chasing an abundantly humble life

Hey friends, 

The end of my mission trip/internship here in El Salvador is a few days away. Although I am excited to see friends and family back home, I find myself in a place of mixed emotions knowing that I will deeply miss the people here and the ways God is moving in this place. 

The past week has been extremely fruitful for the Kingdom of God. The church group from Wyoming here this week has been working hard to build relationships and share Christ with the locals participating in the Church outreach soccer tournament. A number of locals have come to know Christ for the first time this week, including 4 of the Lost Boyz from the soccer team I help with. 

The Lost Boyz played in the semi-final a few nights ago in what was the most exciting game of the tournament. Down 3-2 with a few minutes left, the Lost Boyz tied the game. Unfortunately, with about a minute to go, the opposing team scored the game winning goal sending the Lost Boyz to a 4-3 defeat. The Lost Boyz then went on to a lopsided victory in the 3rd place game, winning 6-1! 

As I close things out here in San Salvador, I realize how thankful I am that God chose to use me down here this summer. He certainly did not need me to do his work here, but he graciously let me be a part of it all. The lessons I learned this summer are countless. God used this experience to expose some things in me that I need to work through and a number of areas I need to hand over to him. 

I would greatly encourage you all to seek out opportunities in short term missions if you feel God is leading you that way. God has a unique way of calling us closer to him through serving in far away places without friends and family to rely on daily, all while living in a culture that is vastly different than what we are used to. 

So my final encouragement is this; Don’t be afraid to let God use you where he sees fit. Don’t be too attached to your own plans for the future because God will likely have different ones and his plans are certainly the best thing for you. I never would have guessed I would spend 2 months in El Salvador on a short term mission trip, but now I can’t guess where or who I would be had God not brought me here. 

Thanks for reading about my trip… I plan to keep the tumblr thing going, at least for a while.

Cheers,

Mike

Hey friends… thanks for checking in again.

This week, Envision Wired (our missionary organization) and the local Christian and Missionary Alliance church have been hard at work with an outreach soccer tournament. The tournament consists of 12 teams, 8 men’s and 4 women’s teams all led by members of the church. The goal was to have each person who started a team fill their roster with non-believers in order to make this outreach event effective. I am the assistant coach of the Lost Boyz, a team of orphaned boys ranging from about 10-18 that live together in a group home.  

The tournament began with round-robin play, each team playing 5 games in 6 days. The Lost Boyz started the tournament strong with an easy victory on day one, but suffered a lopsided defeat on the second day. Between the first two nights of the tournament, things were not all well in good on our team. There were fights about playing time and who should play where. The tough thing about our team is that we have a handful of kids who are so young and small that they get outweighed by well over 100 pounds and are 2 or so feet shorter than the players on the other teams.  At the same time, we have some well skilled soccer players that could easily go up against the best players on any other team. 

After our first loss, things were not looking good for us. Many of the kids were furiously angry that we lost and one of our better players even decided he didn’t want to be on the team any longer. Thankfully, as bad as that day was, the next three proved to be great. We went on to win three straight games, by scores of 7-3, 8-2, and 6-4. The real blessing about the blowout games we won was the opportunities we had to play the “little ones” for a significant amount of time, all while staying competitive and keeping the older boys happy with their own playing time.  

On Friday night, the lights were shining and the elimination series of the tournament began.  The team we were playing was much older and bigger than the Lost Boyz and it was clear early on that their experience was going to be a factor as they quickly put us in a 2-0 deficit. The Lost Boyz deserve a great amount of credit for their “never say die” attitude as they climbed back from two goals down to tie it up just before the half ended. We went back and forth early on in the second half and found ourselves tied again at 3-3. Midway through the second half, things really took off for our squad and within a few minutes, we were up 5-3. Our opponent cut the lead to 5-4 with only a few minutes left in the game, but another goal by Franklin, one of our stars, sealed the game up for us. The Lost Boyz went on to a 6-4 victory to move into the tournament semi-final round.

God really showed up in the tournament and with the Lost Boyz this past week and I am so grateful for what he has done. We went from a team on the verge of crumbling to the number 2 team in the tournament starring down a chance to play in the finals. But what was even more important and more impressive than the way the Lost Boyz rose to the occasion on the field this week was the way God used the tournament to change lives.

As part of the outreach aspect of the tournament, the youth group from Indianapolis that was down here serving alongside us this week spent time sharing their testimonies and their love of Christ with a number of players from various teams. Through some of these conversations, 10 players in all made a commitment to Christ and became believers. On Friday during the day, some of the high school kids from Indy went to meet with the Lost Boyz at their home. Two of our top players, Franklin and Isaac became believers in Christ that day.

Thank you for praying for the Lost Boyz and I would encourage you to continue to pray for more of them to open their hearts to Christ this upcoming week. 

Here is our roster if you’re interested in praying over some of the Lost Boyz!!!

Mauricio, Franklin, Isaac, Oscar, Emerson, Manuel, Sergio, Marvin, David, Jesus, Salvador, and Ricardo.

Thanks for reading…

-Mike 

Hey friends,

I want to tell you all about the Lost Boyz, a group of boys that live down the street from our Envision Wired ministry center. The Lost Boyz are orphans that range in age from 8-18 and at one point or another were living on the streets of San Salvador. Many of the boys were involved in extremely destructive lifestyles involving drugs prior to arriving at the group home. 

Nestor, one of the volunteers that has been working with Envision Wired for the last few months first got us connected with the Lost Boyz group home. A while back, Nestor began hanging around where the Lost Boyz live and started a relationship with the coordinator of the group home. After a meeting with the local pastor of the church we work with, the coordinator of the group home, and Richard, the C&MA missionary here, Nestor was asked to lead the boys as their soccer coach. The Lost Boyz have been meeting for practice a few times a week in preparation for the church’s big soccer tournament/outreach event.

The amazing thing in all this is to see how God has used Nestor to reach out to a disenfranchised group of kids in the community. Nestor’s life story and experiences have made him a perfect ambassador for Christ to this group of 10 or so boys. Nes as we call him was born in El Salvador, but grew up in San Francisco, California after his parents were killed in El Salvador’s Civil War. He grew up living with an aunt who became increasingly abusive towards him. One day, she beat Nestor so much that Child Protective Services had to be called and they removed him from her custody. Nestor then began a rough journey through group homes.  Shortly thereafter, Nes found himself in a juvenile detention center after he got involved with a gang in San Fran. Nes took completely to the gang life and spent the next 15 or so years in and out of prison in the California system.

While in prison, Nestor was a member of a prison gang, and as he explained it, members of differing gangs were not even aloud to speak to one another. One day during riots in the prison, Nes was sent to solitary confinement. The only other man in solitary that day with Nes was someone from a different prison gang. Despite it being against the code in prison, Burt, a man from a rival gang began speaking to Nestor. He told him that he had something for him and a message to tell him about. In the bathroom, this “gang rival” Burt left a Bible for Nestor.

After an act of God, Nestor was moved to a lower security prison shortly after hearing about Christ. Once he was settled in at the new prison, Nestor was greeted happily by none other than Burt, the same man who shared Christ with him a short time before. Like Nes, Burt was also moved to the lower level prison. It is amazing to think that God orchestrated a situation in which despite all the rules of prison gangs, Burt could share the Gospel with Nestor. Had the two not been the only ones in solitary that day, at that specific time, the conversation never would have happened. Then on top of that all, God strategically placed Burt back in Nestor’s life by moving them each to the same prison. 

Nestor was allowed to cut some time off his sentence if he agreed to voluntary deportation. So about a year and a half ago, Nestor arrived in the land of his birth, El Salvador to start a new life and turn a new page. As new follower of Christ, this was a good opportunity for him to get out of gang life and leave behind all the baggage of San Francisco. 

Nestor joined the Christian and Missionary Alliance church in town and began to volunteer as a translator for the short term missions teams that work with Envision Wired. As coach of the Lost Boyz soccer team, Nestor uses his life experiences, challenges, and hardships to help lead these boys in a positive direction. He does for them what no one was able to do for him, provide a loving support before things get out of hand. Before and after each practice, the team prays together and Nes often times finds himself serving as coach, counselor, and confidant.  

This week, the church’s soccer tournament begins and we should all be rooting for the Lost Boyz to do well but more importantly, I hope you will consider praying that this outreach event leads the boys towards knowing Christ, who he is, and what he has done for them. I am so thankful for the way God has used my friend Nestor and all that I have learned from him and his life experiences in the 5 weeks I have been here. 

Thanks for checking in… and Go Lost Boyz! 

-Mike 

Hey friends… as always, thanks for checking in (its a long post but a really encouraging story).

This summer, God has really confronted me with a number of opportunities to hear about the lives of people that have been in tough places and the work Christ is doing through them. First I would like to tell you about Tia Ana. Tia Ana (Aunt Ana) as she is called by the 10 orphaned children she raises is a woman with a rather powerful story. A story of pain, abuse, heartbreak, but most of all, one of redemption. Our mission team spent a morning at Tia Ana’s house/orphanage in one of the more dangerous parts of San Salvador. This is one of those neighborhoods that we can’t be in after dark for safety reasons. When we arrived at Tia Ana’s we were immediately greeted with open arms by the children.

Listening to Tia Ana tell us about her life was both interesting and yet so difficult to stomach. As a young girl she was sexually abused by her uncles, all four of which were Catholic priests. Her alcoholic father and oblivious mother did nothing to help their daughter escape the abuse. When she would tell her mother, Ana would be told was that she was dreaming this all and that her uncles were saints that could never do such things. Eventually Ana left home and moved to San Salvador before she was a teenager. Having no money and nowhere to go in a new city, she took up prostitution. She would carry a pistol in one boot and a knife in the other, both of which she used when her safety was in jeopardy. Clearly, this was no way for a young teenager to live. So here is where God’s redemption comes into her story…

A woman named Gladis began to take notice of Ana around town and how she spent every night at the local bars getting drunk, doing drugs, and looking for work. Every time Gladis saw Ana, she would pull her out of the bar, take her home and get her cleaned up and cared for. Eventually, Gladis shared the Gospel of Christ with Ana, and like many teenagers who have experienced nothing but pain and suffering in their lives, Ana hated Gladis and hated God. She wanted nothing to do with either of them. One year on Ana’s birthday, Gladis set up a “birthday party” for her. Ana was excited, assuming there would be beer and drugs at her birthday party because to her, that’s what a party was. Gladis instead took her to a church service for her birthday. Again, Ana denied wanting anything to do with God.

The turning point came when Ana got home that afternoon and God really moved in her heart. She began to learn that she had a Father in Heaven even if she didn’t have one here on Earth. She began to leave her old lifestyle behind and follow the Lord. A few years later, Ana found a Christian man to marry and started a family.

Over the last 15 or 20 years, Tia Ana has been finding abandoned children on the streets of San Salvador and taking them in. Although they refer to her as their Aunt, Tia Ana is in reality a mother to these children who have been forgotten by their own parents. Now in her 50s, Tia Ana is doing everything from raising an infant boy to guiding girls and boys through their adolescent and teenage years. In addition to providing food and a home for these children, Tia Ana teaches them about the Gospel of Christ and tells them how very much she loves them.

I was really blessed by our time at the orphanage with the opportunity to play basketball with Jimmy and Oscar, two boys about 11 or 12 years old. The beauty of our time there was, that for a few hours, it wasn’t about the fortunate (Me) blessing the unfortunate (the kids at the orphanage)… it was about people loving each other the way Christ called us to. In fact, it was really the other way around. It always seems to work out that way doesn’t it. I was certainly more blessed by meeting them and getting to be their friend than anything I could have done for them. The joy that these two boys showed me was a humble reminder of the joy that Christ has in store for all of us. I am far more fortunate in terms of worldly things than these boys, but they showed me a joy that I long for deeply. Meeting these children, and seeing Tia Ana’s example of loving the lost like Christ loves us was one of the most valuable experiences I have had in my time down here.

Stay tuned for part 2 to Real people, tough stories… I will be telling a story about the Lost Boys, an all boys group home that we have been investing in.

Cheers,

-Mike

Hey friends,

One of the most interesting things you will encounter in El Salvador, like many Central American countries is the presence of armed guards. There are armed guards everywhere, there is a man with a shotgun outside the bank, one at the ice cream shop, and there’s even on at Wendy’s. These armed security guards often open the door for you which is pretty cool and they certainly provide a necessary service. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that for the safety of the business, it’s staff, and the patrons, an armed guard is essential, but it still has taken some getting used to. Having a man with a shotgun at nearly every turn in this city is just so different from what is normal to me. 

In other news… last week we had a group here from New York to work at a Church in Apopa, El Salvador. In addition to some construction projects at the church, the group also ran a vacation Bible school for the kids in the town. The thing about Apopa is, well, it’s a pretty serious town. It has a heavy influence of gang violence and crime and is probably the most dangerous town we will work in. So, this is where that saying, “Ignorance is bliss” becomes applicable. The group from New York as well as myself knew a little about the increased danger in Apopa but we certainly did not know all the stories and crime that occurs so frequently there. However, Apopa was the place that God had called us to work, serve, and reach out to the children there, so that’s what our group did. Thankfully, by the grace of God, we have not had any issues of safety at all in Apopa during the 8 or so days we’ve spent out there in the last few weeks. 

Normally, vacation Bible schools are held at the church or at least in the church yard… well, in Apopa, we did it in the street a few blocks away from the church. Having it in the street made all the difference. God made it rain with children at the VBS… 45-50 kids showed up on the first day. In Apopa, some of the children are in school during the morning while others are in school during the afternoon, so our group decided to hold two VBS meetings daily, one at 10 a.m. and one at 3 p.m. to be able to reach out to as many kids as possible. 

The coolest thing God did in Apopa last week was the way he moved in the neighborhood around the church during the VBS. Although the vacation Bible school was directed at the children, countless numbers of adults in the neighborhood became active onlookers to what was happening. The stretch of street where we held VBS was surrounding by a number of houses and slowly, the adults that lived in those houses made their way outside to watch as well as listen to the presentation of the Gospel. There were people ranging from their teenage years to old men in their 60’s and 70’s listening to members of our group teach about Christ and all that he has to offer us in this world. Being able to see God move in the lives of kids as well as adults in the neighborhood through a simple VBS was truly a great blessing last week. 

Each night our Envision Wired staff sits down with the weekly group we have down here volunteering to do a daily “debrief” session. We basically just go through some high points and low points of the day and talk about things God has been showing us. One of the best insights I received this week came out of one of those meeting from the lone high school aged student in the group from New York. When asked what God was showing him this week, he said, “I’ve learned that God is not a vending machine.” Such a simple insight really, yet one that is hardly reflected upon let alone considered when we approach God with all that is going on in our lives. 

I know that personally, I am often guilty of making vending machine prayers to God. I’m convinced sometimes that I can simply go and push B3 and get everything my heart desires… it will all just pop out of its spot in the machine and then will be right there in my hand. God, in actuality is nothing like a vending machine. We can’t always see the options he has and the plans he’s made for our lives. We can’t always choose what we want for our lives or for ourselves like selecting our favorite candy bar or bag of chips at the vending machine. The thing is, if God was like a vending machine, we would always choose the sweet candy… we would never experience situations of pain and trial, thus inhibiting the opportunity to grow in faith through reliance on Christ. Why would we need to rely on him if life or God was anything like a vending machine, allowing us to choose only the good for ourselves. 

Unlike a vending machine, God gives us what he wants to give us, not what we want to eat at this very moment. He supplies us with what we need when we need it. So when the Lord hands us a trial, we must not look at it as if we accidentally pushed the button for black licorice at the machine. God knows what we need, or don’t need in our lives for that matter and thankfully, because he is nothing like the vending machine we try and turn him into, we can’t always get life the way we want it… all sweet and no sour, no pain. It is in the experiences that we would choose not to go through ourselves that we grow the most. I truly believe that God uses times of difficulty, pain, and suffering to bring us back to him… to bring him closer to who and what he wants us to be, so if you feel like you choose the wrong thing from the machine, just remember, God is giving you just what you need right now. 

Thanks for checking in again.

take care,

-Mike 

Last weekend we had the opportunity to visit Salcoatitan, a small town in the mountains a few hours outside of San Salvador. 

The short term group of college students from Toronto had planned a two day vacation Bible school for the children of the town on both Saturday and Sunday. In addition to the VBS, our group was painting inside the church. On Saturday, a few hours before the VBS was supposed to begin a huge rainstorm hit. This was no ordinary rain, this was a monsoon-like downpour that lasted a few hours. As we arrived to the church to begin the VBS, it appeared that the storm increased in intensity and it began to thunder like crazy. My initial thought was, “well, looks like it’s going to be a small crowd today… if any crowd at all.”

Our group circled up and began to pray that God would still bring the kids to the church despite the storm. We prayed that the kids he wanted there would find their way to the VBS and that his will be done that afternoon. After about 10 minutes of powerful prayer between the Toronto group and our staff, things seemed to start looking up. The rain slowed and one by one a handful of kids made their way into the church building. After about half an hour, there were 20-25 kids in the building. 

That moment I was reminded of importance and need to be bold in prayer and to pray with great faith that God will provide regardless of the situation. I have always believed that prayer is an important part of my faith and that it is effective but this served me so well to experience such great faith and prayer that day. 

One of the nicest parts of spending a couple days in Salcoatitan was that it was much cooler up there than in San Salvador… but even more importantly, it was a quiet reprieve from the business of downtown San Salvador. Being a lover of the quiet, I really enjoyed the time up there. 

On our way home we made a stop by Juayua Falls and the Mayan ruins of Tazumal. Both were really exciting, but Tazmal was certainly one of my highlights so far in El Salvador… just a really cool experience to walk around a place that dated back to around 100 A.D.

Oh and how can I forget… another life lesson about Central America/El Salvador… don’t eat the lettuce unless you can guarantee it is clean. Up in Salcoatitan, some people in our group ate lettuce on their sandwiches, and well… let’s just say it didn’t end well. Lot’s of sickness was floating around here for the last couple of days but all is well again. 

Thanks for checking in… hope you are all well! 

-Mike 

Hey friends,

Things have been going really well so far in San Salvador. One of the biggest adjustments I have had to make was getting used to the way drivers operate around here. It is the duty of the pedestrian to make sure he/she doesn’t wind up plastered to the pavement… cars/buses/taxis rarely stop or even slow down to let you cross. Traffic lights are observed, but stop signs are well, optional… it makes for an interesting and exciting walk around town!

As for the area, it is awesome… I’m surrounded by volcanoes at every turn and the sun always seems to be shining. I have been extremely blessed by the people I have met so far. Being immersed in Salvadoran culture is both a challenge and a fun experience. Currently, there is a team of 12 college students from Toronto staying with us at the Envision Wired center. The group has been helping us finish small construction projects in the center as well as engaging a number of churches in the area. In the past two days, we have gone on two prayer tours with different churches, meeting and hearing from their pastors. It has been humbling to see and experience the faithfulness of the churches down here. Saturday, we will be heading to a town called Salcoatitan, a few hours away from San Salvador where will will spend the weekend. During the weekend, we will be visiting one of the volcanoes and doing a ropes course. 

I’m feeling rather humbled so far and thankful to God for all he is doing here… grateful he is letting me be a part of it. I really feel God just asking me to live life… and to be still like it says in Pslams 46:10. I know that sounds so simple, but so often we get stuck in a world of blackberry phones and ipods and every comfort available. We forget to enjoy the world that God has given us and the opportunities he puts in front of us to experience it and to love on and serve people everywhere. 

Thanks for staying tuned and thanks even more for your prayers.

-Mike 

Hey friends,

First off, thanks for checking out my tumblr.

Christ told us in Matthew chapter 28, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” And it is in this spirit of “going” that I find myself on the verge of what should be an amazing summer.

As many of you may already know, I’m going to be in El Salvador for nearly the next two months on a mission trip as an intern with the Christian and Missionary Alliance’s Envision ministry. In San Salvador, I will be working with Richard Mullinax who is part of the C&MA and a few other interns in addition to a number of work teams from churches across the U.S.  You can check Envision Wired out on Facebook if you’re curious.

So, for about the next two months, if you need me, you’ll know where to find me. If you want to hear more about how I arrived at this journey, keep reading. If not, no big deal, I’m not much of a reader either.

About a year and a half ago, God had really started to put it on my heart that I needed to go and see how I could be of use to His glory somewhere else in this world. I didn’t know what that would look like or what it meant for a long time.

Last spring I regularly met with my friends Mark and Eric for beer and good, honest, and meaningful conversations. One day Mark was talking about a mission trip he was on in the Middle East/Europe (if I remember correctly) and how important that experience was for his faith. That conversation and many others with Mark and Eric played a significant role in inspiring me to take a leap of faith and put myself out the world.

I found the C&MA online and sent an email their way to find out some info about the missionary work they were doing. Before I knew it, Richard had emailed me and asked if I was interested in coming down to Central America to be a part of what was going on there.

Trusting that this was the door God had opened, I went for it. And so after a few months of praying and talking it over with my family and friends I decided to commit to El Salvador for the summer. God moved in big ways during this whole process. I was so blessed to have received such strong support from family and friends meeting my funding goal in just a few months time.

Fast forward a little… and now the time to go is finally here. God has really prepared my heart over the last few months for this journey and adventure. I quite simply am in humble awe of where the Lord has met me in the last year and where He is leading me each day. Although its hard to remember sometimes, God truly is guiding our way (Proverbs 16:9) and it is in that which I put my hope and faith that this summer is what He wants it to be and that I am where the Lord has led me.

Stay tuned for more! I will do my best to keep this blog current with the happenings of Envision Wired in El Salvador,

-Mike