A little after 2, we left to go to the drug/alcohol rehab center. Long story short, the man that built and owns Tamara's house has a big piece of land that was originally donated to JCM to build the hospital. However, the land was not suitable to build, so JCM had to reject the offer.. which was a pity cause the land is so beautiful! However, God had a plan for this land. It already had a house and the owner had added onto it to prepare to house JCM missionaries. But when the plans fell through, this house was donated to be used by the rehab center. It is headed up by a pastor, Pastor Denis, who is such a humble, godly man. Right now, there are about 16 men in the house; there would be more but there wasn't enough room. The men go through a program and have Bible studies and worship services. The land is so perfect for this kind of ministry because there is nothing out there to distract them... just God's country. Tamara has gone to the place before to cut the men's hair, and she had told me how the place was so peaceful and the men were so grateful for her coming out there. We had planned to out and take some bags of toiletres and towels and lead a devotional. Tamara planned the message and I translated it.
When we arrived at the land, it was so green, beautiful and tranquil. It was raining a little bit and storm appeared to be rolling in. The men basically live in this house but stay in an open area with just a roof and a floor with some plastic as a back wall. There were hammocks rolled up on the posts that they unroll to sleep in. 
All the men, some were actually boys, were seated in a semi-circle, waiting for us to arrive. We were warmly greeted and welcomed. We immediately gave out the bags of toiletres, although we only had 10 prepared and were unaware that there were actually 16. However, the pastor explained that they would all share what was given, and they were so happy to have what they had.
After that, Tamara shared her message, and I translated it. I was a little nervous, but thankfully God opened my mouth and gave me the confidence to speak the words Tamara prepared. She talked about how there is a constant battle between the natural carnal flesh and the spirit. We can only do right by living by the spirit and having the sinful desires within us crucified with Christ. She encouraged them that God sees them as precious in his sight and that nothing can separate them from his love (Romans 8:37-39). She explained how Christ already took on our sin, but through him we can live. She reminded them that we were bought with a price, and therefore we should live for God because we are not our own. Because we are not our own and because the Spirit of God lives in us, our bodies are temples and we have to treat the body like a temple. So that means to keep the alcohol and the drugs out of the body. Anyways, it was a big message, but everything came together so beautifully... and I don't really know how the words left my mouth even though I know it wasn't always perfect. However, God's word doesn't return void, and at the end of the message when we asked if anyone wanted to receive Christ, 3 young men came forward. It was so cool to experience, and after we prayed over them, I saw that one of them was teary eyed. Praise God that He is giving new life to these men!
There is no heart like a repentant heart, and it is amazing to see and hear the testimonies of those who do repent. I talked to one of the men afterwards who had just been in the house for 8 days. He told me that he wanted to change because his alcoholism caused so much problems with his life and affected his family's life. He finally decided to ask for help. He didn't plan to stay long at the house, but now he doesn't want to leave. He decided to give his life over to Christ, and he wants to help with the ministry and preach to others about the love of Christ. I think that's something that sometimes "good Christians" miss. Don't get me wrong, it is wonderful for someone to grow up in the church and keep themselves from "the things of the world" and truthfully we all sin, although some habits create more sinful lifestyles. However, when someone appears to have done everything right and have lived the right way, it seems harder to really understand grace. I can't find the passage right now cause it's late and dark, but Jesus tells a parable about how two people owe a man money, one more than the other, but the man cancels each of their debts. He asks, "Which debtor will love the man more?" The one who owed more.
So for these men, who felt like they couldn't do much, who were looked down on so much, who some people may think are so far from grace, the grace given to them means so much and they receive it with so much gratitude. It's this kind of gratitude that drives a life of repentance because they realize how great God's love is for them, and they strive to love God by obeying his commandments. And loving God is obeying his commands (1 John 5:3, John 14:15, John 14:21). And we realize too that the life of obedience reaps so much more because we can receive what God has planned for us.Please pray for these men and the ministry. The man I talked to told me that they hope to one day build a rehab for men and children. Yes, I mean that they need a rehab center for children. I found out that there are children in Nicaragua who are addicted to drugs because their parents or someone else gave them drugs or they live on the streets and have been sniffing glue. I didn't know this till today, but Tamara told me that a lot of kids sniff glue because it makes them feel less hungry. That just breaks my heart. Every day, I discover more and more about the needs of this country. It is overwhelming, but nothing that God can't fix. And I truly believe that He is restoring Nicaragua... maybe never completely physically but He is spiritually and making the physical better in the process.
I hope this all makes sense... it's getting late and I'm pretty tired. Thanks for reading. God bless. I love you all.
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