I wanted to share a few of the stories from the incredible
people I have met so far during the World Race.
God has been placing some very honorable young men in my life on this
journey and I wanted to give you a glimpse into their lives.
In Puerto Barios, Guatemala I had the 
pleasure of working
with a young man by the name of Alex.
Our group was fortunate enough to have Alex as our daily driver of the
van that took us to our various ministry sites. Alex acted as our local translator, ministry
liason and general “tour ” guide during our time in Guatemala.
Alex’s story is heartbreaking but one that needs to be
told. Alex grew up in El Salvador with
his parents, his two sisters, Lilly and Jennie, and his brother Kevin. As a young teenager life was pretty good
compared to many of his friends who came from broken homes where the concept of
three meals a day was a far off dream.
At age 16, things changed pretty drastically for Alex. He was lured into a gang on the streets and
over the next two years of his life his desire for money, aclohol, drugs and
power grew to unthinkable levels. Alex
shared with me that there were times that he and the other gang members would
often beat up and sometimes even kill innocent Salvadorians.
Alex had pushed away everyone around him including his
parents, siblings and all of his friends in exchange for his gang life. At the age of 18, his only remaining non gang
friend had finally convinced him that if he didn’t leave El Salvador the life
he was living was going to kill him.
Alex took a leap of faith and escaped the country of his birth, leaving
behind his family and everyone he had known.
When he arrived in Guatemala he
didn’t know anyone there and he didn’t have a dime to his name. Alex was taken in by a local church and
introduced to a man named Paul who heads up a Christian radio station in Puerto
Barios. Paul helped Alex get a job, find
a place to live and get back on his feet.
To date Alex has been working with Paul for almost 3 years. There is not a day that goes by in which
Alex is not thankful to his friend who helped him leave El Salvador, to Paul in
Guatemala and to the Lord for showing him such grace.
Last month I lived in an orphanage for teenagers in
Nicaragua called The Quinta. I had the
privelige of living 
along side these brave young men and women who have been
either abandoned by their families or who come from broken and abusive
homes. One of these young men who
really touched my heart was a gentleman by the name of Jonathon (pronounced
“Yonithan”). Jonathon was one of the
last people we met at The Quinta as he had been visiting his younger brother
for a few days about 100 km away when we arrivided at the slum neighborhood. Jonathon’s brother had been in the hospital
for several weeks leading up to that point fighting a virus that had affected
his kidneys. As Jonathon returned to The
Quinta and was introduced to me I could tell that he was a very quiet
individual. As the month progressed
Jonathon started to open up to me and shared his life experiences. Jonathon was one of the few boys there who
spoke English and his kind heart was felt by everyone he came in contact
with. He has the kind of smile that
could light up a room and I loved talking about music, friends and the Lord
with Jonathon.
It was difficult to have to say goodbye to Jonathon at the
end of last month but I knew I had made a friend that I would meet again in
heaven. About a week ago we received
the news that Jonathon’s brother had lost his battle with illness and had
passed away. My prayers and heart goes
out to his family. I hope Jonathon knows
that his brother is home now and waiting for him in the house of the Lord.
