Hope amid horror
Luis was 14 at the time. Once we learned what family he was from, we realized why God wanted him in the program. He came from a very troubled home- a family with tremendous need both spiritually and physically. In addition to extreme poverty, addiction, and abuse in the home, his parents were HIV positive and he had already lost two siblings due to AIDS.
We tried hard to keep Luis in the program, but he was so rebellious. Right when he would seem to be softening, and starting to do well, he'd quit. We'd work to convince him to come back, but after a month or two he'd quit again. Finally, he left for good and refused to come back. All in all, we had him just under a year.
Brutally murdered
Brutally murdered
My daughter called me last night and said 2 young men from BV were murdered last week. One was Luis. It almost certainly was gang related - his body had been dismembered and cut into pieces. She saw it on local news and recognized his decapitated head.
I was in shock. My heart sunk. Living in Guatemala you grow numb to these stories- but this was one of our Rhinos. I can't stop thinking about him. Been going back and reading journal entries about him, remembering all we went through. Here's an excerpt from one I posted to this blog in March of 2017:
"i am so excited to have this young man in our academy. i trust God brought him to us with specific purpose. and i am believing the light of Jesus will someday fill his heart, his home, his future home, and his future family. luis will one day know the God who promises to turn our sorrows into strength, our sadness to joy, and our tears to laughter!"
I was in shock. My heart sunk. Living in Guatemala you grow numb to these stories- but this was one of our Rhinos. I can't stop thinking about him. Been going back and reading journal entries about him, remembering all we went through. Here's an excerpt from one I posted to this blog in March of 2017:
"i am so excited to have this young man in our academy. i trust God brought him to us with specific purpose. and i am believing the light of Jesus will someday fill his heart, his home, his future home, and his future family. luis will one day know the God who promises to turn our sorrows into strength, our sadness to joy, and our tears to laughter!"
(Click here to see that full blog entry.)
Hope
My friend Cesar called me this morning to tell me that Coli (another Rhino graduate) had brought a friend to see him early last week, to hear the gospel. It was Luis! Cesar said he was crying the whole time and seemed to be receiving the word of God as “soft soil.” Not knowing anything about Luis' story, Cesar said the Lord led him to share many different scriptures about repenting, turning from your old life, and surrendering to Jesus.
Luis was killed only a few days later. My heart is so hopeful that he surrendered his life to Christ! Maybe he was even killed for leaving the gang he had joined.
Please join us in praying for Luis's family. His dad recently passed. His mom is an addict and about as unstable as it gets. It's a situation in need of a miracle from the Lord.
Seeds
I just received a voice text from Cesar. It was extremely encouraging for me, so I'm going to share it in conjunction with this story. Translating it word for word:
“Brother Brock, this is why we preach the gospel! We never know what day will be our last, or when someone we know will take their last breath. I am so thankful that BVSA is gospel-centered! I know Luis heard the gospel there. And if he didn’t choose to follow Christ then, we know the seeds were planted. And those seeds got fertilized again when he came to me last week. The soil seemed soft and ready! I only hope he gave his life to Christ. This is why we must share the gospel with everyone we can! Thank you for sharing the gospel with young people in Buena Vista, and Travesia, and West Africa, and soon Quiche! Tell all the missionaries thank you! Let’s keep doing it every day that the Lord gives us! If we've received the gospel, our job is to proclaim the gospel! Thank you for planting seeds in Luis’s heart. We must trust that God blesses every seed planted, and He will care for and nurture every gospel seed planted! Thank you for making BVSA gospel-centered and Christ-centered. Everything, everything, everything we do must be Christ-centered.”
Emboldened
“Brother Brock, this is why we preach the gospel! We never know what day will be our last, or when someone we know will take their last breath. I am so thankful that BVSA is gospel-centered! I know Luis heard the gospel there. And if he didn’t choose to follow Christ then, we know the seeds were planted. And those seeds got fertilized again when he came to me last week. The soil seemed soft and ready! I only hope he gave his life to Christ. This is why we must share the gospel with everyone we can! Thank you for sharing the gospel with young people in Buena Vista, and Travesia, and West Africa, and soon Quiche! Tell all the missionaries thank you! Let’s keep doing it every day that the Lord gives us! If we've received the gospel, our job is to proclaim the gospel! Thank you for planting seeds in Luis’s heart. We must trust that God blesses every seed planted, and He will care for and nurture every gospel seed planted! Thank you for making BVSA gospel-centered and Christ-centered. Everything, everything, everything we do must be Christ-centered.”
Emboldened
As suffering and sin and pain and tragedies increase all around us, I feel more committed now than ever to be bold, clear, and careful in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's our mission as Christians. And Luis' life is a huge reminder of how serious a mission it is, and how high the stakes are.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life. But how will they believe in Him of whom they’ve never heard?
And how will they hear without someone preaching?
(John 3:16, Rom 10:14)
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