During month 8 (August), my team and I were working to find new ministry contacts for Adventures in Missions to use as ministry hosts for future World Race teams. The official title of our ministry for the month was called “Unsung Heroes” because the people who we found and met, or rather, who God had brought across our paths, are people who have decided to dedicate their lives to meeting the needs of the people and communities around them. “Unsung” means that they are not known or widely known by many and “heroes” refers to the incredible, kingdom focused mindset that they have and are using to help those around them. They are making a difference, regardless of the number being affected, and so much so that they really are saving peoples lives, and eternities, with the work they are doing.
These people are men and women of God who already have a ministry up and running but who would benefit from having other WR teams come and work within their ministry and community. The following is about one of the ministries and the leading Pastor who we met in Somoto, Nicaragua.
Meet Pastor Carlos Baez, a firm believer and a man of God who I wish we would have had more time to get to learn from and get to know.
(Image taken from flutemakerministries.com because I forgot to take one in person! I hope this is okay….)
From our little bit of time with him I can say that he carries a presence that communicates wisdom, strength, dignity, and a compassionate heart. I really didn’t know too much about this humble man until I read his testimony on the website of one of his ministry partners, Erik the flutemaker.
Quite frankly, my words wouldn’t even begin to give justice to the life that he has lived so far so I encourage, no I beg, each of you to go to the “Who We Are” section on this website: http://flutemakerministries.org, and read his incredible, glory-filled testimony. His story begins after the heading that reads, “The Pastor Carlos Story.” First his story will break your heart then it will give you a reason to rejoice again.
As you may read on the website, Flutemaker Ministries is a ministry based out of the state of Florida. It was established as a networking tool in order to bring in the necessary finances to better equip and enable the work that is being done by Pastor Carlos’s ministry, which is called A Heart to Love Children’s Ministry.
During a trip to Nicaragua, Erik, founder of Flutemaker Ministries had the opportunity to meet some of the children who Pastor Carlos was trying to care for through his ministry. Erik saw that Pastor Carlos could use some financial help in order for the ministry to really take off and so while souvenir shopping, Erik found some handmade whistles and bought some to take home to the States. In the States, he was able to sell them and the profit that was made, he sent to Pastor Carlos. Excited about the opportunity, Pastor Carlos went to the artisan market, bought some more whistles and sent them to Erik in the States for him to sell again. Eventually after learning what Pastor Carlos was doing with the whistles, the artisans who he was buying them from began to give them to him for free and that helped to kickstart Flutemaker Ministries and it’s partnership with A Heart to Love Children’s Ministry.
Today, with the help of the established partnership, A Heart to Love Children’s Ministry is able to provide a home for over 25 children who once lived in a nearby garbage dump,
195 children with special needs and disabilities recieve food, diapers, toilet paper, and other necessities like specialized medical supplies when possible, and around 155 feeding centers that service communities all throughout Nicaragua are being supplied by a larger partnership that includes Feed My Starving Children, which is another organization based out of the United States and Samaritans’ International of Nicaragua.
Lives are being changed. Communities are being transformed. Needs are being seen and glory to God, they are being met.
If you are interested in learning more about this ministry, you can visit the website at http://flutemakerministries.org/ and if you or anyone you know would be interested in making a tax-deductable donation that will help the ministry keep doing what it’s doing, you can find those options on the right side of the website. You can even designate which specific outreach you would like to help fund.
