Costa Rica Mission, 2005
July 20-22, Pastor David Zelaya,
Ciudad de Dios, Chichigalpa, Nicaragua
Here in the home which Pastor David obtained for our group to stay in for two nights, he honors our team with a plaque with a map of Nicaragua and an expression of thanks to us for coming to proclaim the gospel...
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David and his wife Judith have been laboring by faith in Nicaragua for 15 years, with no established or systematic economic support system. 5 years ago he and his wife felt called to work specifically in the town of Chichigalpa. This town, with its rum distillery where the famous Flor de Cana rum is produced, is considered by some the rum capital of the world because the distillery has been in operation for over 300 years. The economy, like much of Nicaragua is depressed, with very low wages for the main employment: cutting sugar cane for the distillery. Though Chichigalpa is a fairly large town, there is not one bank in the town.
David and Judith began preaching under a mango tree in January, 2000 with no piano, speaker system, chairs or even a roof over their heads. Soon there were 7 people in David’s small church. David began ministering with SCEI, the Sports and Cultural Exchange International ministry out of Monteagle Tennessee. They believe in spreading the gospel through sports. They bring sports teams of all kinds to various countries and after competitions share the gospel. One of these groups donated an entire sound system to David and his church, which is the PA system they still use today.
The very nice church facility of Diudad de Dios of Chichigalpa, Nicaragua.
Pastor David is a very kind, organized and gifted leader...
David
shared informally with members of our team one evening about his experiences in
the Nicaraguan civil war which ravaged the country 20 years ago. As we sat
around him on the floor where we slept in an empty house, he described to us how
young man were basically kidnapped to fight for both sides in the war. He was
with the Sandanistas, and refused to carry a weapon because he is a pacifist.
He told stories of being sent into the front lines many times in his several
years in the army, when men died all around him but his life was preserved. He
told stories which were nothing short of miracles.
Here Robert shakes hands with Pastor David, as we drop him off near Managua, the Nicaraguan capital.
He won the respect of all of us. He provided an interesting commentary on the bus microphone about Nicaragua as we traveled.
 Michael and Orion say final goodbyes to Pastor David. |
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You can write David and Judith at papachever@hotmail.com |
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