To my dearest friends and family,

On July 9, I will be travelling to Managua, Nicaragua for an incredible opportunity to serve, work, bless and be blessed. This short-term trip will be one week long, but I believe what happens there will reverberate for much, much longer. As I prepare for the journey, I come asking for your prayers and financial support.

The place I will be going is literally in a garbage dump; a landfill known as La Chureca, where thousands of men, women and children live and work, sifting through the mounds of waste and refuse to survive. Many have formed their homes out of the very garbage they live off of. Due in part to the immense poverty, the pain, and the desperation, many parents have encouraged their girls to enter into prostitution as a way to make money, which as you can imagine, leaves deep psychological, emotional and spiritual scars.

All is not hopeless for the girls in La Chureca. Some time ago, a Nicarguan woman partnered with Forward Edge International and started a refuge for the vulnerable young girls of the community. That refuge, called Villa Esperanza, or “Hope Village”, is a place that provides the girls with beds, clean sheets, clothes, food, schooling and hope for a future. They are offered help through social skills training, psychological counseling, medical care, and perhaps most importantly, they are given an opportunity to learn about their Creator and foster a genuine relationship with him through Jesus. New girls come in every year and there is still great need there.

I had the chance to hear two of the girls from the Villa come and speak at my church last year and it broke my heart to hear what they had to say, but it also encouraged me and reminded me that God is at work, not just in Portland where I live, but all over the world. He is bringing healing and restoration and hope and renewing the hearts and minds and relationships of his people. I want to be a part of that. I’m not entirely sure what that will look like there yet, but my hope is that this trip will be an act of worship and an avenue to spread the love and faithfulness of a God who cares about pain and suffering. He cares when young girls are taken advantage of. He cares when there is violence and abuse. He cares about those who are sick and impoverished and He doesn’t stop at caring. He actually does something about it.

So as I prepare to go, I am asking for your support in two crucial ways. First, I ask that you would pray for me. Prayer is most often the fuel for ministry and miracles. Pray that I am strengthened and prepared in my heart and mind to go be the hands and feet of Jesus to the people of Nicaragua and my team members. Pray for safety and favor with logistics. Pray that we would see healing take place and lives changed forever. The second way you can help me is through giving. I need to raise $2000 for the trip by the end of June. If you feel led to give, any amount will be a tremendous help.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and being a part of my life. I am so thankful for the friends and family God has provided and I can’t wait to see what he does here and now!

With love,

Lucas Ventura