Dear friends and family,

I hope this letter finds you well and that you are enjoying the summer season. I have been great these past months seeing God’s faithfulness in my life, providing me perseverance at work and stepping into leadership at church supporting kids with disabilities and bible study. At this point I have found God calling me to a second short-term mission trip and hope to share with you some details.

I am excited to announce to you that this August I will be venturing with a team of eight others into El Salvador in Central America to share God’s Word. El Salvador is my parents’ country of origin and has gone through a violent civil war from 1980 to 1992, where gang culture arose thereafter. It brings me joy for the opportunity to be sent in order to meet ex-gang members who have given their lives to Christ recently. The second portion of the trip will outreach to children and families in a remote territory where people do not have the basic amenities that we are so blessed to have. It will be my pleasure to work as a group to develop relationships, pray with them, and help them grow in their Christian walk.

God has already taken me to see how mightily He is in control with my first trip to Lima, Peru last year where we met several churches helping one another bring God’s name known at all corners of the city and how he has cared for several dozen orphans in their hands. I know that this first trip to El Salvador will perpetuate a movement to the people from my family’s homeland. This country can find healing from its recent history by changed lives multiplying other changed lives through God’s love.

There are nine in total going, but our full team consists of those who are in partnership with us in prayer and financially. Please consider joining us by praying daily. Also, if the Lord leads you to contribute financially, each team member is responsible for raising $1,800 to cover the expenses.

If you would like to make a financial contribution to this team, a check may be made payable to McLean Bible Church (with the memo reading GI - El Salvador (Arlington)) and returned to me in the enclosed envelope by August 10, 2014. Or, if you’d prefer, you can make a donation online at www.mbcarlington.com/globaldonate.  Click on ’Donate Here’ and follow the instructions.  You may be asked to log in with a username and password, but you will not be added to any mailing lists or promotional materials. Select the ‘GI - El Salvador (Arlington)’ team and type my name when it asks for a team member.  If you choose to make an anonymous donation to the team you do not have to type a team member’s name, just type ‘General - anonymous’.  All contributions are tax deductible. If the team is successful in raising our financial goal, all excess funds will be applied to either the needs directly related to the ministry of this trip or to fund additional outreach efforts within Global Impact.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!

God bless,

Sergio Emmanuel Merino

“And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all creation” – Mark 16:15