About ten years ago, Scott and Jennifer Esposito left a comfortable life in America to answer God’s call to move to Nicaragua. The Esposito’s thought about doing mission work for 15 years, but they weren’t sure where God wanted them. The Lord kept opening doors and today the couple runs Reap Granada on a 70-acre farm. When they arrived, all they wanted was to be part of their community.

“We want to be with the people 7 days a week, 12 hours a day. It is about showing them the love of Jesus by how we play together through sports, eat together, and work together. By doing this, we are not teaching people what to believe but we are modeling how to live the Christian life,” Scott says.

To prepare, they took a 10-week Spanish training course and with the little Spanish they learned, they went door to door to meet their neighbors and others in town.

“They tolerated us and helped us with our Spanish. They were so receiving and forgiving. They made it easy for us,” says Scott.

Their ministries have varied, and the most beautiful part is that it has always been dropped in their laps. The first ministry began with a need for soccer uniforms.

Scott says, “We had a guy who would come to church every week and tell us, we really need your help. Our team needs uniforms. Can you sponsor us? We didn’t come here to sponsor and buy uniforms. Every week, he kept asking and asking. Okay, we’ll give you uniforms but we want your team to do a 10-week bible study. Okay sure, we will do anything you want.”

The ministry grew. Soon, more teams were asking for uniforms from soccer to women’s kickball and softball. REAP Granada was sponsoring 30 teams at one point with 600 players attending bible studies. Most of the players were addicted to drugs and alcohol but the Esposito’s began to see lives change. They were getting baptized; they were marrying couples and many of them were cleaning up their lives and turning to Christ.

Then, the Esposito’s were asked to help with the jails. The jails needed funding to paint inmates’ cells and build a fence for the prisoners outside. They agreed to do the work if they could do a weekly bible study. The Esposito’s were given the green light to meet with the 300 prisoners.

The Esposito’s growing plantains on their farm.

The work continues. This past April, the couple launched a discipleship program with 26 young men, all with addiction problems. The group recently graduated from the program and some have stayed to work on the farm. The Esposito’s are now evaluating the program for the long term. They have also been asked by many they have helped to start a church.

Scott has never seen himself as a pastor but, “If the lord brings us into a new activity, we will prayerfully consider it.”

We can’t wait to see what the Esposito’s do next.

Scott and Jennifer Esposito have four children; two of which have spent a great amount of time serving in the ministry.

Modeling Christian Life in Nicaragua