It was a divine appointment that we visited Scott and Jenn Esposito at the end of our month in Nicaragua. We had met them at church earlier in the month, but didn’t have time to visit their ministry in the barrio of Pantanal before we left Granada. But we had really wanted to.
For the past year or so, the Espositos and others on their team have invested time and prayer into the barrios surrounding Granada. Their focus being relationship building and discipleship. They felt the Lord call their family to Nicaragua, and after almost a year of prayer and waiting, everything fell into place and they moved. They had expected to work with a school, but as they prepared, the Lord shifted their attention elsewhere. They now have a thriving sports program on the land and have now hosted three large scale events on a pavilion there. They have daily bible studies in local houses and they open up their home every Friday night for people to come and fellowship.
It was amazing to see their joy as they explained the growth of the community this past year. They said that in the beginning, people would come but there was a lot of tension between different neighborhoods. However, the relaxed atmosphere of Friday nights at their house: with ping pong table, board games, and snack foods opened the door for people to have fun together. Then week by week trust was built and it tore down the walls that once caused division, unifying the entire community and strengthening the church.
Jenn and Scott work closely with an amazing church in Grenada called El Puente and together their team is building Nicaraguan leaders to continue the work of the Kingdom.
In short, we knew they had an amazing ministry from the start, but God had bigger plans in bringing us back to visit when He did!
While we were still in Rivas, I called Jenn and asked if we could visit for a few nights on our return to Grenada. She welcomed us with open arms but warned that the house was going to be packed. They had two other teams flying in for a conference in the barrio that weekend. We decided it was worth the risk.
We met the teams and connected immediately. Jim and his wife Deanna were the guest speakers and they had a healing ministry called Day 2 Day Ministries.
The plan was to set up at 6am, have four local pastors preach until noon, then lunch would be served and finally Jim and his wife would preach or pray as the Holy Spirit directed them. Jim said several times that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Holy Spirit moved until 3 in the morning. We laughed a little, not sure if he was serious or not.
But as we got to know the two teams, we started to see how serious they were. They followed the voice of the Lord, and the miraculous followed them wherever they went. I heard so many personal testimonies of healings and deliverances that increased my faith tremendously!
The conference was amazing. Blind eyes were opened. Families were restored. And people were delivered from demonic oppression. It was incredible.
The day before the conference, we prayed over the land, the barrio and the speakers and Jim drew our attention to the mountain that overlooked the land. He said it was like Mount Sinai from the Bible and that He felt God’s Presence powerfully on the land and the barrio. He then said that as we prayed that morning, we would feel the mountain rumble and tremble. The day went on and I forgot about what he had said, but later that night Jenn said that morning there had been an earthquake that had shaken Grenada and the barrio, coming from the mountain. One of her friends called from the barrio to make sure Jenn was ok, the tremors had been so significant. The phone call time was after Jim had prayed. I was amazed. Coincidence? I personally don’t think so!
Then the next day bright and early we arrived on the grounds to find hundreds of vultures; so many that even the people who regularly worked there wondered and commented. One of the women said she believed they were spiritually significant, and I agreed that they were really unusual.
As we began to set up I noticed two of the visiting team members walk out and stand with a confidence and authority that was visible just from the way they carried themselves. They just stood there and prayed, and to my amazement, 80 percent of the vultures suddenly took flight; leaving only a few behind. Those too flew away after a few more minutes and the entire flock went and circled above the houses of the barrio in the distance. It all just made me wonder.
The day was incredible and filled with the presence of God and blessings. The team from the States spoke many encouraging words over us and showed us so much love. Once again, we have built relationships that I believe will last a lifetime!
It was a time of refreshing and blessing to finish out the amazing Unsung month.
Be blessed!
Chelle
