In 1909 the U.S. began to involve themselves in the affairs of the Nicaraguan government. It started with diagreements over a canal that would have great dividends for the US. Since then the U.S. has propped up dictators, meddled in trade and backed guerillas in this country of about 6 million.

I don’t understand enough to make a statement as to whether or not our government’s actions have turned the jewel of Central America into the second poorest nation in the hemisphere. Plenty of blame can be assigned to Daniel Ortega and the other corrupt leaders who have siphoned foreign aid into their own pockets for decades.

Mission work in Nicaragua does not neccessarily mean “sharing the gospel” — at least not in the traditional evangelical “love-Jesus-so-you-can-go-to-heaven-when-you-die” sense.  The church is actually growing like wildfire throughout Latin America.  In a place where the average salary is 50 dollars a month and there seems to be no incentive to go to school after fourth grade, the church’s role is to prove that there is life before death.

The missionaries provide a YMCA analog that gives 100+ kids a safe place to spend their afternoons.  I’ve seen the alternatives and they are quite dangerous.  This is one way the church can aid in the development of Nicaragua. 

Maybe we American Christians owe it to them.