You are helping restore broken families

Salustiano is a heavily built, broad-shouldered man with short black hair. His facial features reflect his earnest approach to ministry. His unpretentious and simple outfit communicates his conviction that ministry isn’t about him. “I started serving Christ eight years ago,” the 57-year-old pastor says. “It was during a tough time in my life when I suffered from cancer.”

“I thought my days were numbered. But after prayer, God healed me. I saw His glory!”

After recovering from cancer, Salustiano prayed to God to open opportunities to serve Him. Three months later, he received a call to become a pastor.

Jasmina

He and his wife, Jasmina, passionately serve a church in central Nicaragua. Jasmina sits at his side and, like her husband, she maintains a serious look on her face when speaking.

Initially, Jasmina went to church merely to be with Salustiano. “I didn’t feel like I was in a hurry to know God,” she recalls. But when her only son encountered a problem, she gave her life to Christ. She doesn’t disclose the nature of her son’s issue.

Broken Families

The couple were married 16 years ago, but both had previous marriages. Sadly, broken families are an everyday reality in Nicaraguan society. “One of the reasons is that many men want to dominate their wives and subject them to physical violence,” Jasmina explains.

The people here profoundly crave hope and meaning from God’s Word. Salustiano and Jasmina’s broken past fuels their service to the community. They serve the Lord passionately so that the people know Christ. “People need to know God. If a father doesn’t know God, he won’t treat his family well,” Salustiano stresses.

“We want to reach this entire community. We do all of it out of love for the Lord,” he says.

Jasmina serves women and girls and identifies with their woes. God has laid it on her heart to pray for other marriages, especially for the women suffering violence and mistreatment. She prays for God to break the chains and end their grief.

Restoring Hope

After Salustiano accepted God’s call, he didn’t anticipate that serving God would be so challenging.

“In the first month of our ministry, we gathered under a tree. We had to search for wood to build a church.”

The church began under a tree with four adults. Now, they meet under an open-air shed, sharing the Gospel nearby. Salustiano just completed the second module of Bible League’s Church Planter Training. “With this method, the work is so easy! We wish to train more leaders to plant new churches here.”

The hunger for God’s Word has grown the church to 45. Sometimes, during the church service, a hummingbird flutters through the hall to feed on a flower.

“Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.” (Psalm 84:3 ESV).

On weekends, their soup kitchen serves 47 desperate children with the Gospel and food. Jasmina gave the children the Bible League booklets you donated. Seated at a table on one side of the church, the little ones concentrate on coloring the beautiful drawings in the book.

“Many children in Nicaragua are abandoned by their fathers,” Jasmina explains. “It is so important to introduce them to the heavenly Father!”

“With Bible League’s children’s materials, we can help them know God.”

Your Support

The couple really appreciate your support. “It’s extraordinary work to put Bibles in people’s hands.”

Your gift is filling the hunger for God’s Word.

Pastor Salustiano thanks you and all Bible League donors for supporting people who hunger for God and His Word.

“We are reaching more people with the materials you provide.”

Families depend on fishing and selling colorful handmade bags called mochilas.

Manuel Villadiego

But here, where temperatures regularly exceed 95 degrees and basic needs like water and healthcare are a rare luxury, a new message of hope is transforming lives.

This message comes not just through words but through the life of a man who, from his wheelchair, has become a living testimony of God’s grace—Manuel Villadiego.

“Life in these communities is not easy,” Manuel explains as he looks out over the arid landscape around him. “Here, if there’s no fishing, there’s no food. If the water trucks don’t arrive, there’s great need. But despite the scarcity, God is opening the hearts of Wayuu families. They are receiving the Gospel with joy, and that is a victory.”

While the Wayuu culture is open to hearing the Gospel, it often struggles to let go of deeply rooted ancestral practices.

“There is a spiritual battle here, and our mission is to show them that only Christ can bring them true freedom,” Manuel declares with determination.

From Rebellion to Redemption

This community didn’t always have the Gospel, however. In fact, neither did Manuel. There was a time in his life when he didn’t know Jesus. Only after a motorcycle accident that permanently paralyzed him did Manuel receive Jesus into his heart. As he healed, a friend, a pastor, spoke life into him.
From that day on, Manuel left his past behind and began living for God.

“Today, I can say that this wheelchair has been a blessing because through it, I truly came to know God. He awakened in me a love for souls that cannot be extinguished. That love is what drives me and moves me every day.”

He repented of his rebellious life and gave it to Jesus. Since then, he has wanted the same for his community.
Manuel wanted the Wayuu community to see the same grace, mercy, and peace that only the Gospel could bring.

Growing the Church in La Guajira

But how? – That’s every visionary’s halting question.
Manuel wasn’t a very charismatic man.
Meeting people wasn’t easy for him. As a new believer, talking about Jesus wasn’t necessarily easy for him either. Even if he was charismatic, knew everything there was to know about Jesus, and everyone he talked to immediately believed, he didn’t have Bibles to share with those around him.

Even so, God still called him to expand the kingdom. As the saying goes, “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.”

Encouraged by His call, Manuel searched for anyone who could help him. Eventually, the Holy Spirit led him to a Bible League trainer, Alexander Romero.

Not only could Alexander provide him the Bibles, but he could help him with, arguably, the most difficult part of any Christian’s ministry: meeting, connecting, evangelizing, and discipling the people around him.

After training Manuel in all this, Alexander provided him with Bibles and Bible study booklets to reach the Wayuu people.

In that training, Manuel learned that while Jonah could turn Ninevah with seven harsh and brash words—“In 40 days, Nineveh will be destroyed!” (Jonah 3:4)—it was better to build relationships with individuals. With patience that only God could give, he spent significant time with each family building trust.

Like Elijah, God gave him the endurance to weather the extreme heat and long distances. Unlike Elijah, he wasn’t running away; he was running towards his community. In time, he’d describe to whole families that it was our triune God who created the world and not their local god, Mareiwa.

He would share with them that it is God who resolves illnesses, family conflicts, and plagues. It is God who gives every good thing and not Piache, another local god, nor his acolytes. It didn’t happen overnight, but soon these families were open to joining him in walking through the Gospel, they wanted to learn more about our God.

As God promised, His Word did not return void (Isaiah 55:11).

These families became small groups. As these groups finished studying the Gospel of John with Manuel, they received their very own Bibles.

Now, they can read God’s Word and come into a greater relationship with their Creator, and the Bringer of Life.

After some time witnessing to this community, the next step for Manuel was to form a church.
Again, he asked: “But how?”
Again, the Holy Spirit led him to Alexander.
Again, Manuel enrolled in training—Bible League’s Church Planter Training—to plant churches where people believe the Good News.
Again, God worked through Manuel.

The impact of the ministry is reflected in the numbers: a church that began with 18 people now gathers more than 70 each week. Manuel enthusiastically reflects:

“We started with a small group, but God has multiplied the work. Today, we don’t even fit in the church, and we’ve had to organize services in other communities. People are hungry for the Word of God!”

Today, Manuel leads Bible study groups in new places like Santa Rosa and Tucuraca, using materials provided by Bible League. “Since I received these materials, I’ve seen them as powerful tools,” he says. “They help us teach the Word of God in a practical way, allowing everyone to participate and learn.”

Manuel has seen how God’s Word transforms hearts through these Bibles and Bible study materials. He explains, “Not long ago, a family that always relied on witch doctors decided to give their lives to Christ. Now they are active participants in the Bible studies, and their home is an example for others. That is God’s work: transforming lives from the inside out.”

Gratitude and a Call to Donors

Manuel cannot stop expressing his gratitude to Bible League and its donors.

“Thanks to your materials, we have been able to reach people we could never have imagined reaching. The easy-to-read Bibles and discipleship booklets are an enormous blessing. I don’t know how we could do it without your support,” he says with emotion. “Every time we open one of those booklets and someone finds an answer to their life in the Gospel, I can see God’s hand at work. It’s something I will never forget.”

He concludes with a heartfelt message for those who make his work possible:

“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Every contribution you make has an eternal impact. You are part of this mission. Thanks to you, we are seeing lives changed, families restored, and entire communities opening their hearts to God. Please, keep supporting us. This work cannot stop.”

In the middle of the Guajira desert, where material needs and ancestral traditions once seemed to have the final word, a wheelchair has become the throne of a heavenly ambassador. With his unwavering faith and your support through Bible League, Manuel Villadiego continues bringing living water to those who need it most.

And though the road is hard, he sums it up simply:

“If God allows me to keep going, I will. Because this desert is crying out for hope, and that hope has a name—Jesus Christ.”

Looking around me, I see children in colorful clothes walking the steep uphill path effortlessly. Of course, they are used to this terrain, but still, their stamina is amazing. I, on the other hand, stumble my way up, sweating like never before.

It’s around 9 AM on a Saturday in March in Verapaz, a small village in Nicaragua’s Matagalpa Department. This morning, I join Pastor Álvaro on a long walk through the forest to pick up children who will attend a Bible study meeting later today.

Dented Truck

Reaching the children of Verapaz with the love of Christ, that’s what Pastor Álvaro and his wife Miriam are passionate about. Each Friday, they leave their high-end jobs as lawyer and accountant, load their dented truck with Bible study materials, food, and drinks, and drive to their ministry location in the forested hills of Verapaz.

Off the main road between Matagalpa and El Tuma, an unpaved track leads to Pastor Alvaro’s place. A few feet beneath the road, there’s a corrugated steel awning covering a flattened stretch of land. At the far end is the couple’s simple home. As I was standing under the overhang, overlooking the deep valley, I marveled at the idyllic scenery. However, the couple was quick to point out that behind the natural beauty hid a great deal of sorrow.

Erratic Behavior

“Materially, people here lack many commodities,” they explained. “There is no water or electricity, and the food is insufficient.” Sadly, the social and economic distress in Verapaz often pushes parents to all sorts of erratic behavior.

• Sexism
• Machoism
• Alcoholism
• Domestic violence

“These are the influences Verapaz’s children grow up with,” the couple summed up.

“Girls often get pregnant in their early teens and marry very young. You’ll see 14-year-old boys staggering drunk at the roadside.”

The Love of Christ

Álvaro and Miriam know that the people of Verapaz need more than just a solution to their social issues. What they need is spiritual transformation.

“If the parents don’t have Christ in their hearts, they are not going to give love to their children,” they stressed. “As they don’t give love, things like envy and revenge will grow. We need to make them understand that they must love God in order to love others. We want to break the chains that come through the generations. Through God’s Word, we want to transform the mentality, starting with the children. We want to fill them with the love of Christ!”

“We want to fill the children with the love of Christ!”

Zeal

It’s that godly love that motivates Pastor Álvaro to undertake the exhausting forest hike each Saturday. His zeal deeply impresses me as I struggle alongside him.

For the first part of the journey, we use his truck until we reach a mountain stream. We disembark and walk down a slope to a suspension bridge that can only be crossed on foot. Some children are already at the bridge, but instead of continuing their way to Pastor Alvaro’s place, they join us as we move deeper into the woods.

Pastor Álvaro leads us from the river up a slope that is so steep and long that I’m panting like a steam engine when we finally reach the top. A fresh bottle of water helps me regain strength. At the top, we find more children.

Steep Slopes

The area is known to be rainforest, but it’s the dry season, and there’s no lush green canopy to protect pedestrians against the scorching sunlight. My, it’s hot! The dirt road winds across the landscape, following the curvature of the hills. While climbing the steep slopes, my feet often slip because of the loose gravel. Still, I make sure I’ll take in as much of the scenery as I can. Large, colorful butterflies flutter around us while cicadas produce an almost deafening, uninterrupted noise.

Then, finally, we have assembled all the expected children from their simple huts. We can return to Pastor Alvaro’s place. As we descend all the way to the mountain stream, I ponder the measureless vastness of God’s grace. Every single one of these children that surround me is precious in the eyes of the Lord. He doesn’t want them to perish. He wants them to receive the light of Christ in their dark and difficult lives. That gratifying notion makes the strenuous, sweaty hike more than worthwhile.

Mandarin Juice

Around 1:30 PM, 120 children, youth, and some mothers have found a place under the tin roof. Reinvigorated by a cup of fresh mandarin juice with ice cubes, offered by Miriam, the children sing a few songs at the top of their lungs. Subsequently, they pray together and listen quietly to Pastor Álvaro as he leads them through a chapter of the Bible study booklet.

“We are using Bible League materials because they are great tools to make the children participate,” Miriam pointed out. “We don’t want the children just to listen, but we want to actively involve them in the lessons. The booklets help us deal with the children’s emotions, positive or negative.”

Fruitful Partnership

Before they became acquainted with Bible League, Álvaro and Miriam bought Bibles with their own money. “That was very expensive,” they told me. “We couldn’t afford it. Also, there were no children’s materials available at all.”

Their partnership with Bible League solved both challenges. “God’s Word says, ‘My people are destroyed because they have no knowledge,’” Pastor Álvaro said, quoting Hosea 4:6. “We need those Bibles and study booklets to educate children, youth, and adults. We greatly appreciate you for providing these for free!”

“God’s Word says, ‘My people are destroyed because they have no knowledge.”

“Our principal sword is the Word of God,” Miriam added. “We thank God for giving you the passion, faith, and desire to serve the Lord and reach these souls that few people visit. Thanks to God, we have taken the materials to many corners of Nicaragua. Your support is truly beneficial for us!”

“Indeed,” Álvaro agreed. “We are very grateful for your contribution because this project wouldn’t work without you. Our Bibles and study materials come through your donations, and that’s how you help spread the Word of God to everyone here!”

Explicit Teaching

After going through a chapter of the So Choose Life booklet with the children, Pastor Álvaro teaches them about purity, based on the story of King David and Bathsheba. She was bathing on the roof, clearly visible to the king. Álvaro warns the girls to ensure no one can see them when they bathe. “And boys, don’t look at girls when they bathe!” he adds. I frown at this advice, until I realize the locals bathe in the river!

Given the low moral standards in places like Verapaz, it is understandable that Pastor Álvaro is very explicit in his teaching. In conclusion, he points the children toward the only true and good King: Jesus.

Three roaming dogs stretch themselves out on the ground near the gathering, taking a siesta break from the heat of the sun. The children, however, keep listening to Pastor Álvaro with concentration. Before the meeting, I had asked him and his wife if they saw a change in the children’s lives. They nodded fiercely.

Children’s Transformation

“The change we have seen is that the children are now disciplining themselves, taking responsibility, and attending the meetings,” Álvaro pointed out. “They have acquired characteristics such as punctuality, respect, and discipline. For instance, we invite the children to come at 2:00 PM. Now, we have in Nicaragua what we call Nica time, where 2:00 PM easily becomes 3:00 PM. But not with these kids. No, no! They have acquired punctuality and are always here before 2:00 PM.”

“The other thing is that they know what is good or bad in their homes,” Álvaro continued. “They observe that it’s not right for dad to hit mom. It’s not right for their dads to drink alcohol or to do drugs. I always tell them that when you are drunk, you’ll do things you would never do when sober.”

Faith is Proof

Faith is proof of what we cannot see, Hebrews 11:1 says. That’s precisely what Álvaro and Miriam desire to instill in the children’s hearts and minds.

“We teach them they should have faith that their fathers will change,” Pastor Álvaro said. “We tell them that God will solve their problems, that God will provide for them, that God will restore their families. We teach them to believe in what you can’t see.”

“We teach the children to believe in what they can’t see.”

Choosing Life

The meeting draws to a close. With a reference to the title of the Bible study booklet they use, So Choose Life, Pastor Álvaro tells the children:

“This is the moment for you to decide what life you want to choose. Do you want to choose a life of alcohol? A life of drug addiction? A life of promiscuity? A life on the streets? Or do you choose a life with God?”

Well, the answer to these questions seems obvious to the children. They will choose a life with God! As they process the pastor’s lessons, I scan their faces. They seem to drink in the message. It reminds me of something Pastor Álvaro had said earlier:

“When we ask them, ‘Are you coming for the food?, they reply they are not looking for that,” he had smiled. “They want to study God’s Word and ask us, ‘When will the next discipleship class be?’ They feel our Bible lessons are enriching their lives.”

Rice Soup

Nevertheless, Álvaro and Miriam always serve a proper meal for their pupils. During the meeting, I had witnessed two young ladies cooking a thick, nutritious rice soup in an enormous pot over a coal fire.

Now, with the Bible study done, all of the children receive a steaming bowl, which they empty with great enthusiasm. Indispensable fuel for their long hike home, I figure. I enjoy watching some kids wash the dishes at a water basin after lunch. They are hardly tall enough to reach the faucet, but they complete the chore with lots of chattering and giggling.

Profound Experience

Around 3:00 PM, the children head back to their homes, their stomachs filled with solid food, their hearts with God’s message of love. Álvaro and Miriam clean up the place and get ready to return home–only to prepare for a new ministry meeting next week.

I’ll probably never see the warmhearted couple again, but what a profound experience it’s been to witness Álvaro and Miriam living out the love of Christ. I pray they will faithfully continue their ministry in Verapaz, guided by the Holy Spirit.

I pray that the children they serve will break out of their multi-faceted misery and find a life of freedom in Christ.

Experiencing the Gospel’s Impact in Nicaragua

From the bustling capital of Managua to the small barrios dotting the rural landscape, the Gospel is taking grip all over the country of Nicaragua in central America.

Pastor Álvaro and his wife, Miriam, have dedicated themselves to reaching some of the poorest families with children in the rainforest of the Masaya region. Others are joining in and the Church is growing, even under the influence of traditional religion and witchcraft.

Guests Anton and Jason join host Michael Woolworth to talk about their recent trip to Nicaragua. You’ll hear about some of the people they met, the places they visited, and Anton’s harrowing escape from angry hornets.

Subscribe today and invite someone to listen with you. Length: 21:02.

Craving God’s Word in Nicaragua | Bible League Podcast | WORD IN ACTION

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Rebecca’s life in Paraguay is peaceful. Every morning, she wakes up to cook breakfast for her husband. She does chores around her home, then she visits her sick mother to take care of her.

But her life wasn’t always peaceful. Rebecca’s husband is a recovering alcoholic. Their life together was dark and depressing.

“I was very sad because my partner was an alcoholic, and living with him was very difficult due to his addiction,” she says. “People approached me to say it was noticeable that I was a sad person because I didn’t smile anymore and never left my house. It was a life that was leading me into constant crisis.”

Rebecca’s mother is a believer who always preached the Word of God to her daughter, but it fell on deaf ears. “I grew up in a house where Christ was known, but I didn’t go to church,” she remembers. “It was quite a complicated situation. My mom preached to me, but I was rebellious.”

Sadness and isolation haunted Rebecca. “I realized I was in a very bad state of suffering,” she says. “I thought if I died, I would have peace.”

Though it seemed that the efforts of Rebecca’s mother were lost, God used every prayer, every message to plant a seed of light in the young woman. “Things began to change the day I received a visit from the pastor of a church where I now attend,” she says. “God was already starting to bring me back to Him.”

The pastor gave her a copy of the New Testament and encouraged her to get involved in a small group Bible study at the church. Her hunger to know more about Christ pushed her to say yes to his invitation.

That ‘yes’ changed her life. After learning about Jesus, Rebecca and her husband both accepted salvation and were baptized.

“We are happy. We are different. We can all share together as a family,” Rebecca says joyfully. “My husband no longer drinks. We read the Word of God every day, and we want to know more about Christ.”

As she and her husband learn more about Jesus, they are eager to be the light of the Gospel to others who are living sad, dark lives like they once were.

“The Word of God teaches us how to live. It is good, and if it changed me and my husband, it could also change everyone in my neighborhood. I am completely sure that I must share about Christ with people who do not know Him.”

Rebecca and her family learned the true story of Jesus and His love in small group Bible studies. Her pastor was equipped with training and materials to go door-to-door to share the Gospel. But it’s only through the power of the Holy Spirit that Rebecca knows the Lord. The dedication of her mother to keep sharing and keep praying for her rebellious daughter was used by God to bring a glimmer of light in a seemingly hopeless darkness.

Ninoska’s occultic practices alienated her from her family. “I would pray for my daughters with all kinds of spells,” she explains. “As a result, they started to hate me.”

In her deepest misery, God arranged for Ninoska to meet with a pastor named Josue. He encouraged her to join a Bible study group, where Ninoska discovered the redeeming love of Jesus Christ. When she surrendered her life to the Lord, the people in her neighborhood couldn’t believe it. “They said, ‘That’s the witch! She can’t be a Christian!’” she recalls, smiling. “But it’s true!”

The verse that specifically soothed Ninoska’s tormented mind was Philippians 4:7, “And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.”

Now, Ninoska preaches God’s Word in her city. “I work mainly with street youth,” she says. “I bring them food and preach the Gospel to them.” She also runs a Bible study group with women and children, using materials you helped provide.

Thank you for offering Venezuelans like Ninoska comfort and purpose in the Gospel. “The Word of God is my greatest treasure,” she rejoices. “Your support allows me to bring God’s message to my community. Thank you!”