National Leader Vida Joven Nicaragua Testimonial from Chris Walker

Kevin Suywan shares about the ministry of Presence

Another leader from Vida Joven Guatemala explains how learning about the Holy Spirit has helped her minsitry. She’s been receiving Dunamis teaching from PRMI at Vida Joven Nicaragua’s annual training camp

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In January 2010, our team made a 6th visit to the Vida Joven (Young Life) training camp, high up in the mountains of Nicaragua between the cities of Jinotega and Matagalpa.

While it’s always to good to share about

• the content we taught,
• how many hours we taught,
• The number of students in our classes
• the number of countries that sent young adult leaders, and
• the ongoing effectiveness of our work,

there is an indescribable impact that people kept telling us about this year:

The ministry of presence.

More important than classes

Perhaps more important than the classes are

• the one-to-one conversations that reshape lives
• the individual prayer times for personal healing
• the sounding board

Our team has made a repeated investment in training these leaders over many years.

On this trip in particular, we were repeatedly told that we are the “safe people” outside the Vida Joven structure where national leaders can talk, pray, and ask questions without worrying about who knows what.

A prayer clinic

Our team took one of our breaks and offered a prayer time for those who carried special burdens and wanted to deal with them.

We didn’t advertise it, but for a brief lunch time announcement about 90 minutes beforehand.  People were given the liberty to skip a class if they wanted specialized prayer.

Our team was surprised by the demand.

We had to split up into 4 prayer teams in our small and chilly space.

The living room in our brick cabin became a waiting room, almost like a medical office.

For some, this time of prayer was life changing and future shaping.

For others, it was a time of emotional healing and finding forgiveness.

Leading Prayer Meetings

Our team lead the large plenary sessions a few nights.  Other nights, we were asked to organize the prayer ministry after the teaching of the word.

The leaders we have been training have grown in their ability and skill to do individual prayer ministry.  It is a deep joy to watch them pray for their peers, for their clubs, and for their cities.

This year, we ran 2 different level classes, plus had some plenary sessions with the large group (over 300 students from 7 different nations).  Some team members continued Dunamis ministry in Matagalpa with Ignite 2, and Chris preached in Managua.

What people had to say . .

Omar Picado, one of the National Nicaragua Directors for Young Life, had this to say:

“I remember the first year I experienced the Dunamis project and felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. Then every year that the group has come, I’ve learned some ways to pray for the youth with whom we work.”

Team member Susan Finck-Lockhart added:

“People from all levels of leadership were drawn to our cabin and we were able to minister into the lives of leaders. . . We did lots of prayer ministry, including two “clinics” where our house was just open and we prayed in teams for person after person, sometimes bringing other leaders along side us.”

These leaders work in conditions of extreme poverty.

Many have come out of gangs, labor in high-risk very poor areas, and do so without resources or funding.  Nearly everyone knows someone in the drug trade and the vicious cycle that traps its victims.  Two decades of war have ripped the family structure and fabric of society.

Only Jesus can help people overcome their past, find forgiveness and healing, and discover how to help advance the kingdom of God.

Repeatedly, we were asked to say thanks to PRMI and our donors for continuing to make the investment to come to this training camp every year.  Strategic talks were held to continue this investment.

Thank you all for your support to help us invest there in Nicaragua.