El Salvador

Most people get to their late 30′s and early 40′s, and begin to ask a question that goes something like this…

How can my life count for something great over the last half?

This desire takes many men toward an answer that includes a new sports car, a new woman (sometimes with new implants), and a new house.  The desire to make things new is, I believe, God-given.  But the way many people fulfill that desire either leans more fully into Christ’s Kingdom, or into their own man-made kingdoms.

One desire.  Two roads to fulfill it.

One day, Jesus spoke very clearly about what matters most.  As I read how Matthew word-paints this portrait in the life of Christ, I can almost see Jesus just closing his eyes, and envisioning a future He knows will come to pass…

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”

The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Matthew 11

El Salvador is where my initial question meets God’s ultimate answer.

How can my life count for something more in the second half?  El Salvador holds the answer.  It’s that place, with those people.

SO HERE’S THE PLAN

The plan unfolds more and more every day, and the river is beginning to move quickly here…

* FIND A CHRISTIAN LEADER who already lives in El Salvador, and who shares the same burden for a community.  Done.  I met him on a clean water dig in October 2009.  His name is Carlos.

* TARGET A POVERTY-STRICKEN VILLAGE as a place to provide the resources necessary for Christ’s restoration to really happen.

* MEET WITH THE COMMUNITY LEADERS of that village, and ask THEM what they need for their village to experience life again.  North Americans already think they know what’s needed.  But we don’t.  We can’t.  I traveled to San Salvador July 26-28, 2010 to find the right community.  Indigenous leadership is the key here.  Without the right group of community leaders, this will fail (we found FOUR initial communities to fund).

* NORTH AMERICAN GUY (me) comes back to the States and raises enough money to buy the resources the village needs to implement the changes THEY want.  Stuff like:  Clean water, better roads into their village, some kind of sewage system, and a sustainable business where locals could receive a fair wage.  This does not involve Americans going down and doing the work for them. They don’t want that.  They just need the resources to do the work themselves.

* FORM A NON-PROFIT.  Donations have to be given somewhere.  This is formed and done.  Here’s the website.  We’re calling it The Floodgate Foundation.

* MONITOR PROGRESS.  Shoot lots of video.  Cry with donors.

* MULTIPLY THIS PLAN.  Along the journey, there will undoubtedly be people like me, who want to do the same thing in a country of their choosing.  I’ll be anxious to train them so they can take this idea and replicate it.

THE BOTTOM LINE

At the end of my days, I want to be able to point to a specific village, in a specific country, with a specific people, and simply say that…

I had something to do with that.

If you share my heart, and want to walk this journey with me, please head over to the Foundation’s website, and let’s get moving on this thing.