The Sermon A God Esteem by David M. McGee
Dec 30, 2012
A God Esteem (43:06)
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We had a great time. The bill spend was with her family and sled ride down the hill and is great to see Rachel and Mitch and Marion Jackson and will make out. Here's often is, as we like, but it's it's always great to be here and I think I should come out the holiday times it's it's you instantly on on on on my drive back can be all about what to do next and the next few days and has become our holiday times think we all are in the mode of the new the new year and the resolutions and all of things that we would like to do change in the things that we would like to see that all would be potentially different in our lives. They may have any New Year's resolutions yet show hands and resolutions. Okay, I may want to share with resolution as much resolution very good that is. That's very to get resolution not to make any resolutions as probably a good idea or least any goals or anything. Any ideas and I think we all have different aspects about our lives that we would like to see change, sometimes or at least be different than is often times habits or just things that we do in our lives that we would love to be able to to change in the things that we swear we will change and it doesn't happen in and around the New Year's it an interesting time to the Tryon and tackle that in this morning I passed out these little cards based on a a quote that I saw somewhere along runs a for effort in mind passed it on the dizzy different tiers that we think topic cause actions in our lives. You don't have it sooner lives, but everything about that a release every every thought that we have so those action alum. She's the every every thought that we so reads action and therefore then our actions that we so read. I haven't to all these little actions that come together in the thoughts that we think formed of fractions. The different actions that we form eventually lead into some sort of habit and the habits eventually so into a lifestyle before we know it habits just form a lifestyle, whether that be good or bad night. I deny lifestyle eventually is your legacy is your destiny is what ends up happening before you know it you're thirty six years old and you remember to risk a parameter to the pews, but my son was just one of Rainier in the end and before you got. I'm sure my kids again of being in high school and college and on and so on and so forth, and end, and all the sudden life is just run its course and you are that there is your destiny. There is your legacy in it, and it has run its course but it all starts starts in this area of just thoughts and actions, and those at those lead to habits which lead the lifestyles which lead to a legacy or a destiny as organization really that the things that we have absolute control over all right here. The thoughts and action area, whereas once we get into habits, lifestyle legacy just have all happens at all and that being out of our control with, but these two things are the things that are primarily in our control and organicity today is how are the work is going on in El Salvador. We could think of New Year's resolutions in all his work with helping the poor people in El Salvador and decide to think of it would necessarily. I connect with with New Year's resolutions. But as I was remiss at phenomenal, but this year called the power of habit and made me think that all this that's going on in El Salvador and all that it is an amazing change that were seen receding tide. The legacy of an entire nation being changed has really started at this level of thoughts and actions changing in the minds of a few pastors who seemingly have no resources and seemingly have no ability and are poor in every way that we would consider poverty and that they have been changing their their mentality and it's literally leading to a new legacy lifestyle legacy. For them, and it's having a ripple effect around the country is over to meet Pastor Santos today through a single quick video on the knees highlighted in and then also will be a little bit about his story and then we will be able to reflect on what's going on El Salvador back to our personal lives of how we can be thinking through changing our thoughts and actions lead to habits and lifestyles legacies into this new year. So what's a quick video first is a short video, trying to capture the momentum that's happening in El Salvador. And as as all you known it since I've been come in and talk about this may times about massé found that in Marseille as the Spanish word for link or connector former relationship in Spanish in and in El Salvador when working there since nineteen ninety three and basically the mission is to walk alongside rural churches. Churches that have a heart a passion for transforming their communities and training them to be effective in and now working with their communities and connecting them, linking them with resources to build a do that effectively, and as you saw in the video you have this idea of poverty and El Salvador. There is there is poverty and it do what you do what you think of when you hear the word poverty or when you think of somebody's poor, but the first in the car comes to mind destitute. Anything else concepts hungry new shoes no hope, said it was interesting to visit so many and is been a lot of studies done on poverty and and the roots of it, and where it comes from and and what is it bit that the true base of poverty in your own and where it comes from and ended typically a lot of things that were listed as well have to do with with the kind emotional side of things which really gets added, but also oftentimes a big, our mentality. We had the idea of poverty being a lack of something right. You're lacking something. And so if you if you think about solving poverty as as if you think about parties, a lack of resources, then solving it would simply be mean bringing resources right, you fix it by giving what is not available, but we all know that that doesn't often work as it if there's just a lack of big resources and even a lot of the relief context, Regis, come in and bring a lot of resources. It doesn't bring about long lasting change and one of the models that we in loss is based. Our whole methodology on, was hi guy named Brian Myers and the whole concept is basically relational is that poverty is relational in in in nature, and if we think about ourselves here and is basically relationships. First of all between us and God. I think about this is how God created things to be in in the beginning and even also has as a news exemplified in the life of Christ. The ideal relationship is of an ideal relationship between us and God between your relationship with our self country of the spiritual side, the emotional side of self-esteem and understanding of who you are obviously the relationship with others and how that is affected and then also relationship with creation, or the material world which can also come in the kind of physical realm. She really had the ill emotional round the physical realm, social and political realm in spiritual realm know and we should begin to think about this is the ideal relationship poverty at its root is a set of broken relationships. Oftentimes a broken relationship between you and yourself of understanding your own ability you growing up in poverty, not reality. See examples in front of you of people succeeding repairs, potentially not succeeding of healthy lifestyles around you. Got it. It affects yourself that self-esteem, a broken relationship physically nowhere just being physically sick from not having access to clean water, and in an different types of opportunities. Your relationship with others in the political and social spectrum of having your leaders in your community who are oppressing you, Bill envisages down up down the list in terms of of done of just broken relationships from people helping one another know that every everyone just got a conical top of the pile overtime each other and there broke broken relationship with God, and understanding God 's will for for us, you know, and we see that Dennis at its root, is that the poverty at its root is relational and so for going to be up to go about fixing poverty. We have to be about restoring relationships about restoring all these types of relationships in a holistic manner mom and illustrate this allergy to meet Pastor Santos newsletter down the far left up there and Santos will tell you himself that he was that that that the poorest of the poor in every regard is not that he is now like I tell you. He's now making a ton of money or that he is in, but by our our standards that he is now rich, but he did. I just heard him speak in front of a group of two hundred pastors about three weeks ago, will begin December and he was talking about how he feared how rich he feels how wealthy he feels because of the way that he has been restored if you think a pastor Santos, a guy who grew up in impoverished on no education want to first to second grade. He has a disability, physical disability, and run the physical realm of these bone diseases, which is filled on deformed his face from having a bone disease and is yet to yield multiple surgeries that affects his back and his ability to build a work and so immediate, impoverished of physical world impoverished in the social realm in his community and the way that he was not able to connect with people. But what's interesting and in impoverished, even though he was a pastor. He describes his poverty is spiritual poverty as well. As a pastor of a Pentecostal church that all he did was preach. We got a just greater teeth to get to heaven. No was world socks we have the worst of the worst. We just have to grit our teeth and get as many people want on the ship for the whole world sinks and and get to heaven, but he was miserable the entire time he is miserable. He felt miserable. He just gritted his teeth and tried to smile as much as possible while if you if you if we look at last sent as a guide and get a him son does began. First of all in his thoughts and actions, and this is where I wanted to bring this into the fact that that for Santos Bill to change his thoughts and actions was really what change the whole paradigm of him being able to have new relationship. First of all with God, and second about with with other people, history and he began to understand himself as blessed by God in order to be a blessing to others to begin to seek out relationship with others in his community. You understand that God was calling him to to be a complete being within himself and ability to heal others in the physical realm and in the emotional realm, and the fruits of of it have been absolutely amazing as he has been begun to reach out to his community and don't begin to restore relationships with his communities. He has been it. I think this quote really and I love there is one of the that the best examples of the way that other community members, including I believe was a cutie leader wasn't a member of the church. She now is a member of the church, but at who your talks about this she realized that we're not here with open hands simply waiting to receive help that God has given each of us the tools and the ability to build a provide for ourselves and how they done that in an LSP. No, the committee where he works. They first started Palm Gardens and just they are all farmers. They all know how to how to farm corn, beans, but none of them wanted to be on the take the risk of outgoing fruits and vegetables of no growing new vegetables in their own homegrown plot and I know that there's a Virginian, I'm trying to Romo home gardeners year it was. It was quite the adventure and quite the risk think quite honestly, I mean it was an investment to develop young to build a little raise bad to great get the CD was an investment of time. It even even the fact of having all the access to information that we have always stared to try this and you know, certain stuff online. All time asking friends and anyone we had some successes and some failures and video people often asked why they just don't but whenever they grown home gardens before what it's not. It's a big risk for people to do to step out and in trying to something. I got not much of it fell like a risk for us to boost out wherever to waste our money in Vietnam serving vested by two or fifty three are bucks in this thing between communicate using knowledge stuffed it up and that is not actual profitable things relating out. They start with home gardens and now you have hundreds of people in their community. Your successfully growing home gardens and actually creating income and because the detergent. Canadian work together and then they took it to the second level and started growing tilapia ponds they there is about twenty five people now have to lobby Vons in the video is actually the leader of this women's business group. This cooperative with a announced their now producing folks Tapia and have a profitable business of tilapia fish you say that there is visible fishponds and yet she hasn't had engineers on staff who go out there and help them on a weekly basis during the coaching to build to do it in after year and a half cycle octagon to three growing cycles. There often run on the ground. That's exactly how to love them. She had nagging near come and visit her home garden all summer that would of been really helpful, but same thing without slot with the floppy bonds basically avid and I'd engineered nude and on market research and was able to build find out the Adobe of a cell. They're there to LaPierre, profit and help them design the model and now they're off and running. Lillian hurt her. Seven other women are in the co-op together and accidentally and has now started other businesses. She added in our testable wine thing out of out of local fruits and whatnot which you have it. That was actually government-funded project and it flopped dark is the wanted done, the market research to realize that no one 's goodbye to cancel orchestral lines and in royalties does, but but she did ask a start doing shampoos and a natural soaps which there was that one has has gone really well for but most are short, there's been the Santos and his church leaders have been working together to resolve the needs of the two Canadian railway. Oleanders Lillian with her daughter with that little tilapia is in her low walk out of the plastic container rednecks on, and also in Ellis Peoria, one of the church leaders up in the upper left there as Stella as the church got organized and began reaching out sticky. They each were assigned different neighborhoods that they work in that they were to sit to go and basically that the process that we help walk them through it, is that they did organize a church search realize what resources they have a church body and they go to census and census in the community that basically understand who does what in the community who are you know farmers who are business owners who work in the city in all basic good general sense as a whole to find out what's going. I can well Stella was a sign, the most dangerous section of her Canadian neighborhood cul-de-sac commune that there was all one murder a week in this neighborhood, which is run by gangs and no one came in. Now the neighborhood, unless the gangs. Newman, you literally just don't wander down the streets while Estella Ellis, our neighborhood to do so. She walked in there and and basically goes right up to the gang leaders and tells them about home gardens and about all these different things that they can be doing in and wants to know if they want to be involved as we have to connect the committee leaders will missed case, the community leaders again leaders what long story short, fast-forward to know the end of this year. Justin December Estella was at our past to treat again, and talking about how bit there has not been a murder in their neighborhood in the past year and half, and long story short, there is found that the two gang leaders that guy in the middle sit non- dynamic next this sloppy, upon the ground. The bottom fertilizing his his his tomato plants and they've actually made profitable businesses and left the gang lifestyle. Two of the six gang leaders and upcoming to church and it's a completely changed the know may just that actually made me of also done in the they've also done a number of housing projects and then built over thirty five homes they've worked with their public school know that evangelical church working with the public school to build from her walls and retaining wall baby proof like five or six miles of roads, all combined with a big gun in and help that you been all this is been done with the community and words like that the pastor is connected with the mayor 's office two don't make these things happen. Another thing that me that Santos talks about news Justin dart our church leaders retreat talking about this and there wasn't a dry in the places he was having his work with people with disabilities. Since when he was in the hospital and going through so much of what he went through and as a person with disabilities himself. He always had a heart for helping people with disabilities, while eight El Salvador, there's no real government run programs for anything, let alone people with disabilities and he began to realize that eat what he wanted to go on a home visit at a house that was three doors down from his church. They'd never met this family before. Turns out they're full-grown son who was was disabled was literally chained to the tree in the backyard, you know, and it just broke his heart. He started dead to the found a couple other other and long story short, he has now identified date. He was put. He was made responsible to identify all the people in his region of the country with disabilities and just within like a ten mile radius of his church. There were eighty nine different people with disabilities, and almost all of them. No one knew about. No, it's just kind of cultural things that they were just people just being they don't know what to do with them at the time to just let them die literally because there's nothing else to do with them. They can take the pub apostle punk hospital to an end. We back to Ghana. Multiple home visits Allison on. He has now started his own foundation, where, with the help of the local government. They have now started their own foundation to help people with disabilities who meet it's just it's actually amazing. The way that he has been able to transform it. It is entire region of the country know and am basically working hand in hand in hand with this treaty to make it all happen on. That's an excellent and Mrs. Santos lives is that a few weeks ago at the passes retreat telling all the other churches about his experience and just like Santos, there's actually been the week. This past year, we worked with over with fifty three different churches and we have over a hundred churches on a waiting list, just waiting for this to happen and just waiting for him. I say come alongside and help accompany them is well and what gets me fired up about all this is the fact that with over a hundred churches on a waiting list. Our goal is to go to get to a hundred churches by twenty fifteen, which if we can grow the capacity of our staff feel news shouldn't be a problem, but the concept of by twenty twenty. The idea that it was the work with two hundred fifty churches Walters out, but is only two hundred and sixty two Venus alleys and all those outdoor, so everything about the passage Santos with all the some guardians as floppy bonds and and his economic development projects, and is housing and is working with people, disabilities, and whatever else comes up whenever you are the most dire needs his feet and while one pastor Santos in every community, every municipality of El Salvador. It's a different country and as Santos will tell you it was just the fundamental thoughts of being able to control who he saw himself as though you felt like God called him to be in his immediate actions which changed his habits. So instead of being old meal mile and administered here and for my thumbs like Lillian talked about his people. It seems to me like they were sitting there with open hands waiting to receive now recognizing I am called by God to do what ever I can to help my community. Just changing his thoughts and actions has completely and totally changed his lifestyle began talking about without crime just understanding the fact that his life has completely changed and the legacy of his entire, not only his own life. But his church 's community and now his nation as he has become one of the leaders of our of our pastoral steering committee and helping to spread this throughout the entire country and all took place, which is changing his thoughts and actions of him understanding himself as someone who is called by God, who specialized in God 's eyes and called to be able to serve his community and I think that in the same way us as individuals. That's what recalled the B word were to often focused on worried about this lifestyle and habits stuff, you know, I just served written her teeth shine to change everything when we if we can allow ourselves to come close to God as guilty to allow him to shape our thoughts and our actions and focus on those who day-to-day basis, allowing gods it to change us and call us on an individual basis that video. The other problem I got brought up the proverb is Osaka and others of their data was it the proper twenty three seven Mrs. for as he thinks within himself, so he is other words, you are what you think we think about how you are what you eat is Judah, which also unit you are what you think, and an index of the proverb is talking about a wealthy man who, as he thinks of themselves that that which is what he is but actually in a bad way because the guy though the wealthy man's not proverb is greedy and all of his rewards in all of his legacy and all of his lifestyle and everything is about hoarding wealth and wealth that that that that fades away right if we think about that, in contrast to Santos, but I was not about his is not about thinking positive so that I can get for me in mind about thinking positive knowing that God has blessed me to be a blessing, and that all of our thoughts and actions should be about that who we are to beat you a whole person as God created us to beat to be may understand were made in his image and special news image and have a self-esteem of data steam at that would be able to create habits that their holy that are loving for others that would would call people 's attention to come to the kingdom and loving others and being healthy in every single way to mostly physically, spiritually and socially in the way that we are our just being a light of Christ for the world and so I encourage us to do. Think about that as we are, as we go out into the new year and that we can look to people like Santos, people like these pastors that they seemingly have nothing in our changing their entire country changing their legacy to thoughts, actions, we know that if, if that is possible at that level. It is surely possible with each and every one of us as well. I went over the effort for questions as well an comments if anybody has any any any questions or comments about this. I get a little rambling and excited about it all. They may have any comments or questions. Yet a with that yet. Once all national and then the next step for us is it now that were working in over your fifty JDs outdraw the entire country. The next step next to go to the next slide. If the connection shows a map of the little dots, but am now working with church on a country by twenty fifteen. React see have our member number off time I have been overdoing that fish ponds and floppy bonds in at least ten different communities. The IDS taxi start up a small business and have constant supply for you have a natural hold nationwide business don't get them to access to the market to get higher price is in the integral community. They can sell the floppy at about dollar a pound, which one fishes. This is a HUD to fish is about one pound figure dollar for two fish, but at their local market. They can ask yourself for three dollars a pound. I think you get the supermarket and a national level, they can sell it at three fifty four dollars#. It's actually can become much more profitable whenever they have access to market and so the ideas it likely wouldn't become like an exporting business, but it would be deathly national business along with that business. We were trying to decide find things that are already did projects that have been identified like floppy bonds identified by the church into themselves and like the home gardens and then once they get going over if you never number of years. Maintenance of businesses that are profitable. So along with the home gardens. They've all been taught how to do organic fertilizer, and they create tons literally tons of this organic fertilizer that these distribute out to tell all they home garden. Participants will all of a sudden there's a huge demand for organic fertilizers and pesticides in El Salvador because everyone's petrified of the chemicals that they been using because, but there's some the sugarcane cuties were twenty five to thirty percent of the men are all dying of kidney failure because of the chemical pesticides abusing him, sugarcane, all of a sudden everyone got everyone scared throughout the rural areas. This is huge demand for gang fertilizer. What these guys are you producing it. So this year we did a project with action passer Santos community of selling organic for I sold superfast in there. They weren't there when they only had up. Yes I am developing national businesses ability to give them profitable businesses, but for us it's most important that these projects have been birthed from the church and heating and boiling up so the long answer to this question is this base their questions, comments, they start with with the with whatever the consume. That's another is enough is that most of these projects are first identified as for nutrition and so they usually will almost always do not green beans and tomatoes of some onions and then there's a lot of other cash crops like cilantro, there's been not a lot of cilantro available in the national market, but this is a huge demand for their get a lot of money in the market for for cilantro. They also do other local crops like LaRocca, which is a a a flower like a blooming flower that they use the put in their eggs in and all kinds of stuff and a lot of different squash a quick yellow squash and conflict that began as part of the agency, balance between some of it in some the keys. Then identify the home gardens as purely nutritional for nutritional value and other cuties that identified it for economics of depends on the key question is not too bad. Not too bad vaccine are area times made us and I would've been profitable at Swisher. But it is a lot of fun. We exited it would, but was fun about it in the when we did with our neighbors. So, you we had three. Thank you for families that they, all went on it together would submit a lot of fun, and that's actually one of the things that is really valuable about this project in El Salvador, as well as it is some sometimes these the first time he will ask a come together to work on project now and N/A the site that is being one of the most important aspects about the project as well. I was dressed as integrated getting on something with her with her neighbors. The right guy mean that you yet average the most liberal families are subsistent farmers. They just grow corn and beans on rented land, usually on onto three acres of of rented land they farm by hand and any unlike in the mountainous areas. You'll see it just on the steepest of steepest hillsides with super rocky terrain and they literally wear soccer cleats to farm just to get up and down the hell he now in an and him and but they got always on rented land they usually will all the plot that they live on, which is very small. You know, and that that they have to give back twenty to thirty percent of whatever they grow you know where profit they make off corn, beans back to rent the land and began rural families just don't eat young when we done health studies and in rural areas. They'll eat on average. Your one serving of meat per month to three servings of vegetables and green vegetables per week on average in size. That's his own beans and lots of oil so guides. It's a bad nutritional way to live and so the idea having increasing their nutritional intake is extremely important you are for healthier bacon work harder in their happier and more you contribute more to deliver to society. So, questions, comments on the anyway death. I is actually the sheer we are going to start working in Nepal, I would had a few other organizations being contacting us about replicating this model in other countries and will be red where starting in Nepal and is an organization that has a region Nepal in Northern India and Burma and basically there are a lot of organizations that have been equipping churches are you training churches to try and do things like this. There hasn't been a real methodology that is worked typically spend the church teaching the church to cottages go out and do evangelism or ministry without having of methodology that helps connect them with the community. So were were were replicating the model that we have in El Salvador in other countries that will starting in Nepal mean more of this upcoming year, an actuary taking support church coaches from El Salvador than working with us for a number of years, who originally had a call to do missions and were trained as missionaries. They will be missionaries to Nepal from El Salvador and so they'll do that, that the training there and we also are starting a pilot project in Florida to basically adapt this methodology. US churches and through another organization in Florida will be trained two hundred churches in Broward County in Florida this year that but without that sets a whole new whole new animal for us working with the US church in the comments or questions I really proceed you guys listening. It's fun to talk about and we're really excited about where God is his is brought our organization. You know it's it's wild to think that since two thousand two when it really first went down there now is, a small little thing we went on our honeymoon and didn't know what we are in your Howard and help just the midst of great people on staff, and that it met a couple pastors that just felt like man this is what God is his doing. He wants to do in the world and and get behind Ron Bueno or Executive Director Jesus really had a amazing vision for all this analysis taken off on the we really appreciate your support, your prayers over the years than any of God does amazing things when we listen them and respond to amend and yeah to me that one of the most wonderful things is the see that meet these pastors and then also meet our art. The staff that you come in on like we always worried your especially now coming back to the US worry whether or not yell things will will continue in El Salvador have no doubt anymore about that just over the past couple years. It's been absolutely amazing. Just this year, will award out forty five April on staff in El Salvador, and this year we finally had our, middle management meeting, where before was basic to three liters or can't run everything and how it got here ten guys that are run in all having independent girls that are minus thing and just amazing. So God is just and blessing it beyond our wildest imaginations really and were just so thankful has really been because of of prayers and support that make it happen. So thank you I hire one of the projects we did this year in one of the most effective project Archie Santos and is church of done it as well. Especially effective for rural for our first churches that come on instead of like doing you some water like big project better your one. Five million dollars in super complex and whatnot, and other projects. The really simple while he goes those I've been away to super, super effective and really easy project for people to do basically in almost all the rural El Salvador, the cook on open fires inside their home and basically in August of the hold the whole room fills with smoke. Ms. usually somewhat ventilated but still this open fire me if you've ever been span around the campfire to man's looks balmy, down the eyes are burning and that's what it's like all day everyday while story short, they the churches work with the eighties and they basically just enclose the fire with with brick and Adobe endorsements. Whatever design that they come up with with our engineers so that this doesn't change the way that women are cooking this is all kinds a great nanotechnology that women will use to cut if they don't like doing at so many encloses the fire with a new design, and then puts Giuliani and assets in a new eco- stove that that they desire may build the church and two together and so we been done this campaign. This Christmas call cooking up love that is supporting these eco- stove projects. We have over five hundred of them that have been identified for next year and over thousand that will be dry enough done by two thousand fourteen and we raised two hundred dollars per stove to be able to train families on on how US and has been a great project and the alternate was one that they a higher item that we were there we have available as being able to gift to someone else as well on, and these of been funded already that the fifteen dollar of the net as Artie been funded to the forty dollars that you give for the government actually helps to bring a stove to one person. So if you figure that even for a late Christmas gift for Valentines present. That's wrong things will be done for Valentine's Day is tricking above so that we have those available and if you can check out all that the videos and everything about it as well. The cooking of love .org met fill free to infiltrate rehabbing more. These bracelets moment with me these the end is a couple story cards, and that the other night about the thank you that instead of receiving offering. I was is the say it's on the two forty F I get a forty dollars gift for yourself or someone else get back there and never your offering. Instead of putting in the offering today to get you today, met cooking up. Love Bill buyer for your wife dollars. These it bookmark it. Yeah, the Rhonda got to for Christmas. Now she had to for Christmas so down the can do now so good like to make a contribution to El Salvador and the David and so on this oh, by the mid- whatever so good. I saw Stan Schelling father. We are grateful to you that you have blessed us and thank you Lord for the work of service that you provide in work through David and loss say all the missions projects that they are heading up in the difference they are making in this country, and Lord Howe that this difference now will reach to other places and other parts of the world. So Lord, we thank you for that. We pray Lord that your wisdom and guidance be with each other. Each of the individuals as they do the planning and the strategic ideas that go into making things work in communities, Lord were seemingly nothing has worked before Lord. It is through your church and through your people that you make a difference. Thank you Lord for your spirits that is the most creative and that Lord is, we pray, we open our lives to you that you help us to be creative in our thoughts are our actions in Lord as we spread your word. We'll be creative again. Plus, we pray in Jesus name amenWe had a great time. The bill spend was with her family and sled ride down the hill and is great to see Rachel and Mitch and Marion Jackson and will make out. Here's often is, as we like, but it's it's always great to be here and I think I should come out the holiday times it's it's you instantly on on on on my drive back can be all about what to do next and the next few days and has become our holiday times think we all are in the mode of the new the new year and the resolutions and all of things that we would like to do change in the things that we would like to see that all would be potentially different in our lives. They may have any New Year's resolutions yet show hands and resolutions. Okay, I may want to share with resolution as much resolution very good that is. That's very to get resolution not to make any resolutions as probably a good idea or least any goals or anything. Any ideas and I think we all have different aspects about our lives that we would like to see change, sometimes or at least be different than is often times habits or just things that we do in our lives that we would love to be able to to change in the things that we swear we will change and it doesn't happen in and around the New Year's it an interesting time to the Tryon and tackle that in this morning I passed out these little cards based on a a quote that I saw somewhere along runs a for effort in mind passed it on the dizzy different tiers that we think topic cause actions in our lives. You don't have it sooner lives, but everything about that a release every every thought that we have so those action alum. She's the every every thought that we so reads action and therefore then our actions that we so read. I haven't to all these little actions that come together in the thoughts that we think formed of fractions. The different actions that we form eventually lead into some sort of habit and the habits eventually so into a lifestyle before we know it habits just form a lifestyle, whether that be good or bad night. I deny lifestyle eventually is your legacy is your destiny is what ends up happening before you know it you're thirty six years old and you remember to risk a parameter to the pews, but my son was just one of Rainier in the end and before you got. I'm sure my kids again of being in high school and college and on and so on and so forth, and end, and all the sudden life is just run its course and you are that there is your destiny. There is your legacy in it, and it has run its course but it all starts starts in this area of just thoughts and actions, and those at those lead to habits which lead the lifestyles which lead to a legacy or a destiny as organization really that the things that we have absolute control over all right here. The thoughts and action area, whereas once we get into habits, lifestyle legacy just have all happens at all and that being out of our control with, but these two things are the things that are primarily in our control and organicity today is how are the work is going on in El Salvador. We could think of New Year's resolutions in all his work with helping the poor people in El Salvador and decide to think of it would necessarily. I connect with with New Year's resolutions. But as I was remiss at phenomenal, but this year called the power of habit and made me think that all this that's going on in El Salvador and all that it is an amazing change that were seen receding tide. The legacy of an entire nation being changed has really started at this level of thoughts and actions changing in the minds of a few pastors who seemingly have no resources and seemingly have no ability and are poor in every way that we would consider poverty and that they have been changing their their mentality and it's literally leading to a new legacy lifestyle legacy. For them, and it's having a ripple effect around the country is over to meet Pastor Santos today through a single quick video on the knees highlighted in and then also will be a little bit about his story and then we will be able to reflect on what's going on El Salvador back to our personal lives of how we can be thinking through changing our thoughts and actions lead to habits and lifestyles legacies into this new year. So what's a quick video first is a short video, trying to capture the momentum that's happening in El Salvador. And as as all you known it since I've been come in and talk about this may times about massé found that in Marseille as the Spanish word for link or connector former relationship in Spanish in and in El Salvador when working there since nineteen ninety three and basically the mission is to walk alongside rural churches. Churches that have a heart a passion for transforming their communities and training them to be effective in and now working with their communities and connecting them, linking them with resources to build a do that effectively, and as you saw in the video you have this idea of poverty and El Salvador. There is there is poverty and it do what you do what you think of when you hear the word poverty or when you think of somebody's poor, but the first in the car comes to mind destitute. Anything else concepts hungry new shoes no hope, said it was interesting to visit so many and is been a lot of studies done on poverty and and the roots of it, and where it comes from and and what is it bit that the true base of poverty in your own and where it comes from and ended typically a lot of things that were listed as well have to do with with the kind emotional side of things which really gets added, but also oftentimes a big, our mentality. We had the idea of poverty being a lack of something right. You're lacking something. And so if you if you think about solving poverty as as if you think about parties, a lack of resources, then solving it would simply be mean bringing resources right, you fix it by giving what is not available, but we all know that that doesn't often work as it if there's just a lack of big resources and even a lot of the relief context, Regis, come in and bring a lot of resources. It doesn't bring about long lasting change and one of the models that we in loss is based. Our whole methodology on, was hi guy named Brian Myers and the whole concept is basically relational is that poverty is relational in in in nature, and if we think about ourselves here and is basically relationships. First of all between us and God. I think about this is how God created things to be in in the beginning and even also has as a news exemplified in the life of Christ. The ideal relationship is of an ideal relationship between us and God between your relationship with our self country of the spiritual side, the emotional side of self-esteem and understanding of who you are obviously the relationship with others and how that is affected and then also relationship with creation, or the material world which can also come in the kind of physical realm. She really had the ill emotional round the physical realm, social and political realm in spiritual realm know and we should begin to think about this is the ideal relationship poverty at its root is a set of broken relationships. Oftentimes a broken relationship between you and yourself of understanding your own ability you growing up in poverty, not reality. See examples in front of you of people succeeding repairs, potentially not succeeding of healthy lifestyles around you. Got it. It affects yourself that self-esteem, a broken relationship physically nowhere just being physically sick from not having access to clean water, and in an different types of opportunities. Your relationship with others in the political and social spectrum of having your leaders in your community who are oppressing you, Bill envisages down up down the list in terms of of done of just broken relationships from people helping one another know that every everyone just got a conical top of the pile overtime each other and there broke broken relationship with God, and understanding God 's will for for us, you know, and we see that Dennis at its root, is that the poverty at its root is relational and so for going to be up to go about fixing poverty. We have to be about restoring relationships about restoring all these types of relationships in a holistic manner mom and illustrate this allergy to meet Pastor Santos newsletter down the far left up there and Santos will tell you himself that he was that that that the poorest of the poor in every regard is not that he is now like I tell you. He's now making a ton of money or that he is in, but by our our standards that he is now rich, but he did. I just heard him speak in front of a group of two hundred pastors about three weeks ago, will begin December and he was talking about how he feared how rich he feels how wealthy he feels because of the way that he has been restored if you think a pastor Santos, a guy who grew up in impoverished on no education want to first to second grade. He has a disability, physical disability, and run the physical realm of these bone diseases, which is filled on deformed his face from having a bone disease and is yet to yield multiple surgeries that affects his back and his ability to build a work and so immediate, impoverished of physical world impoverished in the social realm in his community and the way that he was not able to connect with people. But what's interesting and in impoverished, even though he was a pastor. He describes his poverty is spiritual poverty as well. As a pastor of a Pentecostal church that all he did was preach. We got a just greater teeth to get to heaven. No was world socks we have the worst of the worst. We just have to grit our teeth and get as many people want on the ship for the whole world sinks and and get to heaven, but he was miserable the entire time he is miserable. He felt miserable. He just gritted his teeth and tried to smile as much as possible while if you if you if we look at last sent as a guide and get a him son does began. First of all in his thoughts and actions, and this is where I wanted to bring this into the fact that that for Santos Bill to change his thoughts and actions was really what change the whole paradigm of him being able to have new relationship. First of all with God, and second about with with other people, history and he began to understand himself as blessed by God in order to be a blessing to others to begin to seek out relationship with others in his community. You understand that God was calling him to to be a complete being within himself and ability to heal others in the physical realm and in the emotional realm, and the fruits of of it have been absolutely amazing as he has been begun to reach out to his community and don't begin to restore relationships with his communities. He has been it. I think this quote really and I love there is one of the that the best examples of the way that other community members, including I believe was a cutie leader wasn't a member of the church. She now is a member of the church, but at who your talks about this she realized that we're not here with open hands simply waiting to receive help that God has given each of us the tools and the ability to build a provide for ourselves and how they done that in an LSP. No, the committee where he works. They first started Palm Gardens and just they are all farmers. They all know how to how to farm corn, beans, but none of them wanted to be on the take the risk of outgoing fruits and vegetables of no growing new vegetables in their own homegrown plot and I know that there's a Virginian, I'm trying to Romo home gardeners year it was. It was quite the adventure and quite the risk think quite honestly, I mean it was an investment to develop young to build a little raise bad to great get the CD was an investment of time. It even even the fact of having all the access to information that we have always stared to try this and you know, certain stuff online. All time asking friends and anyone we had some successes and some failures and video people often asked why they just don't but whenever they grown home gardens before what it's not. It's a big risk for people to do to step out and in trying to something. I got not much of it fell like a risk for us to boost out wherever to waste our money in Vietnam serving vested by two or fifty three are bucks in this thing between communicate using knowledge stuffed it up and that is not actual profitable things relating out. They start with home gardens and now you have hundreds of people in their community. Your successfully growing home gardens and actually creating income and because the detergent. Canadian work together and then they took it to the second level and started growing tilapia ponds they there is about twenty five people now have to lobby Vons in the video is actually the leader of this women's business group. This cooperative with a announced their now producing folks Tapia and have a profitable business of tilapia fish you say that there is visible fishponds and yet she hasn't had engineers on staff who go out there and help them on a weekly basis during the coaching to build to do it in after year and a half cycle octagon to three growing cycles. There often run on the ground. That's exactly how to love them. She had nagging near come and visit her home garden all summer that would of been really helpful, but same thing without slot with the floppy bonds basically avid and I'd engineered nude and on market research and was able to build find out the Adobe of a cell. They're there to LaPierre, profit and help them design the model and now they're off and running. Lillian hurt her. Seven other women are in the co-op together and accidentally and has now started other businesses. She added in our testable wine thing out of out of local fruits and whatnot which you have it. That was actually government-funded project and it flopped dark is the wanted done, the market research to realize that no one 's goodbye to cancel orchestral lines and in royalties does, but but she did ask a start doing shampoos and a natural soaps which there was that one has has gone really well for but most are short, there's been the Santos and his church leaders have been working together to resolve the needs of the two Canadian railway. Oleanders Lillian with her daughter with that little tilapia is in her low walk out of the plastic container rednecks on, and also in Ellis Peoria, one of the church leaders up in the upper left there as Stella as the church got organized and began reaching out sticky. They each were assigned different neighborhoods that they work in that they were to sit to go and basically that the process that we help walk them through it, is that they did organize a church search realize what resources they have a church body and they go to census and census in the community that basically understand who does what in the community who are you know farmers who are business owners who work in the city in all basic good general sense as a whole to find out what's going. I can well Stella was a sign, the most dangerous section of her Canadian neighborhood cul-de-sac commune that there was all one murder a week in this neighborhood, which is run by gangs and no one came in. Now the neighborhood, unless the gangs. Newman, you literally just don't wander down the streets while Estella Ellis, our neighborhood to do so. She walked in there and and basically goes right up to the gang leaders and tells them about home gardens and about all these different things that they can be doing in and wants to know if they want to be involved as we have to connect the committee leaders will missed case, the community leaders again leaders what long story short, fast-forward to know the end of this year. Justin December Estella was at our past to treat again, and talking about how bit there has not been a murder in their neighborhood in the past year and half, and long story short, there is found that the two gang leaders that guy in the middle sit non- dynamic next this sloppy, upon the ground. The bottom fertilizing his his his tomato plants and they've actually made profitable businesses and left the gang lifestyle. Two of the six gang leaders and upcoming to church and it's a completely changed the know may just that actually made me of also done in the they've also done a number of housing projects and then built over thirty five homes they've worked with their public school know that evangelical church working with the public school to build from her walls and retaining wall baby proof like five or six miles of roads, all combined with a big gun in and help that you been all this is been done with the community and words like that the pastor is connected with the mayor 's office two don't make these things happen. Another thing that me that Santos talks about news Justin dart our church leaders retreat talking about this and there wasn't a dry in the places he was having his work with people with disabilities. Since when he was in the hospital and going through so much of what he went through and as a person with disabilities himself. He always had a heart for helping people with disabilities, while eight El Salvador, there's no real government run programs for anything, let alone people with disabilities and he began to realize that eat what he wanted to go on a home visit at a house that was three doors down from his church. They'd never met this family before. Turns out they're full-grown son who was was disabled was literally chained to the tree in the backyard, you know, and it just broke his heart. He started dead to the found a couple other other and long story short, he has now identified date. He was put. He was made responsible to identify all the people in his region of the country with disabilities and just within like a ten mile radius of his church. There were eighty nine different people with disabilities, and almost all of them. No one knew about. No, it's just kind of cultural things that they were just people just being they don't know what to do with them at the time to just let them die literally because there's nothing else to do with them. They can take the pub apostle punk hospital to an end. We back to Ghana. Multiple home visits Allison on. He has now started his own foundation, where, with the help of the local government. They have now started their own foundation to help people with disabilities who meet it's just it's actually amazing. The way that he has been able to transform it. It is entire region of the country know and am basically working hand in hand in hand with this treaty to make it all happen on. That's an excellent and Mrs. Santos lives is that a few weeks ago at the passes retreat telling all the other churches about his experience and just like Santos, there's actually been the week. This past year, we worked with over with fifty three different churches and we have over a hundred churches on a waiting list, just waiting for this to happen and just waiting for him. I say come alongside and help accompany them is well and what gets me fired up about all this is the fact that with over a hundred churches on a waiting list. Our goal is to go to get to a hundred churches by twenty fifteen, which if we can grow the capacity of our staff feel news shouldn't be a problem, but the concept of by twenty twenty. The idea that it was the work with two hundred fifty churches Walters out, but is only two hundred and sixty two Venus alleys and all those outdoor, so everything about the passage Santos with all the some guardians as floppy bonds and and his economic development projects, and is housing and is working with people, disabilities, and whatever else comes up whenever you are the most dire needs his feet and while one pastor Santos in every community, every municipality of El Salvador. It's a different country and as Santos will tell you it was just the fundamental thoughts of being able to control who he saw himself as though you felt like God called him to be in his immediate actions which changed his habits. So instead of being old meal mile and administered here and for my thumbs like Lillian talked about his people. It seems to me like they were sitting there with open hands waiting to receive now recognizing I am called by God to do what ever I can to help my community. Just changing his thoughts and actions has completely and totally changed his lifestyle began talking about without crime just understanding the fact that his life has completely changed and the legacy of his entire, not only his own life. But his church 's community and now his nation as he has become one of the leaders of our of our pastoral steering committee and helping to spread this throughout the entire country and all took place, which is changing his thoughts and actions of him understanding himself as someone who is called by God, who specialized in God 's eyes and called to be able to serve his community and I think that in the same way us as individuals. That's what recalled the B word were to often focused on worried about this lifestyle and habits stuff, you know, I just served written her teeth shine to change everything when we if we can allow ourselves to come close to God as guilty to allow him to shape our thoughts and our actions and focus on those who day-to-day basis, allowing gods it to change us and call us on an individual basis that video. The other problem I got brought up the proverb is Osaka and others of their data was it the proper twenty three seven Mrs. for as he thinks within himself, so he is other words, you are what you think we think about how you are what you eat is Judah, which also unit you are what you think, and an index of the proverb is talking about a wealthy man who, as he thinks of themselves that that which is what he is but actually in a bad way because the guy though the wealthy man's not proverb is greedy and all of his rewards in all of his legacy and all of his lifestyle and everything is about hoarding wealth and wealth that that that that fades away right if we think about that, in contrast to Santos, but I was not about his is not about thinking positive so that I can get for me in mind about thinking positive knowing that God has blessed me to be a blessing, and that all of our thoughts and actions should be about that who we are to beat you a whole person as God created us to beat to be may understand were made in his image and special news image and have a self-esteem of data steam at that would be able to create habits that their holy that are loving for others that would would call people 's attention to come to the kingdom and loving others and being healthy in every single way to mostly physically, spiritually and socially in the way that we are our just being a light of Christ for the world and so I encourage us to do. Think about that as we are, as we go out into the new year and that we can look to people like Santos, people like these pastors that they seemingly have nothing in our changing their entire country changing their legacy to thoughts, actions, we know that if, if that is possible at that level. It is surely possible with each and every one of us as well. I went over the effort for questions as well an comments if anybody has any any any questions or comments about this. I get a little rambling and excited about it all. They may have any comments or questions. Yet a with that yet. Once all national and then the next step for us is it now that were working in over your fifty JDs outdraw the entire country. The next step next to go to the next slide. If the connection shows a map of the little dots, but am now working with church on a country by twenty fifteen. React see have our member number off time I have been overdoing that fish ponds and floppy bonds in at least ten different communities. The IDS taxi start up a small business and have constant supply for you have a natural hold nationwide business don't get them to access to the market to get higher price is in the integral community. They can sell the floppy at about dollar a pound, which one fishes. This is a HUD to fish is about one pound figure dollar for two fish, but at their local market. They can ask yourself for three dollars a pound. I think you get the supermarket and a national level, they can sell it at three fifty four dollars#. It's actually can become much more profitable whenever they have access to market and so the ideas it likely wouldn't become like an exporting business, but it would be deathly national business along with that business. We were trying to decide find things that are already did projects that have been identified like floppy bonds identified by the church into themselves and like the home gardens and then once they get going over if you never number of years. Maintenance of businesses that are profitable. So along with the home gardens. They've all been taught how to do organic fertilizer, and they create tons literally tons of this organic fertilizer that these distribute out to tell all they home garden. Participants will all of a sudden there's a huge demand for organic fertilizers and pesticides in El Salvador because everyone's petrified of the chemicals that they been using because, but there's some the sugarcane cuties were twenty five to thirty percent of the men are all dying of kidney failure because of the chemical pesticides abusing him, sugarcane, all of a sudden everyone got everyone scared throughout the rural areas. This is huge demand for gang fertilizer. What these guys are you producing it. So this year we did a project with action passer Santos community of selling organic for I sold superfast in there. They weren't there when they only had up. Yes I am developing national businesses ability to give them profitable businesses, but for us it's most important that these projects have been birthed from the church and heating and boiling up so the long answer to this question is this base their questions, comments, they start with with the with whatever the consume. That's another is enough is that most of these projects are first identified as for nutrition and so they usually will almost always do not green beans and tomatoes of some onions and then there's a lot of other cash crops like cilantro, there's been not a lot of cilantro available in the national market, but this is a huge demand for their get a lot of money in the market for for cilantro. They also do other local crops like LaRocca, which is a a a flower like a blooming flower that they use the put in their eggs in and all kinds of stuff and a lot of different squash a quick yellow squash and conflict that began as part of the agency, balance between some of it in some the keys. Then identify the home gardens as purely nutritional for nutritional value and other cuties that identified it for economics of depends on the key question is not too bad. Not too bad vaccine are area times made us and I would've been profitable at Swisher. But it is a lot of fun. We exited it would, but was fun about it in the when we did with our neighbors. So, you we had three. Thank you for families that they, all went on it together would submit a lot of fun, and that's actually one of the things that is really valuable about this project in El Salvador, as well as it is some sometimes these the first time he will ask a come together to work on project now and N/A the site that is being one of the most important aspects about the project as well. I was dressed as integrated getting on something with her with her neighbors. The right guy mean that you yet average the most liberal families are subsistent farmers. They just grow corn and beans on rented land, usually on onto three acres of of rented land they farm by hand and any unlike in the mountainous areas. You'll see it just on the steepest of steepest hillsides with super rocky terrain and they literally wear soccer cleats to farm just to get up and down the hell he now in an and him and but they got always on rented land they usually will all the plot that they live on, which is very small. You know, and that that they have to give back twenty to thirty percent of whatever they grow you know where profit they make off corn, beans back to rent the land and began rural families just don't eat young when we done health studies and in rural areas. They'll eat on average. Your one serving of meat per month to three servings of vegetables and green vegetables per week on average in size. That's his own beans and lots of oil so guides. It's a bad nutritional way to live and so the idea having increasing their nutritional intake is extremely important you are for healthier bacon work harder in their happier and more you contribute more to deliver to society. So, questions, comments on the anyway death. I is actually the sheer we are going to start working in Nepal, I would had a few other organizations being contacting us about replicating this model in other countries and will be red where starting in Nepal and is an organization that has a region Nepal in Northern India and Burma and basically there are a lot of organizations that have been equipping churches are you training churches to try and do things like this. There hasn't been a real methodology that is worked typically spend the church teaching the church to cottages go out and do evangelism or ministry without having of methodology that helps connect them with the community. So were were were replicating the model that we have in El Salvador in other countries that will starting in Nepal mean more of this upcoming year, an actuary taking support church coaches from El Salvador than working with us for a number of years, who originally had a call to do missions and were trained as missionaries. They will be missionaries to Nepal from El Salvador and so they'll do that, that the training there and we also are starting a pilot project in Florida to basically adapt this methodology. US churches and through another organization in Florida will be trained two hundred churches in Broward County in Florida this year that but without that sets a whole new whole new animal for us working with the US church in the comments or questions I really proceed you guys listening. It's fun to talk about and we're really excited about where God is his is brought our organization. You know it's it's wild to think that since two thousand two when it really first went down there now is, a small little thing we went on our honeymoon and didn't know what we are in your Howard and help just the midst of great people on staff, and that it met a couple pastors that just felt like man this is what God is his doing. He wants to do in the world and and get behind Ron Bueno or Executive Director Jesus really had a amazing vision for all this analysis taken off on the we really appreciate your support, your prayers over the years than any of God does amazing things when we listen them and respond to amend and yeah to me that one of the most wonderful things is the see that meet these pastors and then also meet our art. The staff that you come in on like we always worried your especially now coming back to the US worry whether or not yell things will will continue in El Salvador have no doubt anymore about that just over the past couple years. It's been absolutely amazing. Just this year, will award out forty five April on staff in El Salvador, and this year we finally had our, middle management meeting, where before was basic to three liters or can't run everything and how it got here ten guys that are run in all having independent girls that are minus thing and just amazing. So God is just and blessing it beyond our wildest imaginations really and were just so thankful has really been because of of prayers and support that make it happen. So thank you I hire one of the projects we did this year in one of the most effective project Archie Santos and is church of done it as well. Especially effective for rural for our first churches that come on instead of like doing you some water like big project better your one. Five million dollars in super complex and whatnot, and other projects. The really simple while he goes those I've been away to super, super effective and really easy project for people to do basically in almost all the rural El Salvador, the cook on open fires inside their home and basically in August of the hold the whole room fills with smoke. Ms. usually somewhat ventilated but still this open fire me if you've ever been span around the campfire to man's looks balmy, down the eyes are burning and that's what it's like all day everyday while story short, they the churches work with the eighties and they basically just enclose the fire with with brick and Adobe endorsements. Whatever design that they come up with with our engineers so that this doesn't change the way that women are cooking this is all kinds a great nanotechnology that women will use to cut if they don't like doing at so many encloses the fire with a new design, and then puts Giuliani and assets in a new eco- stove that that they desire may build the church and two together and so we been done this campaign. This Christmas call cooking up love that is supporting these eco- stove projects. We have over five hundred of them that have been identified for next year and over thousand that will be dry enough done by two thousand fourteen and we raised two hundred dollars per stove to be able to train families on on how US and has been a great project and the alternate was one that they a higher item that we were there we have available as being able to gift to someone else as well on, and these of been funded already that the fifteen dollar of the net as Artie been funded to the forty dollars that you give for the government actually helps to bring a stove to one person. So if you figure that even for a late Christmas gift for Valentines present. That's wrong things will be done for Valentine's Day is tricking above so that we have those available and if you can check out all that the videos and everything about it as well. The cooking of love .org met fill free to infiltrate rehabbing more. These bracelets moment with me these the end is a couple story cards, and that the other night about the thank you that instead of receiving offering. I was is the say it's on the two forty F I get a forty dollars gift for yourself or someone else get back there and never your offering. Instead of putting in the offering today to get you today, met cooking up. Love Bill buyer for your wife dollars. These it bookmark it. Yeah, the Rhonda got to for Christmas. Now she had to for Christmas so down the can do now so good like to make a contribution to El Salvador and the David and so on this oh, by the mid- whatever so good. I saw Stan Schelling father. We are grateful to you that you have blessed us and thank you Lord for the work of service that you provide in work through David and loss say all the missions projects that they are heading up in the difference they are making in this country, and Lord Howe that this difference now will reach to other places and other parts of the world. So Lord, we thank you for that. We pray Lord that your wisdom and guidance be with each other. Each of the individuals as they do the planning and the strategic ideas that go into making things work in communities, Lord were seemingly nothing has worked before Lord. It is through your church and through your people that you make a difference. Thank you Lord for your spirits that is the most creative and that Lord is, we pray, we open our lives to you that you help us to be creative in our thoughts are our actions in Lord as we spread your word. We'll be creative again. Plus, we pray in Jesus name amen