Mike and MonaRé Shields

A big highlight in the month of April was speaking for the Southern California Hispanic Ministries “Conexiones” Men’s Retreat! Around 40 pastors accompanied men from their churches to the event held at the Pinecrest Christian Center Campgrounds in the mountains overlooking the San Bernadino Valley.

My heart was so moved to see hundreds of men at the worship times with hands raised calling out to God. The retreat featured many workshops, plenary sessions, great food and an awesome worship band with a wide repetoire of contemporary worship and praise music.

Larry and Melodee Gruetzmacher, long time friends and veteran missionaires were the Directors of the camp. We’ve worked with them from time to time in Mexico, and now they’ve taken the new missionary challenge of reaching the growing Hispanic populations in the world’s second largest Spanish speaking country, the United Status!

In the past year we have heard a lot of angry and frustrated talk about Hispanics coming to our country. Yet if we can see this from a Kingdom perspective, something remarkable is happening. Missionaries familiar with Mexico know that winning unchurched men to Christ while living there is a very difficult task. Yet when they come to the U.S. all of the cultural and social structures that chain them to darkness begin to break down. Suddenly they are confronted with their isolation, loneliness and empty lives.

It only takes a caring Christian to invite Latins to a church or retreat, and suddenly, hearts are open and a radical transformation can take place. The greatest engine for evangelization is this upheaval in social structure that brings men and woman to Christ! And the reverberations back home are remarkable!

Conducted totally in Spanish, I spoke on themes of character development, living a Spirit-filled and God directed life, and service to others throughout the retreat. All of us were so moved on the final day of the event when hundreds of men raised their hands to indicate they had experienced a powerful encounter with God that was life changing.

Also at the retreat was Richard Larson, one of my most important life mentors. Mona worked for Dick and Jan in Panama City, Panama as a Bible School teacher. After we married, we began our missionary career in evangelism and radio production with them in Madrid, Spain. In the past decade, Dick and Jan have poured their lives into developing this powerful Hispanic Ministry in Southern California. It was so great to be with Dick during this retreat and see the hundreds of people he has so effectively influenced for the Kingdom of God.

Please pray that everyone of the menwho came to this event will experience a deep and lasting transformation as they courageously live by Christian principles in thought and actions. And thanks for helping Mona and me be available for events like this throughout all of Latin America.