Israel Antonio Ayala: From the Streets to Christian Service
Israel Ayala was a shy, fearful little boy. His mother raised him for five years, then sent him to live with his grandmother. By the age of twelve, Israel had dropped out of school. By thirteen, he was on the streets more than he was at home. He says low self-esteem and feelings of inferiority drove him to the streets in search of a sense of respect and value he may have received from a father had his dad not abandoned him.
Life on the streets was not safe. Gangs plagued El Salvador in those days. Israel lived in a world where things as simple as the way he dressed, or his hairstyle made him a target of violence. He tells stories of narrowly escaping being murdered by gangs and other senseless violence.
Israel’s neighborhood church represented another world, and he wanted nothing to do with it. He rejected invitations to attend until he gave it a try one day just so Christians would stop bothering him to go. He says God spoke to him that day, though he turned down the invitation to accept Christ. He returned the next day without an invitation, still in the oversized shirt, loose pants, and weird haircut he sported to tell the world he didn’t care.
Someone preached and invited Israel to the altar, but he refused. Then a second preacher did the same. The pattern repeated until there was just one old man left to preach. The old man invoked an altar call, and Israel felt a strange force compelling him to respond. He grabbed onto the church bench to resist, but found himself standing up and shouting with the voice of a strong man, “I want to accept Christ as my Lord and Savior” as he walked forward, crying and feeling broken.
That day, Israel says his shyness, fear, and low self-esteem fell away. He stopped using the foul language he associated with street life and became overwhelmed by a deep desire to know God, learn from his Word, and serve others. He grew within this church for seven years, then left it for another that was being coached by ENLACE. Israel joined his new church’s Service Committee where he learned about the Integral Mission of the church and the importance of community service.
Israel in the community of Cantón Piedras Azules, El Salvador, helping to install a new improved cooking stove. In El Salvador, the primary source of fuel for cooking in rural areas is wood which has devastating effects on health, family income, and the environment. Ecostoves reduce acute respiratory illnesses by 60%, increase family incomes by 25%, and reduce the use of wood for cooking by 66%. Ecostoves are just one of the many kinds of health initiatives your financial gifts make possible.
At the age of 27, Israel enrolled at the Bethel Bible Institute to study theology. At 30, he picked up on the public school education he’d left behind at 12. At 31, he graduated with both his ninth-grade diploma and a teaching degree from the Bible Institute. At 33, he finally graduated high school. At 35, he started studying at the Assemblies of God Christian University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in theology with a focus on Missiology at 37. His degree opened the door to a teaching job at the Olive Interdenominational Institute where he has been a theology instructor ever since.
At 39, Israel began to study Community Development at the Assemblies of God Christian University, praying for a way to serve those in need. That was when he learned of a Church Coach position at ENLACE.
Israel is now 10 months into his Church Coach job at ENLACE, serving the marginalized in the model of Jesus. Better still, the job allows him to provide for his family with confidence and self-esteem that he hopes to pass on to his children.
Evelin Jeannette Marroquín de Galán: Almost a Dozen Years Church Coaching!
While some, like ENLACE’s newest Church Coach, Israel Ayala, face a long and difficult road to their vocation, there are others for whom the work flows naturally from their upbringing and their lives, like Evelin Marroquín de Galán.
Evelin first came to know Christ as a little girl in Sunday school. She got married, and when her son was born she felt a responsibility to educate him with Christian principles and values. Today she is blessed with a husband and two children who all serve God in different ways.
Evelin has served as a Bible school teacher, women’s leader, in leadership school, and in promoting church missions. She studied Theology at the Christian University of the Assemblies of God and studied Local Development at the Pan-American University, all preparing her to work with churches and communities.
One day, the Dean of Theology at the Assemblies of God Christian University told her about ENLACE, insisting this was a fit for her to serve God. Today, she serves as a Church Coach for six different churches. For Evelyn, church is about more than just what happens on Sunday. She says a house of God should always have its doors open because they become doors to heaven.
Jesus Christ, Evelyn says, was outwardly focused, close to people regardless of their social status, concerned with their economic and social, as well as spiritual, development. That, she says, is why she has always felt a spiritual connection with ENLACE.
Evelin in the small rural community of Cantón Ramirez, El Salvador, facilitating a school recreation improvement project with a short-term serving team from the U.S.
We are grateful for people like Israel and Evelin, who work tirelessly to improve relationships between the local church and the community. They bring the gospel of Jesus through their actions and live out the meaning of loving your neighbor. Please pray for their safety as they travel to remote locations.