Stories
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Jan-23-2022 | StoriesJosh
Violence breaks families. Six-year-old Josh knew that all too well. Fighting had erupted in a neighboring village. Gunfire was ringing in their ears, Josh and his family fled the region, walking for a week to cross the border of a nearby country in the Upper Mekong Region.
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Jan-23-2022 | StoriesJake
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Jake sat on the ship, reading the words in Hebrews 13, unsure of his destination but comforted by God’s promise. Jake had been a young student at a university in the Philippines. He had also been a drug courier and professional assassin.
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Jan-23-2022 | StoriesHenda
Henda is the fourth of five sisters born in a small town in the Upper Mekong Region filled with drug trafficking, tribal feuds, and much hatred and corruption. Because Henda’s family was prohibited from trafficking drugs due to local interests, the family had no other choice except to live in poverty.
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Jan-23-2022 | StoriesTina
One of the first things you notice about Tina is her smile – it lights up the room – which makes it hard to imagine that only ten years ago she was an orphan about to be sold to another person. “My parents died when I was four years old, and somebody tried to sell me for 15 dollars,” she shared with us.
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Jan-13-2022 | StoriesYeksi
Tears flowed down Yeksi’s cheeks as she knelt before God in prayer. She recalled the difficulties in her childhood – her mom entrusting her four younger siblings to her at the age of 7, her family’s financial struggles when her father underwent surgery, the harsh chaos in her home.
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Mar-28-2021 | StoriesMario’s Story: The Hard Road to Freedom
All my life all I wanted was a real family. For me, family disappears like water drops on hot desert sands. I was 17 years old when I met a sweet girl and we made a daughter, but we split up even before she was born. I lived on drugs and alcohol, so she didn’t want to stay with me. It hit me really hard. I moved deeper into the gang world of the cartel, I frequented abandoned lands, full of trash, I slept in debris within in the shells of dilapidated homes.
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Mar-21-2021 | StoriesMario’s Story: Escaping Drugs & Violence
Not everyone can climb beyond their guilt. You will see in Part 2 of Mario’s story, that ruining so many people’s lives fosters deep shame, sadness and guilt. For those that struggle with subsequent self loathing, human forgiveness is not enough, self forgiveness is also not enough. We all need a God-sized forgiveness that celebrates us down to the marrow. This universal need is more accentuated when we spend time with folks like Mario.
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Jan-31-2021 | StoriesYamon’s Story
A child at risk of being recruited for child soldiering? In 2020? How could this be possible? There are three main factors that contribute to these types of situations…
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Aug-16-2020 | MJY StrategiesOscar’s Story
When we met Oscar we could see his heart to help his community: his desire to educate, to keep children out of militant groups, to improve the quality of life in their remote village. We could see it so clearly was because he was already doing it—and without pay.
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Jan-21-2019 | Project-AK47I am afraid to be a soldier
“Whenever people talk about guns, soldiers, or the war, I feel afraid…”
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Dec-10-2018 | Project-AK47I was afraid I would not see my parents again…
I was afraid I would not see my parents again before I died.
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Aug-06-2018 | Project-AK47Elisa’s Story: Seeds of Change
As she looked out over the beautiful green trees and expansive soccer fields surrounding her, Elisa couldn't help but laugh. She grew up on this very property, but it hasn't always been the thriving ministry it is today. Back then, "it looked nothing like what it looks like now. We didn't even have doors!" she recalled.
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Jul-23-2018 | Sports MissionsOmar’s Story: View from the Top
When Omar hears the stories of the children he works with in the Saved by Soccer program, he is truly amazed at how far some of them have come. "In comparison, I had a beautiful childhood. Thank goodness, I didn't have such complicated situations as some of these kids," he said. Still, his passion for soccer and professional success allows him to connect with the participants in a meaningful way.
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Jul-09-2018 | Project-AK47Surrounded by Drugs and Darkness: Gerardo’s Story of Hope
There truly aren't words strong enough to describe the darkness Gerardo experienced growing up the son of a drug cartel's hitman.
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Jun-29-2018 | Sports MissionsA Family Saved by Soccer
In Mexico, the term mamá luchona roughly translates to "scrappy mom," usually referring in a derogatory fashion to a young single mom who has to act as both mother and father to her kids. In recent years, children of single moms have reclaimed the term, telling everyone about their incredible moms who worked twice as hard to provide for their family.
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