I’ll never forget meeting Jenny Orozco. With a twinkle in her eye, a happy smile, and a contagious laugh, she made even a visitor feel welcome and immediately at home. As we wove through Managua, Nicaragua, rush-hour traffic heading toward a section of town called René Polanco, I sensed her love for this place and for the children and families who walk these streets.
It’s not easy growing up immersed in an environment of violence, addiction, abuse, and poverty. Jenny and her (late) husband Pastor Luis Ampie longed for something better for their then 5-year-old daughter, Josseling, and her generation. So they dared to dream big. They dared to envision the presence of a safe haven in an unsafe neighborhood, an oasis in the desert, a light in the darkness.
In 2004, against all odds, Jenny and Luis founded The Messiah Free Methodist School. I say “against all odds,” because all they had at the time was a physical school building, lovingly built by generous VISA teams. No experience or training in the field of education. No curriculum, no teachers, no resources. Just an absolute conviction that God wanted them to make a mighty impact in the community through Christian education. They fully believed God would make a way for them to provide excellence in academics and Christian development. The school began with 120 children.
Two years later, in 2006, ICCM teamed up with The Messiah Free Methodist School in ministering to the needs of students. Josseling was the first of 50 children sponsored. Over the years, many lives have been forever touched by the program.
ICCM National Coordinator Jenny recently explained, “ICCM plays a vital role in helping our children and youth reach their potential. The program helps us focus not only on intellectual growth but physical, social/emotional and spiritual, as well. Sponsorship has made it possible for many to complete primary and secondary education. After graduating, several are going on to university to become change-makers in their communities and society.”
If you would have asked me in 2003, “Is it possible to open the school in such a short time?,” I would have said, “Absolutely not!” But God had other plans. Jenny was right in tune with those plans and today she joyfully leads a team of educators in ministering to the needs of 450 students in grades Pre-K through 12th. Jenny returned to school and earned a Master of Education degree. Thanks to sponsorship through ICCM, boys and girls are not only surviving but now thriving in their community in Managua, Nicaragua.
I grew up as a PK (a pastor’s kid). Growing up, I watched my parents undergo a lot of sacrifices and hardship in their ministry; God was real and was doing something real in their lives. I was challenged and inspired to taste and see, so I become a pastor like them.
My papa died when I was 14. I am sure he’s proud of us for the legacy that continues in me and now in my brother. Being a PK has given me the privilege to avail ICCM sponsorship and scholarship. ICCM has afforded me an opportunity to be who I am. My life has been changed and helped through ICCM.
I’m so happy I’ve been able to give back as one of the staff in an ICCM project, the Door of Hope. What I do is amazingly challenging yet rewarding. Being a Project Director was really a huge responsibility for me and at the same time, I am a part-time Assistant in the National Office. My first thought was not to accept that job, but God assured me, “I can do all things THROUGH HIM who will strengthen me.” Indeed a challenge was given and accepted. There may be some hard times but there’s also great joy in serving God by engaging in the lives of the children. I also learned to improve my communication and leadership skills every day with everyone I meet. I learned to be a cheerleader, an encourager, and a listener. I love the fact that I did it! Thank God! It was far from my personality — I was a shy and a silent one. He is really a God of Transformation.
What I like most being part of this is all the people I work with and the friendships I have developed. The atmosphere of working together is one factor that encourages me, and to have that heart and vision to help these young ones succeed. Being here year after year was a humbling experience with the best and expanding friendships. The respect and trust have always had an indescribable and positive effect on me.
What I am most grateful for is to be one of the workers here in ICCM. I am proud of it. Most of all I am so blessed and thankful for the guidance of all the people I look up to, my mentors and co-workers. Their availability and support has truly made a huge difference and made me feel not alone.
Thank you ICCM Family, for the gift of being there, for the trust given to me. I thank God every day for these wonderful experiences I have and will be ahead. There will be millions of more children to be touched and changed and shared God’s love through ICCM. Cheers!! Blessings.
Note: Nova wrote this two years ago. On Dec. 6, 2015, she tragically died in a fire. She is missed throughout the Philippines and by all of us who knew and loved her. She was an amazing and gifted young woman. Nova is pictured at left with a sponsored child and at right, second from the right, with her ICCM co-workers in Door of Hope, Davao City
Child slavery is big business in Ethiopia, where almost 400,000 people, mostly women, and children, are held against their will and forced to work in ways they do not choose, for no pay or extremely low pay. Often children or teens from impoverished rural areas go to the city to find work but end up being tricked or lured into forced labor.
Enter Pastors Ricardo Guerrero and María Elena Salas. Twenty years’ worth of tangible, radical, healthy love have transformed one generation and is now transforming the next.
