Because you give - Nicaragua

This is our favorite time of year hear at Fox River! So make sure you follow along this month…

Our last blog was all about ‘My Gift for Jesus’, how you can get involved and where exactly God has partnered Fox River internationally! Check it out if you missed it!

These places have become very near and dear to our hearts and we want to share that with you!

Today we will share about Nicaragua and the partnership we have in La Esmeralda…

We could (and often do) share story after story about the life change, but today I want to share about the importance of our partnership in Nicaragua.

For over 7 years now several communities in the mountains of Nicaragua have had access to health care that they would have otherwise gone without.

Let me set the scene as to why this is such a big thing… You see the community of La Esmeralda and several surrounding communities are over an hour away from a hospital/clinic and that is if you have a vehicle. Many of these people do not and it would take hours to walk to get the care they need and that is if they could even attempt the walk. Women would go without prenatal care, they would give birth in their homes without the help they would need, that baby would be born and if it survived it would have nowhere to be checked on, nowhere for someone to make sure babies lungs were clear, that the umbilical cord was cut and kept clean properly, and so on… Farmers would get an infection from getting injured or being sick and would have no access to medication or a facility to have the wound cleaned. Are you seeing the need?

This is where the Medical Clinic has impacted the community of La Esmeralda and surrounding communities.

There is a local place for people to go and get the basic healthcare that they need, that we take for granted. They can go and see a Dr and Nurse and get medication from the pharmacist. Mothers can can be seen from beginning to end of their pregnancy. They receive prenatal care as well as care during and after the birth. These babies are born in a clean environment with equipment to care for them right after birth (we are hoping and praying we can better this space soon). We just celebrated baby #25 last month! We see this as one of the most beneficial pieces of the medical clinic. Healthy babies help make a healthy future! The clinic is able to call for transport if needed for patients in more critical condition! We could go on and on about the benefit of having this clinic in this place!

The Clinic also gives a platform for a way to share the Gospel, a place that the love of Jesus is and always will be something shared as soon as someone steps on the clinic grounds! We want people to know about the hope and freedom that comes from knowing their Savior and that will be something they hear every time they are at the clinic!

Lives at this place are being saved physically and spiritually!

Through the partnership of the clinic Fox River fell in love with the people and community of La Esmeralda, which has opened many other ways we could partner with the local church there.

After growing relationships and seeing how God is moving in this community and church we wanted to be more involved. We partnered with the church as they built a Soccer League Ministry. This ministry reaches youth with an activity that they enjoy and they use it to equip them and grow them in a safe environment!  Each team member is encouraged to attend church services each week and are also a part of devotionals during each practice. This ministry is turning teens who may have been caught up in the wrong things in the wrong environment, into leaders in the church and the community.

Coming to know their Savior through an activity they love? Who wouldn’t want to be involved?

These are just a couple of the things God has allowed Fox River to partner with this community in and we can’t wait to see where else he takes this partnership!

You can be involved! You can join us in making Jesus known through meeting the needs of children, women, men, communities… We are praying with expectation for the big things God is working for this community in the year to come! We hope you will join us!

Thank you for reading, praying, giving… You make these things possible! We are grateful for you!