Eleven years have passed since we moved as a family to Nicaragua, and we can truly say that the Lord has been faithful in every way. Amy, Brenda and Craig are all in assembly fellowship and active in the local assembly in Dolores. There have been some trying times. I was in the last morning of a week of Bible studies on the east coast of Honduras when Danelle called to tell me that the house had been robbed. It was late, and Craig had been getting a quick shower before heading off to bed. When he returned to his room 20 minutes later, his computer, phone, wallet and Bible were gone.
Tony & Danelle Flett and family
Somebody had been watching through the window and waiting for the opportunity to break in and grab whatever they could. The police came but likely destroyed more evidence than they collected. On a positive note, the Bible was found by the neighbour's gardener a few days later; the thieves had left the most valuable item behind. Although we suffered inconveniences of filing official reports, delays in Craig's schoolwork, and replacing documents, we are profoundly thankful for the many prayers for our safety and God's protection from personal harm. And we are currently in the process of upgrading the security around our house.
It has been a privilege to see the work in Nicaragua growing over the last decade. There were three assemblies in the country in 2004 which has grown to 13 today with some new works ongoing. It is good to see God's grace continue to reach out to the lost and save them for eternity.
It has also been satisfying to see the growth in individual believers, as lives are changed and old sinful patterns are broken, and spiritual gifts develop to build up local churches. As a young work, the need for elders in the assemblies continues to be a matter of intense prayer. We are very encouraged to see a good number of couples maturing and both seeing and expressing a desire to get involved in this most needed work. In North America and other areas that are more established, we are used to having a good number of middle-aged believers with a lifetime of grounding and godly examples to follow. Here the examples are only the workers and maturity just takes time. We know that God is faithful and will meet this need in His time just as He has met all the others.
The Sala in El Panama, Nicaragua
After six years working in the rural community of El Panama, we considered it an answer to prayer that Walter and Nelson, two young brethren from the Dolores assembly, felt led to take on the responsibility and burden of the weekly meetings and visits in that area. This has allowed us to visit a bit amongst the other assemblies and help encourage the Saints. There are five assemblies within an hour of Dolores, which we occasionally visit, especially to help with teaching. We are also close enough to join for special meetings. In the far northern part of Nicaragua, there are three smaller assemblies (three to six hours from here) that do not get many visits, and we hope to be able to spend some time with them early 2016.
Two years ago a property in the north of the county was donated for the purpose of a camp and conference facility, and two different teams have come down to help in the construction. We now have two separate dormitories that can sleep about 160, as well as a large covered area that can accommodate over 300 for meetings. Some studies have already been given, and our national conference was held there last April. Lord willing, another group is planning on coming next year to continue with improvements to the property. We trust the Lord will use the facilities to encourage the Christians and reach out to the lost in that area of the country.
The first week of November we were privileged to have our brother Carl Knott from Spain for a week of intensive daily Bible studies from 8:00 to 12:00 each morning in Dolores, focusing on three topics: the book of Ruth, Messianic Psalms, and God's grace. It was good to see over 80 believers from all around the country taking the time off work to come and learn more from God's word. Next week our Brother Sandy Higgins has plans to be with us for a week of much-appreciated studies amongst the English speaking workers and nightly meetings in the different assemblies in the area.
Please continue to pray for the Lord's work in Nicaragua; so much of the county is still untouched with a clear Gospel, and it sure seems that the day of His return is fast approaching. If souls are to be saved, it needs to be soon.
Winter 2015 Written by Tony & Danelle Flett - NICARAGUA tdflett@hotmail.com