Hermes Espinoza
You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
John 15:16
My name is Hermes Rugama Espinoza
I was born in Nicaragua, but I currently live in Ciudad Vieja located in Antigua, Guatemala where I serve as a full-time missionary with a missionary organization called, Youth With a Mission (YWAM). I have trained and serve in YWAM for the last 22 years in many nations living and serving full time in four of them (Nicaragua, Panama, Chile, and currently in Guatemala).
I have not always been a christian, I was born into a family that did not know God very well, and my father was not present for my childhood or while I was an adolescent, this absence greatly marked my life; but at 17 years old I had a special and unique encounter with God. This encounter occurred in a church in my town in my home nation of Nicaragua and I can say that it was in this moment that God saved my life, He restored me, He showed me my worth and my true identity. It was in this time that He set me free in a new destiny and He showed me the way of grace and transformation and I have walked in them ever since. My family has also begun to follow the Lord.
Acts 16:31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
Today, I can share my own story with God, and I can do it through the calling that He has given me in the motto “To Know God and Make Him Known”, going out from the place I was born and working as a full time missionary, through showing God’s Father Heart to young people, and through evangelism, discipleship, and mercy ministries. I do all of this with the vison that the people who will impacted can also take these things to their families, communities, countries, and nations; reminding them that the best way to teach and reach others is by being an influence and good testimony and through their character in such a way that reflects Jesus.
1 Timothy 4:12 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”
Matthew 10:8 “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.”
I also want to share that in the missionary organization where I work, we have many of these different ministries such as:
- English Classes every Monday for people in our community
- Evangelism in the main parks and public places in Antigua every Tuesday
- Women’s ministry for our community every Wednesday
- Children’s ministry every Thursday for the children in our community
- Bible Distribution ministry every Friday in Antigua and the surrounding communities
- Generations Ministry, one Saturday a month, where we disciple children, youth, and young adults from various zones in the city and Antigua.
We also have several development projects to continue blessing and building up the community such as:
- Supporting families with food distribution,
- Water filtration systems,
- Stove replacements,
- Roof repairs and other projects
Each year we also offer our training schools:
- Discipleship Training School (DTS) which lasts 5 months for students 18+
- Bible School for the Nations (BSN) which lasts 6 months for people who have completed a DTS
- Teachers for the Nations (TFN) which lasts 3 months for people who have completed a DTS
- SST Camp (Saved to Serve and Transform) which lasts 3 weeks and is for youth from 14-21 years old.
As you can see, the is much work still to be done, but many times few who are willing to committed to serve God. That is why I am asking for your support for me so that I may be strengthened and may continue faithful to the missionary work to which God has called me.
Matthew 9:37 “Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” I pray that my being and doing will always exalt, glorify, and make God known before others.
Romans 11:36 “For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”
1 Peter 5:11 “To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.”
