Woodridge Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Wichita, Kansas became involved with JustHope in 2014, when our pastor took an exploration trip to Santa Emilia and La Flor. We were in the process of developing an international mission focus in our church of about 125 people, and we had known of JustHope's work for many years prior to this trip. Later that year, we agreed to become a partner church through JustHope with the village of La Flor and our focus would be on housing issues for the village. We have hosted staff from JustHope and a group from Nicaragua in our efforts to learn about the goals of JustHope and the partnership opportunities with la Flor.
After much prayer, conversation and listening we have been able to reach out in partnership in several ways with the people of La Flor. We started a microcredit bank program with the women of the village. We have both sent and delivered school and health supplies to the village. We have sent money to help repair the bridge. We also have partnered with an organization called Dress a Child International and within that partnership we have made over 100 outfits for the kids of La Flor. We have taken two trips, in 2016 and 2018, with groups of 14 and 9 respectively, to get to know our partners in La Flor. We spent time in schools, visited the women of the microcredit bank program, and work with the families we have partnered with to build a new house. We have been able to send money to build a house in 2017 and have been able to help build the houses during our partner trips.
We have been blessed in so many ways through this partnership with the people of La Flor. As a church we have challenged ourselves with the question "Who is my neighbor?", and this partnership has changed the way we look at that question and the world around us. It is our hope that God will continue to show us how to grow this partnership and provide us with the opportunities to continue to reach out in mutual support and love to our neighbors in La Flor.
