Nelson and Tirsa Gaitan
Missionaries to Nicaragua
Overcoming Obstacles
Like everyone else in the world, Nelson, my husband, and I have faced many obstacles. In April of 2018 a civil war broke out between the Nicaraguan government and its people. While the war continues to this day, the government has not released any official numbers of deaths, saying that each death must be investigated thoroughly before accurate numbers can be given. What we do know is that more than 800 people have perished and countless others have disappeared or been imprisoned.
When the civil war began Nelson and I sought guidance from the Lord. A lot of young people in our congregation felt we as the church needed to fight back against the government; however, for Nelson and me, something in our spirits seemed to hold us back from participating in the war. After much prayer and receiving insight from the Lord, we shared with the church members what God had impressed upon our hearts: “Do not get involved in this; instead pray fervently.” Even though the civil war continues to this day, no harm has fallen on us or any of our church members. Praise God!
We, like other pastors, have suffered from the war. As the war continues resources become more and more scarce and finances continue to dwindle. Our Open Bible churches are in need of many things such as musical instruments, chairs, sound equipment, computers, recording tools, and more. Our pastors are struggling due to lower tithes coming in because of the lower wages the church members are receiving. We keep going because we know God is in control. These obstacles are smaller than our Lord!
The people of Nicaragua have struggled through the country’s civil unrest and the downturn of the economy since 2018. In March of this year the coronavirus pandemic hit Nicaragua and panic began to spread among the people. No one knew anything about it or what to do. The government said the virus was not in Nicaragua and banned any type of preventative measures such as wearing masks or gloves. Again, we got on our knees before God.
Nelson shared a word he received from God: “Many will become infected from our congregations, but no one will die.” More than 30 people contracted the virus from our San Marcos congregation alone, not counting the other Open Bible churches. Even though some became severely ill, no one perished. Everyone has recovered and is doing well. The virus has continued to spread and is not over yet, but we keep praying and worshiping the Lord.
In the midst of all that has been happening, we have continued to travel to Managua and Las Pilas to hold church services. Neither of the Open Bible churches in these locations have had a pastor for quite some time now. Our hearts were overjoyed when two Christian young men stepped up to become pastors at these churches.
  • Rev. Abdel Farrash will pastor the Open Bible church in Managua. It takes Nelson and me three hours of travel to get to and from Managua. We used to conduct a Sunday morning service there and then travel back to San Marcos for our 3:00 p.m. afternoon service.
  • Rev. Ricardo Garcia and his family will pastor the Las Pilas church, which is about 30 minutes from us deep in the mountains. The roads in Las Pilas are in horrible shape. In the summer they are very dusty and in the rainy season they are very muddy and almost impassible during either of these times of the year.
We are so blessed to have these young men become the leaders of these Open Bible churches. Please pray for them and their families.
We praise God for His continued help amid all the chaos. He is the One who called us and He promises to never leave or forsake us. Thank you for your support of the Open Bible work here in Nicaragua. We know that your giving is sacrificial during this time. Your prayer and financial support mean a lot to us. We can’t do our ministry here without you.
With much love and appreciation,
Nelson and Tirsa Gaitan.
We focus our ministry on outreaches such as evangelistic campaigns, humanitarian aid, a feeding kitchen program, Vacation Bible Schools, and meeting needs within the community. Our heart's passion is reaching the lost, training leaders, and discipling new believers
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