La Luz de Cristo Ministries in Nicaragua

A group of 35 volunteers from 5 different states spent the spring break in Empalme de Boaco, Nicaragua.  The group’s mission was to share God’s amazing love with the people of this rural community while working in a variety of teams.

The medical and dental team worked together in the community health clinic for 4 days and was able to take care of 587 patients.  Dr. Raquel Bravo, a general dentist from Miami, Florida took care of 60 patients each requiring multiple teeth extractions.   Most patients are women and children from nearby communities, many of whom have to walk hours to get to the clinic. All the patients received anti-parasitic medication and a 1 month supply of multivitamins.  The clinic staff also distributed a tooth brush and a toothpaste to all patients and taught them how to properly brush their teeth. Children up to the age of 14yrs received fluoride varnish for the prevention of cavities. Over 2, 250 prescriptions were filled in our pharmacy and given to the patients free of charge. Read the rest of this entry »

The entire community of Empalme de Boaco watched in amazement as the “miracle men” finished building the church for the local congregation “Restauracion en Jesucristo.” A team of twenty five men from Manteo, North Carolina, made the journey to Empalme to complete this building project in only 6 days. The team was lead by Dr. JL Williams, founder of New Directions International and Mr. Coy Tillet, owner of Coastal Ready Mix Concrete in Nagshead, NC.  The trip was the result of months of planning to make sure all the supplies would be available for the team to complete the project.  A container carrying all the building materials was shipped from the US to Nicaragua prior to the team’s arrival.  Members of the local church worked to get the site prepared for the building crew. 

 The outer banks work team or “miracle men” arrived at the Managua International airport  February 27th and travelled by bus to Empalme.  They worked daily sun up to sun down for 6 days, and were able to dedicate the new church building the evening of March 4th.  The church overflowed with local members and visitors from all over the area eagered to be part of  the exciting event.   Something never witnessed in the entire region had taken place,  “the six day church,” as people called it, was truly a modern day miracle.

Once again we are heading to Empalme de Boaco, Nicaragua during Spring break April 4th-11th. A group of 34 volunteers will be participating in different teams including medical/dental, construction, children ministry, sports camp and evangelism teams. During this week, we will be hosting our first ever soccer youth camp for approximately 200 children ages 8-14yrs. The children will be able to learn basic soccer skills in a positive environment and participate in a friendship tournament “Stars for Christ” at the end of the week. We are excited about getting a sports program organized in the area to have a positive activity for the hundreds of street children. During the week we plan to provide a daily peanut butter sandwish/snack and drinks to all the children. We hope to be able to provide uniforms to all the children that participate. If you would like find out more about how you can help with this mission, please contact:
Bea Juncadella at mosensito@hotmail.com or Susan Baron at laluzministries@ymail.com

A group of 15 volunteers once again visited the community of Empalme de Boaco, Nicaragua this past November 1st-8th.  The group was divided into 3 different work teams:  medical, children and construction.   In this short time, the medical team was able to ran several clinics that cared for approximately 750 patients- most of whom were women and children.  Marcy Shipwash, “our pharmacy boss”, was filling up prescriptions from 4 different doctors who volunteered in the clinic.  Everyone that came to the clinic received medication to kill parasites which are the leading cause of  malnutrition, as well as a month supply of multivitamins.  They also received the medications they needed for their illnesses.  Children up to the age of 14 had flouride treatments for the prevention of cavities as well as a free toothbrush and toothpaste.  

Marcy and Dr. Wendy Ho in the Pharmacy

The children’s ministry team was able to love on about 200 children who participated in the vacation Bible school.  They played games, read Bible stories, colored activity sheets and enjoyed a pinata party throughout the week.   Second and fourth grade students from High Point Christian Academy in North Carolina collected and donated most of the supplies used in the VBS.  This was a great way for these students to reach out to children around the world and make an impact in their lives.   The children in Empalme are so hungry for attention and love that they are constantly hugging you and holding your hand.  Many are neglected or abused and forced by their family’s economic situation to work from an early age.  One of the ministry’s main focus is on children because they are the future that will change Empalme.  Read the rest of this entry »

Our first silent auction fundraiser this past November 14th, 2009 at Tuscany Gardens was a success.  Over 130 guests enjoyed a delicious catered dinner while listening to live marimba performer Kim Summers.   The auction opened at 6:30 pm with a variety of items from around the world that included hand woven Persian rugs, hammocks, beautiful pottery and much more.  We would like to specially thank our event sponsors:  Anne and Pearce Landry, Dr. David R. Williams, Dr. Stephanie Lindsay,  Hamid Asadian, Premier Printing Co. and Thomasville Pediatrics for their generous support.  We also like to thank our donors who provided a variety of beautiful items towards the auction.  We were able to raise over $10,000.00 towards the operating budget of the clinic in Nicaragua.  Read the rest of this entry »

We are going back to Empalme de Boaco, Nicaragua October 31st- November 7th.    Their is plenty of time and space for you to join our team.  We will have four different teams including  medical, construction, children ministries, and evangelism teams.   The cost is $1,000 and this includes airfare, transportation, food and lodging.  

The team will bring medications for the clinic and craft supplies for a fun vacation Bible school.  You can help us by collecting multivitamins, over the counter medications such as aspirin, acetominophen, antiacids, etc, toothbrushes and toothpaste and any craft materials. 

If you are interested and would like more information, please contact Beatriz Juncadella at mosensito@hotmail.com or Susan Baron at laluzministries@ymail.com

We will be hosting our first Dinner/Silent auction fundraiser on November 14th, 2009 from 6-9pm.   A wonderful heavy h’dourves dinner will be enjoyed at Tuscany Gardens banquet facility located  in Brown Summit, NC.   During the event we will auction beautiful local and international art pieces, small furniture pieces, vacation packages, golf packages, persian rugs, and many other items.   The evening will feature live entertaintment by a professional marimba player. 

Tickets will be on sale at the beginning of October and are $25/person.  Please contact Susan Baron at laluzministries@ymail.com or Beatriz Juncadella at mosensito@hotmail.com if you would like to purchase tickets.

We are so excited to partner with New Directions International, an outreach ministry in Burlington, NC, for the future construction of the church building for the congregation “Restauracion en Jesucristo” in Empalme de Boaco, Nicaragua.   NDI is an evangelical organization whose main objective is to reach the unreached for Christ and part of their strategy to accomplish this goal is to equip leaders and build churches.  

Last Monday, September 21, 2009,  a leadership team from La Luz de Cristo Ministries met with Dr.  J.L. Williams , founder of NDI, and Mr. Coy Tillet, head of the construction team, to finalize the plans for their  upcoming visit to Nicaragua.   The team will consist of 25 volunteers who will build a metal building in one week.   This trip is scheduled for the second week in February 2010.   Currently the church has over 80 members and meets in the clinic building. 

We give thanks to God for His faithfulness as well as to New Directions International for their support and generosity.

  The community of Empalme de Boaco celebrated the opening of the new clinic building this past April 7th 2009.  Members from various churches, local government officials and the community came together to give thanks to God in a beautiful ceremony at the new clinic building.  After an overview of the past 2 years, a wall plaque was unveiled and the Community Medical Dispensary “Dr. Fernando Jimenez Lopez” was officially inagurated.   Santiago Juncadella, president of La Luz de Cristo Ministries, presented participants of the 5 mission trips taken so far to Empalme de Boaco with a certificate of recognition for their service.   A short folkloric program was followed by a communal meal and fellowship.  The clinic has 3 private examining rooms, a pharmacy/dispensary, 1 waiting area and a large open area.  During the spring break, a medical/dental team from the USA worked in the new clinic and 535 patients received free medical and dental care.  The clinic is opened 5 days a week and it is staffed by a national physician and a nurse assistant.  Medical records are kept for each patient on file to promote continuity of care.  So far, the clinic has over 2,500 active patients.   

If you are interested in participating in a short term medical mission trip or would like to make a financial contribution please contact Beatriz Juncadella, MD at mosensito@hotmail.com or make your contribution through this web site.

We will be going back to Empalme de Boaco April 4th -11th.  This trip is particularly special because we will be inagurating the completed clinic building.   Many guests from different countries and cities in Nicaragua will be in attendance and will join us in celebrating what God has done.  We will have four different teams including a medical/dental team, a contruction team, a children ministry team and a prayer team. 

The inaguration will be Tuesday April 7th at 3pm.  We invite all of you to join us in prayer and thanksgiving to God in this day.