Pray for Nicaragua

Natural disasters, civil wars, and oppressive dictatorships all play a role in Nicaragua’s story. So do baseball, poetry, and reggae music. This nation of about 7 million people is physically the largest of the Central American republics. Covered in forests, it is also dotted with volcanoes — some of which are active. Nicaragua borders Honduras and Costa Rica, as well as the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. It is widely believed that Nicaragua is named after Nicarao, the chief of an indigenous people during the 15th and 16th centuries. His name was then combined with the Spanish word for water, agua, creating the name Nicaragua.

Numerous mineral resources, fertile soil, and a low population give Nicaragua the potential for great wealth. Still, it has remained one of the poorer nations in the Americas due to its troubled past. The corrupt Somoza dictatorship, which ended in 1979 after a civil war, consisted of brutality toward opposition and a hoarding of the nation’s wealth to benefit the dictator’s family. Following the dictatorship, another brutal civil war broke out between the Sandinista government and the U.S.-backed Contra rebel group. The Sandinista-Contra conflict has left deep political rifts in the nation.

Amid these hardships, God is at work softening the hearts of Nicaraguans. Over 90 percent of the population identify as Christians, though cultural Christianity and the blending of Christianity with indigenous religions keep much of the Church from a vibrant faith. Passionate faith is also hindered by government restrictions and repression. Some religious leaders and organizations face political pressures, and churches and ministry organizations have been unregistered or closed by the government. There is great need for unity and perseverance in denominations and local churches amid religious restrictions.