Latin America (MNN) — "I don't want to tell you how many people's lives I have ended through my life," says a former Honduran gang leader. "But one day, the Lord–a voice–told me to look at the tattoos on my body. And as I looked, my whole body was full of tattoos. And as I looked at them, I heard a voice say, ‘You have two roads. One leads to prison where you are going to die. One can lead to the church of Jesus Christ. Take your pick.' I fell to the ground. I went to a church. They thought I was there to rob them, so they were scared. But there I received Christ."
This former gang leader from Honduras is now a pastor. His testimony is just one of many radical testimonies from pastors receiving pastoral training through Global Action. As a pastor now, he is working with 100 former gang members who will also take Global Action's pastoral training next year. Those who come to Global Action's pastoral training program in Honduras have backgrounds ranging from prostitution to drug addiction to satanic worship.
Lars Dunberg with Global Action states, "Jesus said to the prostitute, ‘Go and sin no more.' She loves much because she is forgiven much. We are pleased that we can train these kinds of people for the Gospel for the future."
Pastoral training is just one of the wonderful programs Global Action has to make an impact in Latin America for the name of Christ. They also conduct orphan camps, send in mission teams, and donate medical equipment.
Recently, Global Action sent a container of medical equipment to a new children's burn unit in El Salvador. For awhile, the burn unit was not able to open because they did not have reliable, up-to-date equipment.
The containers are packed in Sweden, and sometimes Global Action doesn't even know the specifics of what medical equipment is put in the containers. When the container arrived in El Salvador for the children's burn unit, what did they find?
Inside were children's beds, children's wheelchairs, and children's walkers.
"So we just see Godvproviding the right things at the right time," says Dunberg. "That burn unit is now up and working."
The equipment sent is always no more than three years old and is faithfully maintained. Global Action makes sure that the equipment is refurbished, repainted, and worked over by technicians.
Global Action has approved the shipment of four 40-foot containers filled with medical supplies and equipment every year to Latin America. Those are just four of the 22 containers shipped, on average, around the world to help those with medical needs. The value of just one container with medical supplies can total up to $275,000.
"By just providing [the equipment], people say, ‘Why are you giving us this?' Well, it is Christ's love that [compels] us to do this. So we see the Gospel opening up possibilities to be shared," says Dunberg.
Providing both medical equipment and pastoral training can be quite costly, and Global Action cannot continue on their mission alone. They have a special program called I Started A Church to fund pastors in pastoral training. Those in the Christian community can choose to "adopt" a pastor for $50 a month over three years.
During the first year, the pastor's training is funded. In the second year, supporters are helping their "adopted" pastor start a church. The third year, the funding goes to support the pastor in outreach to his their country, along with a way to correspond with the pastor through Global Action's office.
Please pray for the pastors' training in Latin America as Global Action strives to plant churches and spread the Gospel. Pray also for the burn clinic as they get off to a new start. If you would like to donate directly to Global Action, click here.
