CICRIN: Ometepe Nicaragua

Helen
is the current director at CICRIN, the orphanage where my team is
serving for the month. Helen cares for 20 orphans, from a 1 year old up
to 22 year olds who came from family members who either abused them,
mistreated them or literally left them to fend for themselves. And
she’s been doing this for almost 20 years.

Twenty years ago, Helen left her home country of Costa Rica for a
three month getaway. After finishing college, she left to process life
after her father passed away.  She joined up with some friends who were
running an orphanage in Nicaragua. Helen is fluent in Spanish and
English, so she decided to lend her linguistic skills by serving as a
translator at the orphanage. She spent 3 months serving the Lord there,
helping out her friends, and falling in the love with the kids. But at
the end of the 3 months, she was ready to go back home to Costa Rica.
Her friends who ran the orphanage had an emergency that came up and
told her they had to return to the States permanently and would have to
close the orphanage unless there was someone who would stay and care
for the kids. They asked her to consider staying.

She immediately said no. She had no interest in staying in Nicaragua
and definitely not alone and wanted to go back home to Costa Rica to be
with her family, her friends and to continue down the path she was
establishing for herself. She prayed that God would not make her stay.
But after spending time in prayer, it was undeniable what God was
calling her to do. She didn’t want to hear it, but God’s voice was very
clear and he was leading her to stay.

So, she decided to trust God and stay for a few more months until He
raised someone else to come and take over for her.  Seeing how she had
no idea how to run an orphanage. I mean, she was only a translator,
fresh out of college.

That was almost 20 years ago. And Helen is still at the orphanage. She
is a single woman who has devoted herself and her life by giving it
away. Her love and obedience for Christ drastically altered the course
of her entire future. It’s funny how when we make ourselves available
for God to use however he wants. When we give over control to him – how
he equips us for things we never thought we were capable of ever
doing. 

Helen has transformed CICRIN into a beautiful home for the orphans and
the kids call her Momma Helen. CICRIN has become her home as the
orphans have become her kids. She has to deal with the politics of
operating an orphanage under a government who adds a complicated
laundry list of requirements every year just to keep the orphanage
open. Under the new government, about 11 orphans have been sent back to
their abusive uncaring family members in the last year.  We’re praying
that the government shows her and the orphanage favor and allows the
kids to remain at CICRIN and receive the love, education and care
they’ve been receiving for some many years at the orphanage.

Twenty years ago, Helen prayed that God wouldn’t make her stay. Now, Helen prays that God would never ask her to leave.

She receives volunteers almost every month who come and help construct
schools, better schools, build dormitories for the kids, feeding
centers for the children in the local community. She relies on
volunteers to come and help out with the construction projects, which
often take years to finish because of the lack of volunteer staff.

She used what she had. A second language and God transformed her life
which in turn has dramatically changed the lives and futures of 20 +
kids in Nicaragua.