One Mission Society: So you shouldn’t have succeeded. How did God
change all that?
Luis Miguel: Really, God took charge of my entire life. He rescued me out of
abuse and darkness; he offered me his forgiveness, which I accepted with all
my heart. My parents abandoned me as a child to the streets of Bogotá. When I
was 19, I was dejected and suicidal, but God allowed me to meet a pastor who
took me into his family as their son, and they discipled me in the faith. My training at the OMS high school helped me discover my leadership gifts. The church
has also been key in steering me, showing me the loving support needed to
fulfill God’s calling for my life. Of course, I can’t leave out God’s most important
gift: my dear wife Loida and our three children … something unimaginable as
an orphan!
OMS: Colombia’s Mission to the Indigenous Tribes (MISINCOL) was the fulfillment of your vision 20 years ago after seminary training. Tell us about it.
LM: Loida and I graduated from the OMS-founded Biblical Seminary of Colombia,
after which we completed our master’s degrees in sociolinguistics in Guatemala.
We then returned to Colombia with a burden for educating and teaching the Bible
to the indigenous tribes where Wycliffe Bible Translators had invested decades.
Those translations were certain to be forgotten if we didn’t train leaders to read
and apply them. When Wycliffe officially left the country, having completed their
government contract, they donated a residence, which we call “Bridge of Grace,”
as the base of operations. It houses tribal translation assistants, supplying a residence for them during Bible and literacy training.
OMS: Your church sponsors a new child welfare center located in the poverty fringe of Bogotá’s 8.5 million people. How do ventures like this fulfill
your dreams?
LM: God moved mountains for this center to become a reality. The families we’re
assisting have huge economic limitations. The children don’t have to be latchkey kids; we offer quality after-school educational help and recreation. In the
process, we help prevent abuse of all kinds and minister to the immense spiritual
needs. The dream became a reality through our ties with “Mission Possible”
from Northern Ireland. God allowed the telling of my story to inspire donors from
Northern Ireland and volunteers in Bogotá.
OMS: God has gifted you with a lovely, capable wife in Loida. How has she
helped fulfill God’s purposes for you?
LM: My wife is my perfect partner in ministry. Together, we established the family that God promised me long ago. Loida has sacrificed her personal goals in
favor of backing God’s purposes for our lives, first as missionaries and now as
pastors. She personifies the missionary vision that has characterized our church
for 20 years. Her sensitivity and burden for the marginalized motivates our integral approach to evangelism.
OMS: Any final thoughts?
LM: Many people have invested in me over the years. They believed in God’s
purposes for me and didn’t give up. With God’s help, I seek to follow that model
of faithfulness.
(We thank OMS missionary Howard Biddulph for his contribution to this interview.)
11