40 Days - Day 39

Send Me

Imagine: Not having a car. Not being able to hang out with friends. Not having Starbucks. No shopping centers. No chance of an education, not even grammar school. No ipods. No internet. No running water. No plumbing. No electricity. Walking…walking…walking…no shoes, sharp rocks, broken glass, hot surfaces, muddy walkways, rough calloused injured feet… A one room house resting on the edge of a cliff, shared by you and your four siblings and parents and even extended family. There is only one mattress in the corner, resting on unlevel boxes or crates. The bathroom is outside the house, a hole in the ground covered by a crate to keep out the stench and the flies. You must be careful because if you make one wrong step, you could fall off the cliff. Working…working...working… You do not get to go to school because your family needs food to eat; so you must work. There aren’t any kids in the neighborhood to play with because they are working. Water is collected in a barrel and used for drinking, washing dishes and washing clothes. Bathing is dependent on rain… The air is heavy with the smell of pollution, garbage, raw sewage and cooking food. Your stomach hurts… You have worms. Your teeth hurt; you have no dentist. You are hungry. You find a half eaten apple, take a few bites and save the rest for your sister.

You are envious. There is a home in the area that has cinderblock walls and running water. The children go to school. They get to play. They get a meal. How did they get so lucky?

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” –Isaiah 6:8 NIV

IT is not luck. It is hearing the voice of the Lord… and obeying.

Mr. Alvaro was a successful architect in Guatemala City, Guatemala. When he heard the voice of the Lord, his heart was broken for the poor and the lost of his country, where poverty ravages 98% of the population. He started a church to help change families and a school to impact future generations.

The People’s Church heard the voice of the Lord and began a partnership to help Pastor Alvaro. A church was built. A School was built. Lives were changed in Guatemala and in Franklin, TN. Mission trips continued providing medical and dental care, sports camps, church, school and home construction.

Fathers heard the voice of the Lord; fathers went.
Sons and Daughters heard the voice of the Lord; they went.
Friends heard the voice of the Lord; friends went.

Pastor Alvaro’s vision --changing his country from darkness to light by impacting one family at a time—is changing his country and the people of The People's Church as they each have placed their "Yes" on the table… “Here am I. Send me!”

Mary Clay Estes