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The Promise of Nicaragua
Nicaragua was once the most prosperous nation in Central America. Now it is the most impoverished. Three decades of natural and political disasters humbled this once great nation to a place of desperation, but there are strong indications that it is beginning to re-emerge to its God ordained place of prominence in the community of nations. According to sources within the nation, Nicaragua’s economy has been growing in recent years at a rate of about 3% per year. This is a wonderful reversal of fortune that portends a bright future. The World Bank recently forgave approximately 5 billion dollars in debt. Almost half of the nation’s debt burden was relieved in this one action. There are significant spiritual dimensions to this turn around. The Pacific port city of Corinto has seen its evangelical population grow to be 10% of the overall population from less than 1% only a short time back. A Catholic Priest visited an Assembly of God Pastor there to acknowledge what God is doing and to say, “We need to learn to work together.” In November of 2000, during a ministry trip in Nicaragua, God awoke Byron Easterling and began to unveil His desires and plans for the re-emergence of this Central American nation (Byron's prophecy). In essence, God told Byron that in 1972, He desired to raise the nation of Nicaragua to its divine destiny but that a great natural disaster had occurred that delayed the process. Then he began to show Byron the incredible potential of the land and the people and that he wanted to raise up the church there to lead the nation in its recovery. What followed was a divine template for agricultural re-development and the deliverance of a people from the oppression that has so long dominated their lives. When Byron felt the Lord was ready to release the prophecy into the nation, he contacted his longtime friend and influential Nicaraguan leader Roger Leyton. Roger, who oversees and nurtures many churches and church leaders across the nation, invited Byron to come and begin to deliver his prophetic message to those under his influence and care. Byron put together a small team of five men, including Leck Heflin of PONTiS, to assist in bringing the message. This has opened an amazing door of opportunity to be a part of seeing an entire nation come into its place in both the community of nations and in the Kingdom of God.
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The Potential of Nicaragua
The ultimate impact of this present action is potentially worldwide. Within Nicaragua itself it is immense. First, there is the opportunity to restore the means of agricultural production to the people, thereby relieving their impoverished condition. Secondly, there is the example this will serve for the nation as a whole bringing hope to those beyond the limits of this one endeavor. And thirdly, this program is designed to help set the stage for the Nicaraguan government to begin to look to the church for wisdom in the affairs of the nation, thereby opening up the entire culture and national fabric to the transforming influence of the Kingdom of God.
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The Need and the Opportunity
In a recent survey of 15 church leaders, representing approximately 155 churches (almost 20,000 people) from across the nation, unemployment ranged from 20% to 80%, with an average of 43%. Rates are reported to be higher in the nation as a whole, with a population of over 5 million people. The onslaught of combined natural and political disasters including, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, revolution, civil war, and a period of Marxist domination, has robbed the people of their spirit of productivity. God is working through us and others to restore that spirit to Nicaragua. The scriptures speak of a future time of the restoration of all things (Mark 9:12). He has visited peoples at various periods throughout history with seasons of restoration, and this is His time for Nicaragua. The confirmations of the validity of Byron’s prophecy and of God’s hand on this work are numerous. I will share only one in this space. God showed Byron that a man he had met would become a key to the distribution of the agricultural produce that would result from the implementation of the prophetic plan. The man’s name is Frank, and he lives in Rivas, a port city about 70-80 miles south of Managua. Frank is a farmer and has a few trucks at this time which he uses to ship his own goods and those of others to market. Byron saw him leading a major distribution company with warehouses throughout, and far beyond, Nicaragua. When Byron shared this part of the vision with Roger Leyton in November of 2003, Roger insisted that Frank hear this promise. When Frank arrived in Managua and Byron shared what God had shown him, tears began to roll down his cheeks. The night before, Frank had had a dream and he had been wondering what it could mean. He dreamed that he was walking with two burros loaded with goods. The further he went, the larger the loads grew. They would dramatically increase in size when he would cross a national border. Then he saw warehouses in key locations within several Central American nations and beyond. Needless to say, all of us were wonderfully encouraged by this divine “coincidence,” especially Frank.
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The Plan
(The farm at Maranatha Village has served as a model for us) The basic plan of implementation is still under development, but the simplified version, as it was given to Byron, is that Americans, Britains, and others from outside Nicaragua will invest in, and assist in, the development of local programs that will restore the family farm, and develop cooperative organizations designed to fulfill the objectives as already enumerated above.
Imagine a group of churches within a given community in the States, teaming up with a community of churches in Nicaragua. Then imagine a number of impoverished but capable people being given the use of a small tract of fertile farm land and enough funds to establish a small farm consisting of a few acres each. Teams from the U.S. and elsewhere would travel to Nicaragua to actually assist in the clearing of the land and the planting and harvesting of the crops. Imagine the freedom and revitalization of the human spirit as these campisenos (farmers) begin to provide for the essential needs of their families, tithe into the local church, and return the initial investment to the program so they can actually come to own their own land, and so that others can repeat the experience in other parts of Nicaragua and beyond. This is the plan and PONTiS has been given the opportunity to be an integral part in the further development and implementation of the plan.
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Associated Ministries
For links to some of the ministries (Byron Easterling, Richard Hubbard and Links International) that are joining together to help bring this vision into reality, visit our Networking page. For a video of Roger Leyton's Maranatha Village go to the Downloads page.
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