We have sad news to report & ask for your prayers. On April 20th, one of our 8th grade students, 17 year-old Wilber Molina, was shot & killed. I don’t have all the particulars of the incident but it seems Wilber and another young man were in a cemetery, doing what I don’t know, but apparently they startled a security guard who fired his shotgun, fatally striking Wilber in the back. Needless to say, this has devastated our students & teachers at the school. Everyone is accustomed to violence, it’s part of our neighborhood, but a fatality has never directly affected one of our students.
Wilber was a member of the school soccer team and was scheduled to play in a league game the next day. He had been a student at Oasis de Esperanza for some time, was not a discipline problem, liked by classmates and teachers, and from what little I know he simply made a bad decision that cost his life. We have brought counselors to the school to help classmates who are struggling with his death.
I would appreciate your prayers for Wilber, his family and the classmates & teachers at Oasis de Esperanza. I praise God that
through the curriculum and daily exposure at Oasis de Esperanza, Wilber knew about Jesus and to our knowledge had a personal
relationship with Him. Thank you in advance for your prayers on his behalf. -Wayne MaGouirk
When God planted the vision for a Christian school, His vision did not stop with 
simply Christian education, it included spiritual as well as physical feeding. years ago, I recall hearing a couple of sayings that have since become very personal to Elaine and me: “hungry bellies have no ears” and “it’s hard to tell someone Jesus loves them when their stomach is growling.”
With approximately half our enrollment living in or in proximity to the Managua dump ground, a nutritious meal is a rarity. When Oasis de Esperanza opened – 80% of our students were below the average height and weight for their age group and most of that was due to lack of a steady and nutritious diet.
We began each day with a breakfast of oatmeal or crackers with juice and lunch was a high protein meal of rice or pasta with meat, bread and juice.
Often, the children would only eat half their lunch, saving the remainder to either share with a sibling at home or their dinner and more often than not, it was the former.
I’m so happy to say that since our first year the numbers have been reversed, now 80% of our children are at or above the average height and weight for their age group.
I’m pretty sure that a hungry belly or a growling stomach is a rarity at Oasis de Esperanza. Many of them still take a portion of their meal, but their bellies are full.
When the 2012 school year began in late February, a long-standing prayer was
finally answered and it’s an indescribable blessing to the school, our teachers, and especially our students. Eight years ago when we opened the doors to Oasis de Esperanza, we barely had room to turn around and certainly no way to prepare meals onsite. As the school continued to grow and even after moving to a larger location we still faced the same old problem.
For seven years all meals were prepared in a home on the other side of Managua and delivered to the school each day by taxi. Not only was it costly to pay for transportation but also very inconvenient and because of traffic the food was not always as hot as we would prefer. One of the advantages we saw of relocating to a larger and safer location was the opportunity to have everything within the walls of the facility and all that was missing was the on-site kitchen.
I am so happy to report that with the first day of school, we now have an on-site kitchen and everything necessary for the school to operate is now inside our walls!!! With donations from a missionary friend from Missouri, we have refrigerators, freezer and an industrial stove. We also have a deep basin sink and a storage area for our food.
Now when our little ones have their morning breakfast and when the other students have their lunch each day it’s as fresh as it can possibly be. Our three kitchen employees arrive at 7:00 each morning and begin preparing hot, fresh, nutritional lunches for approximately 450 students and staff. The food quality and freshness have gotten rave reviews. It may not have happened as quickly as we would have liked, but God does answer prayers and His timing is always perfect. Buen provecho!!
December is a special month for the students at Oasis de Esperanza; 
it’s the end of school with a two-month vacation ahead, it’s Christmas time, and it’s graduation time for Pre-K and 6th grade students. Nicaragua has three graduation events, Pre-K, 6th grade, and 12th grade and they are a big deal.
As you can see the Pre-K kids wear caps and gowns and 6th graders even wear ties! This year was a very special and emotional time for our 32 6th grade graduates as well as for Elaine and me. This year’s class included students who have been with us since the school opened its doors. They were our first Pre-K students and have now graduated from 6th grade. We remember them as scared toddlers, many who suffered major separation anxiety when their parent(s) left them with us but in the eight years they 
have been with us we have been blessed to watch them mature physically, emotionally, and spiritually. They are half way through their education and our prayer is that they will continue with their education through high school and hopefully into college.
Children especially those like ours who come from a very low economic environment, are not encouraged to get an education and if they go at all the parents believe they will learn all that’s necessary by 6th grade. We are trying very hard to break that mindset and encourage both parents and children of the advantages education allows.
Now because of the Ministry of Education’s approval of our curriculum, your support and God’s favor, these 6th graders will have the opportunity to continue their secondary education at Oasis de Esperanza.
Our prayer, and we ask for yours as well, is that the Ministry of Education will also approve our pending application and curriculum for high school education through 12th grade.
It’s with joy and gratitude that we present our Pre-K, 6th grade (Managua campus), and 6th grade (Salinas Grande campus) graduates and world changers!
You’ve heard the phrase “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” A part of the Savior’s Tear vision for the Nicaragua schools is to help in teaching them to become more self-sufficient. Oasis de Esperanza Salinas Grande is the smaller of the two Savior’s Tear schools. It is located in a rural area approximately two miles from the Pacific coast with the primary industries being fishing, farming, and salt. It’s a small school, about 65 students, and shares property with a small church in an extremely poor area of the country. Their Pastor was instrumental in helping Savior’s Tear open the school in 2007.
Salinas Grande Salt Project
For the past two years Savior’s Tear has provided seed money, literally, to plant and harvest chiltomas, or bell peppers, to sell and help supplement unbudgeted costs for the school. It has been a good project and profits were used to drill a water well for school, church, and community usage. When I visited with Pastor Jose about another chiltoma crop he asked that I consider helping the school expand from chiltoma to salt processing. He wanted to lease land near the Pacific, build evaporation ponds, and harvest sea salt for sale to processing companies. He presented a business plan with expenses and expected profits, putting a lot of time, effort, and prayer into the vision. We looked at it, prayed about it, and dedicated the project to God. Savior’s Tear provided seed money and construction of the evaporation ponds, lining the ponds with high-density plastic, and pumping sea water began in January. These pictures were taken in mid-February and represent the first harvest of sea salt, very exciting. With the onset of winter (rainy season) in early June the season will end. So far it has been blessed, successful, and everyone involved feels a great sense of accomplishment. Profits from the project will be used to help build another
Salinas Grande Salt Project
classroom for the school, one that’s needed for additional growth and grades at Salinas Grande.
This is more than a project to help build another classroom. Its purpose is to help the school and church have a degree of ownership in Oasis de Esperanza Salinas Grande. Instead of waiting for others, in this case Savior’s Tear, to provide full funding for the construction the school and church will now have ownership of the new facility. Instead of “eating the fish” they will have learned a lesson in fishing. This is a big step of progress for the school at Salinas Grande, the families and students are very poor. This accomplishment and confidence opens the door for more vision. Obviously God has blessed this project and deserves all the credit for the accomplishment. We are blessed to be a part of what God is doing in Oasis de Esperanza Salinas Grande.
Monday, February 14, marked the beginning of the 2011 school year at Oasis de Esperanza and it was an exciting day for everyone! Classes were originally to have begun January 27 but the date was postponed by the Ministry of Education, much to the disappointment of our students, they were anxious to start school.
Standing in Line for School
Pre-registration had already prepared us for a large enrollment from 2010 and when the gate opened Monday morning we were thrilled to see 413 smiling faces ready to learn (well, not everyone was smiling, the pre-K children were pretty skeptical about leaving their parents and suffered some separation anxiety). Students were directed to their respective classrooms, met their teacher, and settled in to their new “home” for the next ten months. Our happiness was compounded when the Ministry of Education gave an eleventh-hour approval to our application for High School grades. We had applied for approval of 7th grade and were surprised to learn that not only had the school been approved for 7th grade but also 8th and 9th grades. “Yikes” was our first response. Because of the late approval the high school classes did not begin until Monday February 28. There were 15 enrolled for 7th grade, 12 for 8th grade, and 12 for 9th grade bringing total enrollment at Oasis de Esperanza Managua to 452 students! It’s a far cry from six years ago when we began school with 80 frightened children and 4 teachers in a 3-walled building with dirt floor. God is good.
Boys at School
For the next ten months our students will receive a free Christian-based education, the younger children will receive two nutritious meals/day while the older receive a nutritious lunch, and will learn in a safe environment with an opportunity to be kids for 4-5 hours/day. They will learn basic education curriculum and will learn that there is a God who loves them very much and desires a relationship with them. They will recite Scripture and know praise and worship songs, each day will begin with a group devotion and a chapter from Proverbs. They will also learn that while they may not seem to matter much in their current culture they are highly valued in the Kingdom of God. They will be continuously validated from the moment they enter the gate until they leave at the end of the school day. There will be no doubt in their minds where they stand with God!!
It’s an exciting time in the lives of these children, an exciting time for teachers and staff, and equally exciting for Savior’s Tear. We look forward to sharing the moments with you during the year. Thank you for your prayers as we work to provide “hope and a future” to these precious children.
April 18th was an exciting day for us. Since moving to the new school 
facility we have held a monthly church service and it’s always a wonderful experience. The service is not only for school children and parents but also for the entire neighborhood, a good way to build on our relationship with the community.
As Elaine and I drove to the school that morning we were surprised to see banners and flags throughout the neighborhood, flags of the Sandinista (Socialist) party. We know the neighborhood is predominantly Sandinista but we try to ignore politics and make our work simply about Jesus. We learned that there was to be a political rally that day and knew church attendance would take a back seat to politics.
When we were inside the school walls, the crowd was very small and we were heartbroken that so many would be attending a political function and so few would be coming to church. We also serve a God who is much bigger than any political party! My wife went outside the school gates, unescorted I might add, and simply began inviting the political attendees to church. She told them there would be time for politics later but we wanted them to attend church services.
Amazingly, but not to God or her, people began coming through the gate. When services began there were over 300 people seated and ready for church.
It was an amazing day to say the least. As with most Sandinista rallies there were fireworks all around but inside the church/school walls there was an indescribable peace. Over 300 people praised, worshiped and learned of God’s love for them. The children were released to Sunday School while the adults/parents received a message from a guest evangelist.
In the midst of the “storm” of fireworks, God touched hearts and nine adults made the decision for Christ! God was not going to allow a political rally, fireworks or any distraction to interrupt the assembling of His people.
There are nine new citizens in the Kingdom of Heaven, a great testimony to our God!
