(This blog is written by me former team lead John Sanchez
Joseph Cronin
As I was praying about who God wanted me to honor in a blog this week, this righteous man of God was who came to mind. From the first hour I got to spend with him in his tent during sharks and minnows, to the moment I realized he was going to be on my team for the next 5 months, until now, I have seen God use him as an instrument for his glory. In this blog, I would really like to highlight how in different ways God has used him to bring glory to his name.
To begin with, if you met Joseph during training camp, chances are you left a conversation with him feeling encouraged. I remember the first night I spent with him during the sharks and minnows simulation how he shared with me his story and honestly I don’t remember what, if anything I said to him, he kept telling me how encouraged he was by me and the wisdom I had at such a young age. Training camp was full of times where I consistently saw him not only encourage me, but also encourage others in their spiritual giftings and in the faith. And honestly that encouragement continued even beyond training camp. I distinctly remember him calling me one day because he thought he had an opportunity to fly to Miami and as we were discussing what we were going to do, he brought up the idea of going evangelizing in downtown Miami and I remember thinking who is this guy? This was still when I was still deathly afraid of evangelizing and evangelism was his strength and he wanted to encourage and build me up before we went on this 11 mission trip of which I was terrified of going. Unfortunately, the plans fell through to go evangelizing together in downtown Miami, but he never stopped encouraging me, even when we made it to Colombia.
In Colombia, his encouragement to step out of my comfort zone was made real by his example that he set. I will say that first month, of all the people on the squad, he stood out the most to me because he did everything I was afraid to do. Whenever there was an opportunity to preach, he was the first to volunteer. Whenever there was an opportunity to minister to a group of guys in the drug program, he was quick to volunteer, even though he didn’t even know Spanish and here I am afraid to have a bible study with these guys and I know Spanish. The way he encouraged and built those guys up is exactly what I want to do back home and abroad with a group of guys the way Jesus did, but I didn’t know that until I saw his example. Sometimes God puts people in your life to model exactly what he wants you to do with other people. Finally, not only did he encourage, set a good example and love the people super well, but he invited others to come join in what he was doing. I spent our last night in that compound sleeping downstairs with all the homeless and seeing firsthand what they experience everyday because of his boldness to seek to become one of them and his willingness to invite us to come with him.
After Colombia, I sort of didn’t get to see him in action for a few months until we united in Nepal on team Olive Tree. Our first official day as a team, we encountered a woman with what appeared to be burns on her face asking for baby formula. All of us keep walking, but Joseph stops and considers getting her some baby formula. Though at first he decides not to for fear of it being a scam, after our team stopped and had a discussion about it, he felt compelled to buy her the baby formula and we gave it to her and she broke down in tears. We had the opportunity to pray for her and though her English was not good enough to understand the gospel, we got to pray that Jesus make himself known to her. Which leads me to my next point about Joseph’s generosity. Joseph’s heart breaks for people and sometimes he doesn’t seem to care about his own finances if it means he could be a blessing to someone and he is a good example of someone who gives until it hurts in obedience to Gods prompting. I know that even though it turns out that woman was just asking for the formula in order to sell it, all the generosity displayed to her that day with the prayers will play a huge role in her coming to know Jesus one day.
Last but not least, and most importantly, Joseph has been an excellent model of what it means to walk in pure boldness.
I will never forget the day an entire village came to the house that we were doing ministry in, in the jungles of Gorkha Nepal and Joseph found a devout Hindu and began having a conversation about Jesus and with boldness he told him that he was worshiping demons and that Jesus was the only true God. The man threatened to call the police because evangelism is illegal in Nepal, but Joseph didn’t seem to care. Sure enough, the next night the man was back, not with the police, but to hear more about the gospel. I have never seen someone speak with such boldness as I did when Joseph was speaking with this man. He never accepted Christ, but as far as I know they keep in contact and God can still do a miraculous work in his heart. The boldness that Joseph has when evangelism he also has in calling his brothers higher as well. Oftentimes he comes across as abrasive which, I admit he can work on, but often times what he is sharing is true and needs to be taken into consideration.
Overall, as I look at everything I have seen in Joseph’s life, the good and the bad, I see a man whose life brings God glory, who seeks to encourage and build up His body, has a heart for the broken, homeless and drug addicted, and is willing to do anything and say anything for the sake of the gospel. I see someone who is willing to own up to his own faults and work on them despite how he feels and I see someone who inspires and encourages others to pursue and know God as he does.
