For those who have been following my blog (and haven't given up on me) you might remember my summer adventure in Belize. At that time I was so excited to share with you all the amazing potential and encounters we had in Belize that I don't think I took adequate time to introduce a good friend that I have been working with over the past year to develop the ministry of CCI in Belize and Latin America.
Like many of the amazing leaders we work with world wide Alex has got a pretty incredible story. After considering the twists, turns and hardships people like Alex face I wonder how do people like this rise to the top while so many who endure so much less do not. The answer I believe demonstrates God's amazing plan for amazing individuals like this who are courageous enough to choose it (and I wonder if I'm courageous enough to choose all that God has for me).Alex was born in Guatemala in the early 80's. As many of you may remember this was a time of war and unrest in this Central America country. The day Alex was born his town was in the center of the action. He shares the story his birth mother told him about the difficult labor - it seems Alex was not anxious to be born into such conditions. When Alex was born and his family fled they discovered the building he was born in was only one of three left standing in the entire town. Alex a little more of the war torn scene but you can probably fill in the picture of what is left of a town when it's been bombed.
There are details that I have yet to learn about Alex like if he ever knew his birth father - whom I know still lives in Guatemala. I do know that Alex, his older brother and his birth mother ended up in Belize where they shared a few years together. However, when he was very young (I think he was around 6) Alex's mother left to make a life in the United States. There she met a man and joined the Jehovah's Witnesses. She never returned or sent for Alex. Alex was now an orphan. The friend of the family that Alex had been staying with graciously took him in. Though he refers to her as his mother Alex didn't grow up with the kind of love a support many of us did. But he had a roof over his head and food in his stomach that carried him till he could experience the love of Christ which would fill some of the big holes in his life.
It was in his teenage years that God called Him into his current family - the family of believers. We haven't so specifically talked about the events leading up to Alex coming to know Christ (the conversation hasn't often made it past how much Alex is in love with Christ and his family - and I haven't filled in a lot of the details mostly because Alex has got his eyes so firmly set on the future that the past isn't much the topic of discussion). Alex's faith and his home life did present some challenges as his foster mother was heavily involved in the occult (when we went to visit her this summer she had apparently been quite anxious as she had clients stopping by to have their fortunes told while we were there - we didn't stay too long as some of these tensions where pretty obvious). So needless to say Alex's faith was his own while all around him he faced the battles of growing up. (There's countless more stories to tell of his family that were involved in the drug trade, murders and that sort of thing but it might be best to wait for the movie. However, I will say that a lot of the stories revolve around his foster sister, whom Alex is now quite close to. After some time in hiding, as a result of being surrounded by the drama listed above, she came to know Christ and is also serving Him faithfully.)
Alex did have the opportunity to attend a Christian high-school an opportunity and blessing he speaks of often. There he grew in his faith and became aware of the calling he had to reach the people of Belize. In fact, he jokingly told me of the trouble he got into when he would leave the campus. Did he go out to party like other teens? No, instead he frequently put together ministry teams to go out into surrounding villages to share his faith with the people there - what a wild child! I've heard from some of his old teachers who said they were moved to tears by the dedication of this young man.
The Lord continued to bless Alex in his studies and he had the opportunity to come to Canada and study at Steinbach Bible College. It was in the summer of Alex's first year that I met him at Winkler Bible Camp. Alex served that summer as a camp counselor and that's when he sensed God calling him to reach out to Belize children and youth through camping ministry. During the summer between his 2nd and 3rd years at SBC I travelled with Alex to explore the potential of this ministry in Belize. I can assure you, as it is obvious right from his birth story, that God's hand is on this young man and you can expect some more great stories about him in the future.
