Exciting Update from the work in Nicaragua

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Glory and honor to the God most high who has redeemed us from this corrupt world. Even so, He has left us here for a time to share the wonderful news of Salvation to those who are perishing without hope. We are no longer of this world, yet we get to see and experience the effects of wicked men in control of it, who distort the truth and exchange it for a lie to fulfill their own selfish desires. As the end draws closer we see more and more of mass corruption and destruction going on, making us all the more eager to escape this earthly body that keeps us entrapped in this place. But it also reminds us of why God hasn’t taken us home yet.

It gives us who possess the unconditional Love of God in our hearts an urgency to do everything in our power to do what our Lord Jesus Christ told us to do as He ascended into heaven. Which is to go and teach and preach the Good News of salvation, making disciples of those who believe. The thought of all those beautiful people made in the image of God to not understand that their way to their loving creator has been paid for, and therefore end up in eternal punishment, banished from the presence of the one who made them and loved them enough to send His only Son to pay the price for their rebellion is almost unbearable. So we strive to do everything He told us to, and what the Holy Spirit leads us to do, saving as many from the flames as possible.

I want to thank each and every one of you who are on our team, praying for us and the Miskito people and the Amish people God called us to minister to, and giving of your resources making it possible for us to stay here in Nicaragua, as well as being able to travel back to the States every year or two. Yalls prayers over the past ten years are being answered.

This past year has been an exciting one here on the ground in Nicaragua. There are more and more of the younger generation putting their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord. So far this year in our village we have had five baptisms and two marriages, and in this next month we plan to baptize three more who have made the decision to follow Christ, and another wedding coming up soon. There are also a few from our church upriver and several from a church downriver on the Honduras side who desire to be baptized in this next month.

The Holy Spirit is doing an amazing work in these young people’s lives, giving understanding into His Word, and the courage to step out in faith trusting that God will not forsake them like many of their parents and the church people do when they make their decision to be obedient to the teachings of Christ. It is so exciting to see people who were known for years to be thieves now becoming trustworthy people. Some who have been addicts and outlaws for years have now become clean and are living a victorious life in Christ. Those who in the past were rejected because of their choosing, being rejected once again by the same people because of their decision to follow Christ.

There are also some exciting things happening in the Amish and Mennonite communities in the States. There is a widespread Spiritual awakening happening within those groups in the past few years. Even though we aren’t there most of the time, I have been able to do some long distance discipleship, and every time we go back God opens the door for us to minister to many. It is encouraging to see how God is raising people up to minister and lead those who are seeking the truth.

We have plans to go back to the States the last part of July and spend two month there. It will be an exciting time for our family, as three of our children plan to get married in that time. God is such a gracious and loving Father, and totally trustworthy. We praise Him for His goodness and mercy.

The not so exciting news is that through the political standoff the States government has with the Nicaraguan government, doing whatever they can to undermine this government, plus several ministries who were tied in with a church or ministry in the States were found to be using the money they were getting in the name of doing ministry and using it to fund anti government movements here. Naturally the government here has lost what confidence they had in the Americans, which has caused ongoing investigations into everyone and every ministry associated with Americans, which includes us. In their three year investigation of our ministry, they haven’t been able to find anything suspicious or fraudulent. So far in these past couple year they have shut down more than 600 ministries in the country who had ties to Americans, and are shutting more down every month. Only God knows how He will work things out with all that. But we rest in Him knowing that He will have His way in all of it, because this is His ministry and His work.

Thank you again for your prayers, and for caring about those who have no hope. May God bless yall richly for your generosity. Eli Lee