In 1998 a group, of mostly youth, from Mary and Ty Spire’s church in Florence, SC went to Managua, Nicaragua. Upon returning, they shared stories of the beautiful families they met, the 3rd world living conditions, and starving children. Some were so hungry they would eat the leaves off of nearby trees just to stop the hunger pains for a while.
Mary was moved to prayer. While cleaning houses, her full-time job, she would pray and weep 6 to 8 hours every day for several weeks. She learned to hear from The Lord in new ways. She heard the audible voice of our Heavenly Father say, “Mary, I want you to send a container to Nicaragua.” It took a few weeks to figure out that G+d indeed meant a shipping container and not the plastic storage bin Mary had in her mind. Through praying, listening, and depending on The Lord she was able to coordinate and procure enough resources to ship not only a single container, but three containers to Nicaragua!
In October of 1998, the infamous Hurricane Mitch decimated Nicaragua. For almost 3 days the category 5 storm tore roofs and houses apart with 180 mph winds. The storm dropped anywhere from 1 to 6 feet of rain which caused major flooding and landslides. In January 1999, Mary’s small group from Florence, SC and the 3 containers sent months earlier were the first outside aid to reach victims!
Mary had never flown on a plane, she had never traveled to another country. She was trying to be obedient to The Lord and cultivating the desires He had put on her heart. When she arrived with her team the poverty and need were readily apparent, but she started asking the question, “Why aren’t these kids in school?”. In that first trip they had a clinic and an evangelism team, but she began asking The Lord what was next?
God has given Mary favor with the local government. After she arrived with her group and the containers some government officials approached her. She thought they were going to put her in jail, so she prayed, “Lord what do you want to tell them?” Mary expressed her intention of building a school and applying for non-profit status. The officials began weeping and were asking, “Why are we crying? We don’t cry!” She simply told them that is the power of G+d they are feeling and it is overwhelming. The government officials received everything that Mary’s group had to give.
Through subsequent prayer and action, God’s Ministries International was established, defying a lot of the supposed truths about Nicaragua. (1) Shipping containers won’t make it through customs. (2) It is impossible to get non-profit status in both the U.S. and Nicaragua. (3) Problems of poverty and government corruption are too widespread to make an impact. And they continue today, by listening to The Lord and obeying.
-In February 2000, Escuela de Dios I was built in Los Torres barrio as a feeding center, church gathering place, and elementary school.
-In 2002, Escuela de Dios II was built in Manchester as a feeding center, church gathering place, and pre-K school.
-In 2008, Mary heard The Lord say to close Escuela de Dios I, because the money would not be there. GMI turned the school into a job training center for local women and soon after the government announced they would provide free education for all children!
-Currently, The day-to-day ministry is run from Nicaragua now by Logos Rhemas church led by Pastor Ernesto. Escuela de Dios I is now a Bible School for about 300 people! There are 5 neighborhoods with feeding programs and Sunday schools! Two of those "neighborhoods" are communities in city landfills.
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