The Fullness

Everyone comes to Hope of Life with a different purpose. Some come to build churches. Others come to build houses and feed the hungry. Others come to rescue children.

Dr. Matison was not entirely sure what purpose he would serve on his trip this week, but he knew the reason he was drawn to come.

 

A man at the forefront of the youth ministry movement of the Californian seventies, Dr. Matison has a resume of ministry that clearly shows the Lord has had a great purpose for his life. Launching into the Jesus Movement in the middle of a decade filled with cultural shifts, changing values, and a youth unbalanced in how they felt about their place in the world, but confident of what they were interested in- challenges were an everyday occurrence. Yet there, in the midst of their favorite rock concerts and club scenes stood Dr. Matison preaching the gospel to ready hearts, and disciplining brown-paper bag kids and drug addicts who had responded to God’s call on their lives.

Years of ministry, evangelizing, disciplining, and teaching exposed Dr. Matison to an active Gospel. A gospel that he saw lived out by these new and ready believers as they stormed the mission fields of Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and Mexico. This man has experienced spheres of ministry that stretch into every area of how the Gospel should be lived and breathed.

Yet, at 76 years young, he is ready for a new call on his life; his reason for traveling thousands of miles to the mountains of Zacapa, becomes clear.

“I’ve ministered, I’ve evangelized, I’ve taught, I’ve discipled, I’ve pastored. I’ve done many things in part. There is a breadth I want for the remainder of my life. I’m not looking to die in this next stage of life, I’m looking to live.”

Walking with Dr. Matison through villages, it’s obvious he catches the details. He wants to see the community from every angle. In El Mitch, he wandered the village corridors with children in tow, they grabbed at his hands, hung around his knees, and gathered in close for every photo, the way his heart bursts as wide as their hugs is nearly visable. In the wide dusty field that the community of Pueblo Modelo has called home, he’s hearing stories… an Abuela, finding some rest in the shade of a flowering tree recovering from illness, talks about the pride she takes in her home, and her plans to expand one day. He takes a few moments to pray for her health, and the crack of his voice is audible.

And here, is where he found the fullness.

The fullness to Hope of Life, that streams out from Carlos’s leadership and trickles down into these villages.

To the abuelas, to the children, to the rescued babies, to the families impacted by the long arm of Hope of Life’s practical Gospel. That’s where this next piece of his journey takes on life for Dr. Matison, as he sees the impact of Carlos’ vision, his willingness to do whatever, go wherever, and give anything of himself… grows.