella se ponía muy enferma por los problemas, le ocasionaba  muchos problemas ella me decía hijo por favor cambia por favor ve a la iglesia y busca de dios y llo solo me reía y le decía quién es dios para mi dios ni es nada le decía.

Jesús toco mi vida: Yo seguía en las cosas malas pero un dia se acercó una señora y me dijo hijo le puedo hablar un poco sobre Jesús yo ya tenía 17 años y llo le dije si está bien y me comenzó a hablar sobre Jesús sobre el amor que nos tenía a nosotros que dio su vida para salvarnos y llo no savia nada sobre Jesús y cuando termino de leerme la palabra me dijo mañana te invito a la iglesia y si no vas yo te voy a venir a traer y yo le dije que si no tenía nada que hacer.

Y al día siguiente fui a la iglesia para ver de qué se trataba y al entrar wow sentí algo diferente sentí un calor en todo mi cuerpo que me reconfortaba y hacia que olvidara todos mis problemas y en ese instante comencé a cantar y alabar a dios y después de ese día comencé a ir más seguido a la iglesia y dios me iba cambiando mi vida y todo lo malo en mi lo perdono y no tenía muchos problemas como antes.

Creciendo con Jesús: Dios me sano y me cambio ahora soy misionero y doy mi testimonio para la gloria y honra de dios cada día oro por todas las personas maravillosas que e conocido en estos viajes gracias a dios mi mama es saludable y todo está saliendo bien aunque en veces tropiezo y caigo pero dios está ahí y me levanta y me dice animo hijo estoy con tigo mi mano te sostiene, en cada iglesia que voy conozco personas bellas y amables y dios a cambiado sus vidas como a mi gracias a dios y a ustedes por esta oportunidad de estar aquí.  DIOS LOS BENDIGA

POST by ABEN: Father of the Fatherless

Aben at Pastor Michael's house in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

I am the only boy out of six kids. My dad was with another woman and with her, he had three girls. Then he met my mum at a bakery. They entered into a relationship and as time passed, together they had a little girl, so my dad had four daughters in total.

He had accepted that his life would only be filled with daughters. My parents had been together for two years when my mum became pregnant again. She was pregnant with me and when my dad found out that I was a boy, he said “That boy is not mine!” My mum asked “Why not?” and he responded with, “It’s not mine because I only have girls.”

My dad had never wanted that little boy. He would say that the kid was a disgrace and my mum would suffer because my dad left her when I was born and so she did not really have any support.

I grew up without a father and so at times I would ask my mum about my dad. She would flippantly explain that my father left because of me being a boy, and that I should never have been born.

I was just a child without a dad and without the love of a mother because she would always be working to get food for her two kids. I never had a dad to guide me and to take away the bad memories and the painful words.

My dad came back looking for my mum and told her lies that he would never leave her and she was convinced that his words were truth. Once again, she became pregnant and it was a girl so now we were six in total and with only one boy out of the six kids.

Then he left again and when he was leaving he said, “That boy annoys me. I want to get away from him!” She was abandoned again and she had no money and no home (because my grandmother had told her to leave the house because she fell for what my dad had said).

My mum prayed to God that he would give her strength to keep moving forward. The place where we lived was horrible and cold. Our house was made out of plastic and cardboard. Then we went back to live with my grandmother.

My mum gave thanks to God because he had listened to her when she had asked Him for a better place to live. He had heard her prayers about being removed from that horrible place where we were living.

She started believing more in God and she said to me that there is a father that will never leave you. I asked “Who?” and she said “God in heaven. I am so sorry for everything that I have said to you. I now know that having a son is a blessing and you are a blessing to me. Even if your dad is not here, you will never go without food from now on. I will be your dad and your mum forever.”

Now I thank God because he does miracles and gave me a mum whose words are true. A dad is not someone who just makes a woman pregnant, but it is the man who takes care of them and I now know that I have a father who is God because he always takes care of me.

This story was written by a Nicaraguan youth, and was voluntarily given to Capital on the Edge for publishing. The subject choice was his entirely. He has elected to write about his experiences for the glory of God and so that others may learn from his experiences. The translation of this work is performed voluntarily and not professionally, hence there may be some errors. Any decisive deviation from the text is in consultation with the author, and is done so to make clear the life events written about and to provide further information so that the story is more understandable.

If you would like to support this fellow on a monthly basis, please CLICK HERE

To learn more about our street theatre production, "CREATED", please visit our page,NICAVANGELISTS: "CREATED", North American Tour (2013)

If you would like to see a video of some of our Nica-Youths practicing, please CLICK HERE

We are not up to budget, and travelling with 14 people is very expensive. We need an investment from Christian people for our next evangelism tour to the Midwest. To support us or make a once off donation, please visit our page, Contemplating SUPPORTINGsomething significant?

To learn more about our home Church in Australia, please CLICK HERE

Aben with his little nephew

Soy el hijo unico  de 5 hermanas .

Mi padre antes de que naciera el tuvo una relacion  con otra mujer el cual habia dado

a luz a tres hijas mujeres .al pasar el tiempo el se encontro a mi madre en un trabajo de donde hacian pan ,ellos enpezaron a juntarse y enpezaron una relacion al pasar el tiempo el y mi madre tuvierion una hija con ella para mi padre eran  4 hijas mujeres y el ya habia aceptado que solo mujeres enjendraba.

Continuando ellos juntos pasaron 2 anos y mi madre cargaba en su vientre otro bebe . el cual era yo cuando naci el vio que era un nino varon y el grito y dijo ‘’ ese  hijo no es mio ‘’mi madre le dijo ‘’por que ‘’ y el respondio ‘por que  yo solo  mujeres enjendro‘ el nunca quiso  a  aquel nino decia que era un una desgracia para el mi madre sufria por el dolor y el sufrimiento por que no contaba con ninguna ayuda por que mi padre la avandono cuando naci .

Al ir creciendo sin padre yo le preguntaba a mi madre por el y ella me respondia por tu culpa el nos dejo ojala nunca hubieses nacido yo solamente un nino sin un padre y sin un amor de madre por que ella trabajaba de casa en casa por comida para sus 2 hijos nunca tuve consejos de padres y busca como distraer esos malos recuerdos y esas palabras tan dolorosas para mi .mi padre regreso a buscar a mi madre llego con mentiras diciendo que nunca la hiba a volver a dejar ,ella se dejo convencer despues de ahí mi madre queda embarazada de nuevo  de otra mujer mi hermana menor para el ya eramos 6 hijos 5 mujeres y un 1 hombre .

El volvio a irse por que decia’’que le molestaba la precensia de ese nino y de que queria estar lejos de el, por que ni su hijo era ,mi madre abandonada de nuevo sin dinero y sin un hogar donde vivir por que mi abuela la habia corrido con sus 3 hijos  por haberse metido con el hombre mentiroso ella oraba a dios para que lediera fuerzas para seguir adelante , consiguiendo un lugar donde era  muy frio y horrible viviamos en una casita de plastico y carton pasando el tiempo regresa a casa de mi abuela  ella dando gracias a dios por heberla escuchado y salir de ese lugar horrible donde viviamos ella enpezo a creer mas en dios y ella me dijo  hay un padre que nunca te va abandonar  y yo le dije’’ cual madre el dios que esta en  lo cielos y perdoname hijo por mi palabras que te dije antes he comprendido al fin que un hijo es una bendicion de dios y tu lo eres para mi y aun que tu padre no este a mi lado nunca le faltara comidas en sus bocas de ahora en adelante yo sere padre y madre para ustedes siempre .

Ahora sigo adelante y doy gracias a dios por que el hace milagros y como dijo mi madre padre no es el que enjendra si no el que  cria y cuida y se que ahora tengo un padre que es dios por que el siempre cuida de mi.

POST by LIZ: The LOVE Shack!

Elizabeth with some of her boys

As I fumbled my way through my purse hunting for the $20 Radio Shack discount receipt, the cashier asked me typical questions we get when entering places with a mass of Nicaraguan lads in tow.

I explained why we were in the States and why we live in Nicaragua. 

“Wow!” he gasped, after my spill, and at that moment he ceased just being the professional Radio Shack cashier across the counter from me, and revealed his humanitarian heart.  “I really want to do something like that too – I want to make a difference – wow, I bet that must make you feel really good…” and he continued to lavish praise and admiration for the work that we do. 

His eyes were gentle and genuine, but the rest of his words were wasted on me.  I couldn’t get past his phrase ‘I bet that must make you feel really good…’ His words whirled around my head, I couldn’t shake them.

“Make me feel good!” if only he knew how it made me feel.  I wanted to tell him how it really made me feel.  The recent events flashed through my mind like a B rated horror movie from the sixties.

Situations flashing through my mind recalling all the rejecting statements, compulsive lies, and bad attitudes which had been thrown into our path, like ugly weeds growing in a rose bed.

Now to be fair, this particular day had been especially tough; I had started out the day dealing with tired teenagers wanting to get their own way - which of course clashed with my own agenda for them, and I was having a particularly tough season dealing with Yordy, who was slipping away into depression, Rene, who wanted to act like a porn star, and Beycker, who thought he was every girls’ dream come true. 

I wanted to scream out and release the pent up feelings I had harboured and allow those who had taken out their own hurts and rejections on me, to see that I was just human too. I wanted to pour out my bottled-up hurt from constantly being rejected, unloved and unappreciated. 

My captured feelings shocked me.  I didn’t realise that I held on to so much hurt.  Over the years, I had helped many people unlock their trapped hurts and had explained that hurt left untouched would morph into binding bitterness – yet here I was, standing on a polished floor with a beaming cashier believing in what we do, and seeing the mountain of bitterness I had allowed to build within.

Never-the-less, I snapped back into my reality, smiled at the kindhearted cashier man, and said, “Yep, it’s rewarding, but it sure is a rollercoaster ride at times,” 

We left the shop with shouts of well-wishing from all the staff, including the district manager, who was visiting the store and had also taken interest in our life.  The lads were high spirited, and left the shop in normal style; double twists and flips. Everyone whooping and cheering and laughing and totally unaware of the mountain I carried inside.

Later that night I checked my heart before the Lord.  “God, I didn’t realise I was so hurt and I can feel bitterness consuming me.  I want to ‘feel good about what I do’, but right now I just feel that no matter how much I pour myself out, I receive a stack load of rejection, fear and failure thrown in my face.”

“You know what your problem is, Liz?” God shot back at me. “You are doing things out of your own love for people.  Even Jesus didn’t do this!  You think Jesus died for you because he loves you – but this is not true!”

“WHAT?” I thought… “that goes against EVERYTHING I was raised with. ” 

“Well, read the scripture Liz, it doesn’t say, ‘for Jesus loved the world so much he gave his life,’ No! It says, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only son..’ you see Liz, Jesus died for you out of love and obedience for me! But YES, Jesus does love you – because of my love for you! And this is the way you need to operate too.  If you do things out of your own love for others then you will either only love those that are lovely, but Matthew says... where is the reward in that?! But if you love the unlovely out of your own love, then you will get burnt out, rejected, unloved, and unappreciated. 

Because those who are rejected will reject, those who are unloved will be unlovely, and those who don’t feel appreciated will be ungrateful.   But, if you do it only out of love and obedience for me, then you won’t even look for praise or acceptance from others.  If you do things out of love for me, then it doesn’t matter what the reaction is from the person, because you will only look to me to say ‘Well done good and faithful servant!  Then you will truly be living for an audience of one!  The best part is that your love for others will actually increase – Jesus does love you and did die for you because he sees you through my eyes.  This is how I want you to approach your ‘work’ for me. ”

So, I can’t say that I am fully there yet, but I can say that when I receive the rejecting words and actions, especially the ones so typical from teenagers, they don’t stab my heart like before, because I’m now doing things out of love and obedience for God.

If you would like to learn more about our ministry, please watch our latest update,CLICK HERE

If you would like to learn more about who our Nica-Youths are, or to support them, please visit their page, SUPPORT Nica-Talent

To learn more about our street theatre production, "CREATED", please visit our page,NICAVANGELISTS: "CREATED", North American Tour (2013)

If you would like to see a video of some of our Nica-Youths practicing, please CLICK HERE

We are not up to budget, and travelling with 14 people is very expensive. We need an investment from Christian people for our next evangelism tour to the Midwest. To support us or make a once off donation, please visit our page, Contemplating SUPPORTING something significant?

POST by SOPHIA: My Life

When I’m alone with Him, in my mind he takes me to a path in the woods that he’s leading me on.

Doing what we're doing, we come across a LOT of broken lives, and people desperate for answers. To date, I haven't been as moved by anyone's story, in the way that I've been moved by the life of Sophia. This young lass, is beautiful and talented, smart and driven, yet she has been used, abused, rejected, despised, and now works with everything she's got to get her life on track for the promise of glory.

I have met Sophia's parents, who are just human like the rest of us. They've done a magnificent job at raising their kids, with compassion and love, and yet, like other parents, they’re not supernatural beings and can only be in one place at one time. Unfortunately, their baby girl was deeply broken, and nothing that they could do would mend the heart of their daughter, which lay in tatters.

But, there is hope. Jesus Christ came for the lost. He came for the sinner. He came for the broken. He alone knows the pain and suffering of all humanity. He took it with him to the cross. And so I’d like to allow Sophia the opportunity of sharing with you her story. She’s a brave girl and I’m mightily proud of her:

Everyone goes through hard times in life, some worse than others. But it’s who you depend on and how you get through it that makes you who you are. I've been through a lot in my life, but instead of leaning on God, I just wanted people to pity me.

When I was ten, my best friend at the time told me every detail of how her dad had often sexually abused her and what he had done to her. I remember everything she told me, but because she told me when I was so young, I blocked out all memories of my childhood to protect myself. I don't have any memories of anything until about the age of 13, and even then I only have bad memories.

I am the 5th child of 8 in my family. I was homeschooled ‘til 9th grade and in 10th grade I started getting into drinking, drugs, boys and sex, and everything bad. I thought that the only way to be happy was to do all of these things.

Well, surprise, surprise, I was wrong. Guys and drugs only hurt me. I have had my heart broken in so many ways. Guys would tell me they love me and they don't want anyone else, and that I am so beautiful and special. Yet after they gotten what they’d wanted, they would tell me it was all a lie and that I am actually trash.

I tried to kill myself many times and I used to cut myself every day for many months. All I could think was I just wanted to get away from the hurt and the pain. Yet, I continued to run after guys and drugs.

Twice I thought I was pregnant and I would worry about what I’d tell my parents and what I’d do with a kid at 17. But lucky for me, I was not pregnant and God helped me through it.

Now, for the last four weeks or so I’ve been reading my Bible and talking to God. When I’m alone with Him, in my mind he takes me to a path in the woods that he’s leading me on.

I often feel really alone and sad. I cry myself to sleep because I wish I could remember my past... but then I remember that God is always there, even when no one else is.

A couple of weeks ago I met all of these wonderful, handsome, nice, crazy Nicaraguan boys who got me to think in a whole new way. They have been through hell and back and they still dance and sing for God with smiles on their faces. If they can be happy then I think I can too.

Sophia & Cecilia (Sophia's younger sister)

POST by JOSE: Trauma Mia (Mumma)

Jose, of Capital on the Edge, flying with Taca

My mum’s childhood was one of the cruelest experiences that I have ever heard of. Everything started when she was just 8 years old. My grandmother got together with a man who wanted to abuse my mum. He would tell her to leave the house and he would not give her anything to eat. My mum told my grandmother about it all, but she did not believe that she did not have a normal childhood.

My mum escapes her parents’ house:

Every time my grandfather told her to leave the house, she would sleep on the streets and would be really hungry and would suffer. She decided to escape all the suffering and abuse.

Relationship of my mum and dad:

My mum ran away from her house at the age of 10. She had a boyfriend who is my dad. He gave her a place to stay and they lived together. He was 19 years old and my mum was only 11.

Abuse to my mum:

After a while, my mum became pregnant. She was only 13 years old. She bore her first son, my first brother, who died. This death affected my mum a heap. At the age of 14, she had me.

Then my dad started to change and he would hit her and treat her bad. There were a lot of times where he would grab her hair and pull her across the room and sometimes he would try to kill her. She had my brother at the age of 17, yet her boyfriend kept on abusing her.

The abondoning:

At the age of 18, she decided to run away from the abuse. She went to another country leaving us with him. Years passed and we did not hear anything about our mother. My dad said that she had been bad to us and that she had abandoned us.

After many years my brother and I grew up. One day I was playing and I saw an elegant and beautiful lady and she approached me and said "son, how are you?" and at that moment I felt really happy and all the hatred I held for my mother, disappeared.

Forgiveness to my mother:

My mum took us with her and we were all very happy. Though, she was the happiest out of us all. The most important thing is that she forgave my grandparents for all of the damage that they had done to her, and the traumatising pain that they left her with.

Years passed and the economic situation became more and more difficult. There were times where we would go hungry and she would always prefer to give us her food so that she would be hungry instead of us.

My mum is my hero and a marvelous woman. I love her a lot. We are extremely poor but at least we are together. I will always help her. I love her.

Forgiveness sets you free:

The best advice you can get is that it does not matter what your mother does, nor what she is, she will always be there to protect you and take care of you. She is your best friend and forgiving makes you feel free. Thank you God for giving us all marvelous mothers!

If you would like to support this fellow on a monthly basis, please CLICK HERE

To learn more about our street theatre production, "CREATED", please visit our page, NICAVANGELISTS: "CREATED", North American Tour (2013)
If you would like to see a video of some of our Nica-Youths practicing, please CLICK HERE

We are not up to budget, and travelling with 14 people is very expensive. We need an investment from Christian people for our next evangelism tour to the Midwest. To support us or make a once off donation, please visit our page, Contemplating SUPPORTING something significant?

To learn more about our home Church in Australia, please CLICK HERE

This story was written by a Nicaraguan youth, and was voluntarily given to Capital on the Edge for publishing. The subject choice was his entirely. He has elected to write about his experiences for the glory of God and so that others may learn from his experiences. The translation of this work is performed voluntarily and not professionally, hence there may be some errors. Any decisive deviation from the text is in consultation with the author, and is done so to make clear the life events written about and to provide further information so that the story is more understandable. 

This story was translated by Lorenzy and edited by Jed.

Jose enjoying dinner with Siren Assembly of God

La niñez de mi mama fue una de las más crueles y duras todo empezó cuando ella tenía 8 años mi abuela se juntó con un hombre quien quiso abusar de mi mama repetidas beses, el la corría de la casa y no le daba de comer mi mama le decía a mi abuela y ella no le creía ella no tuvo una infancia normal.

Escape de mi mama de la casa de sus padres:

Cada vez que mi abuelo la corría ella dormía en la calle y pasaba hambre y sufrimiento, ella decidió huir de todo su maltrato y sufrimiento.

Relación de mi mama y mi papa:

Mi mama huyo de la casa a los 10 años ella tenía un novio que era mi papa el le dio refugio y vivieron juntos el tenía 19 años y mi mama 11 años.

Maltrato de mi mama:

Después de un tiempo ella quedo embarazada a los 13 años de mi primer hermano quien murió en el parto eso la afecto mucho a los 14 años me tubo a mi, mi papa comenzó a cambiar y le empezaba a pegar y la maltrataba mucho hubo veces que la agarraba del cabello y la arrastraba barias veces la intento matar, ella tubo a mi hermano a los 17 años mi papa cada vez la maltrataba mas.

El abandono:

A los 18 años ella decidió huir de ese martirio y se fue a otro país dejándonos con el , pasaron los años y no sabíamos nada de ella mi papa nos decía que mi mama había sido mala con nosotros y que nos había abandonado, mi hermano y yo crecimos paso el tiempo, un día yo estaba jugando y mire a una mujer elegante y bella ella se me acerco y me dijo hijo como estas en ese momento me sentía muy feliz todos los rencores desaparecieron.

Perdón hacia mi madre:

Ella nos llevó con ella y éramos felices ella lo más importante perdono a mis abuelos de todo el daño que le hicieron y los traumas que le dejaron, pasaron los años y su situación económica se iba haciendo más difícil habían beses que pasábamos hambre ella prefería darnos su comida y ella pasar hambre ella es mi héroe, es una mujer maravillosa la quiero mucho somos pobres pero unidos y siempre la apoyare en todo.

El perdón te hace libre: uno de los mejores consejos es que no importa lo que nuestra madre haga o sea ella siempre estará ahí para protegernos, amarnos y cuidarnos es nuestra mejor amiga y el perdonar te hace sentir libre. (gracias a dios por darnos un ser tan maravilloso nuestras madres).