After this prodigious experience, I started a mission in Nicaragua. It has a current population of 6.5 million inhabitants (UN 2020). Slightly larger than New York State, 50,337.30 square miles, unemployment rate at 7.36 %, major Religion Christianity, Nicaragua was never rich in the first place, and it is striving to overcome the aftereffects of dictatorship, natural calamities, and a long war. The Nicaraguan people had been under communism for more than twenty years, and has left them and their country under the most atrocious and dreadful poverty and famine.

The mission started from my home in Tampa, Florida. In Nicaragua, with mom and sister’s great help, I have a place for storing and distributing sacks and small boxes of clothes, household needs, and school supplies donated from schools in Tampa, to assist the most needed families and children whose parents don’t have money to buy even a pencil. The first donations where sent in few large boxes by air cargo. Later on, the first shipment 20’ container filled with donated goods was sent.  

To avoid paying government taxes for donations brought in Nicaragua, we founded a national Non-Profit Organization named “Ministries of Healing Catholic Christian, Inc.” Years later, it was incorporated in the USA as “Nicaragua Christian Relief Ministries, Inc.”

Christ the King Church, Radio station Spirit FM95, US Government, Shrines hospital, St. Anthony hospital, Custom Mobility, become more involved. Begin shipping two containers a year. Amanda goes to Nicaragua to receive shipments and distribute goods.

Mr. Dave Jeffries, a church parishioner, lawyer, and a wonderful holy man, incorporated it, as a tax-exempt 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. In 1997, and Ministries of Healing Catholic Christian was born. Since then the church helps the ministry. Our Board of Directors were then, Father Mike Muhr, Mentor and Director; Amanda Valle-Peters, President and Founder; Cecilia Castillo, Treasurer; Dave Jeffries, Director; Diana Jeffries, Director; Jeff Carr, Accountant; Gelmi Wilkinson, Secretary; Thomas Delgado, Director; Leonor Delgado Director; Jeff Darrey, Director.

After our incorporation and the help of all our board members, the ministry started flourishing. For the last few years, I have tirelessly gathered donations of clothing, food, medical supplies, household goods, educational supplies, furniture; sorting and putting them in separate boxes, labeling them according to their category, and storing them in the trailer. The work is exhausting for one person but Jesus’ Word says “Take up your cross and follow me.” It helps me to keep going, but now we encounter the problem of how to pay thousands of dollars for the shipping of the containers to Nicaragua.

Hurricane Mitch strikes Nicaragua. Plight of poor and needy intensify. More assistance from Church, US Govt., Mrs. Betty Hickey, Joan Hickey, Tampa Rental owner, Life Hospice, Wanda Guluzini and community in general.

It was an unforgettable, extraordinary experience. Plight of poor and needy intensify. Rev. Michael Muhr, Pastor of Christ the King Catholic Church, was truly the guiding hand who helped us every step of the way in this endeavor. Through him, the church paid for our first 40’ container sent to Nicaragua. I went personally to assist these people in disgrace.

We assisted thousands and thousands of people with household goods, clothing, shoes, food, medical supplies, helped disable people, and more

After assisting the victims of Hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua, I came back to Tampa. I knew I had to continue with the ministry God put in my hands, but the circumstances in which I was operating it did not make it promising that I’d be able to continue. The donations were pouring in, people called for pickups, but there was no base storage or a way to pick them up. I went to talk to Father Mike Muhr and asked him to let me bring a 40’ semi-trailer to the church surroundings to use it as a storage and office. With the help of God, he agreed. He also said the ministry has to be incorporated for more creditability, and the church would give us financial help. He told me to talk to Dave Jeffries, a parishioner and lawyer with a great heart, who will do the incorporation free. I agreed with Site Storage Inc., to rent a trailer and park it at Christ the King School by the play ground at McKay Ave. and S. Dale Mabry. We agreed that once the trailer was full, they would bring an empty one to Christ the King and take the full trailer to their storage site. 

After a couple of years of operation, evil, bad hearted people set the trailer on fire. Media and volunteers came to aid this time and again, and Fr. Muhr was there with me. He let me use the Church’s car garage as a storage space for donations, let me stay there for a few months. 

In the year 2000, one of the Nicaraguan Christian Relief Ministries staunchest supporters, Rev. Michael Muhr, pastor of Christ the King Church and Board member of the ministry, left his position here to become professor of Theology at the Catholic Seminary located in Boyton Beach, FL. He was truly the guiding hand who helped us every step of the way. He will be greatly missed by all of us.

During one day in May, volunteers loaded the most donated goods in the history of the Ministry into five 40-foot containers for shipment to Nicaragua. Amanda Valle-Peters, President, journeyed to Nicaragua to receive and distribute the goods. 

Educational program begins. This program has been designed exclusively to change the lives of Nicaraguan indigent children through an education and introduce them to society. 

Six containers ship. More than 4000 families living in the countryside receive baby’s formula and others donations. Through our “Adopt a Child for education ” program 39 children attending to school.

The ministry trailer was set on fire again. The evil hearted person that did it does not know how much harm he had caused to indigent people. We will never know who did it, but our answer to this evil act was to pray to our Lord for the conversion of this person. But let me tell you: the consequences of this evil, our Lord turned into all kinds of blessings. May He continue to turn evil to good and send us help during this time. We needed to pay the trailer company $2,000 for the damage of the trailer, and it is absolutely out of our limited budget.

In spite of the financial crisis the ministry was going through after the financial help we received from the church was cut 50%, Fr. Daly call me to his office right after daily mass to give me the most stricken new that I have received in the fifteen years of the ministry operation. I was told the ministry trailer and office had to be moved off the church site. This came as a shock, and it hurt to think that this could be the end of the mission and my work to the Lord. At that time, I knew there was no way that we would be able to pay for a warehouse with our restricted budget.

We were told that by the month of August, we had to be out. The Lord sent us a Duplex residence with a large back yard, conveniently located only one block west of the school office, so that our supporters and friends can keep patronizing our cause. Now the rental expense was a combination of my personal rent, and the ministry would pay the difference.

The Lord answered my cry by sending me this holy, good group of men to rescue His ministry for the impoverished Nicaragua. They believed in and supported our cause, and they were always there when the ministry needs them for any major project with lot of love and enthusiasm. I want also to mention that our Board of Directors paid $2,000 from their own pockets for the burned trailer, and $3,800 to pay for a fence around the storage for security. We are now located at 4001 W. Morrison Ave, Tampa FL, 33629. I hope our followers will continue to help us.

Our Board of Directors has seen many changes. 

During the last 24 years of our service to God and his people, we have helped thousands of children, elderly, families, Catholic Churches, school computers labs, disabled children and adults, and hospitals. The ministry has encountered problems of all kinds; financial, donation shortages, hazards, frustrations, very difficult times, anxiety, threats, and tremendous problems with Nicaragua’s government and assaults that have come along with it. 

Nicaraguan Christian Relief Ministries’ Board of Directors has concluded that the ministry needs to modify its procedures and activities in Nicaragua. For now, all shipments will have to stop and we must concentrate exclusively on one activity: education of the Nicaraguan children.

“ADOPT A CHILD FOR EDUCATION PROGRAM” is the way to go.

SIXTY THREE children enrolled in school this year through our program ¨Adopt a child for education¨. Also the ministry is blessed with Christ the King School furniture, school supplies and more. Thank Fr. Len. Saint Patrick Cathedral, from St. Petersburg, donated 45 pews. We ship five 40´containers.