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Members of LIV children's choir bring joy to their
audience.
changing lives since 2011 when the
first mothers and children were admitted.
“So we’re doing life here together,”
says Joan near the close of the video.
“We just see God doing so many
miracles in the lives of the children, in
the lives of the mothers, in the lives of
the workers and even in our lives,” says
the co-founder. “Our lives have been
changed forever.”
Mark and Veronica Lugo have been
bringing the love of Christ to children
and youth for almost two decades in
the states and could not turn a deaf
ear. “We knew because of our outreach
ministry there were fosters and
orphans out there, but we didn’t realize
there was a crisis in San Antonio.”
A wide range of experiences have
brought Mark and Veronica up to this
point. Through the inspiration of their
pastors, Rune and Berta Brannstrom,
Camino Creek Mobile
Home Park was forever
changed starting in 2010.
“Through this – when we
started doing community
outreach – we saw
that the children were
the first to respond.” By
the end of that summer,
“ When you walk
the grounds,
there’s not an
‘orphan spirit’
there.”
– Veronica Lugo
says Mark, “We were baptizing in the
pool. A hundred people came to the
Lord.” (In fact, they were featured in
"The Beacon," October 2018, for their
wonderful outreach to these young
neighbors.)
Over a year ago, Mark and Veronica
established Mark Lugo Ministries
(MLM) as a nonprofit designed to
bring San Antonio together to
advocate for urban missions and
reach the disadvantaged children and
teens in our community. Through
“Impact Radio,” which airs on KDRY
AM 1100 Sundays at 2:30 p.m. and 10
p.m., they began highlighting San
Antonio residents pursuing urban
missionary work. Through it they met
a multitude of people, interviewing
government officials, professionals
and ministry leaders.
It all came together: MLM seemed
like the perfect “horse” which could
draw the “carriage” which carries the
vision for a hopeful, innovative
community called LIV San Antonio
which will bring hope to our community’s
abused and neglected children.
“We prayed about it; we talked to Tich
and Joan about it,” says Veronica. And
that’s when the South Africans gave
Mark and Veronica this advice: first,
get an intercessory team together.
Mark, Veronica and others have been
praying ever since with a group at
7 a.m. on
Mondays.
Praying with
them are their
pastors, the
Brannstroms,
who remain
spiritual mentors
and have been
given LIV San
Antonio board
positions.
On August 26,
“ The importance
of innovation in
driving better
outcomes for
children cannot
be overstated.”
– Andrew Brown,
Director for Center for
Families and Children at
the Texas Public Policy
Foundation
2018, Mark and Veronica were
ordained, via video conference with
Tich and Joan and some other spiritual
leaders, including the Brannstroms –
to open up a LIV village in San
Antonio.
Mark and Veronica and their two
sons left for the LIV village over the
2018 Christmastime. They were all
amazed at God’s works from the
moment their travels began. First of
all, says Mark, “We didn’t have enough
money to go to South Africa.” But,
remembering that faith and works go
together, they began taking steps to
travel. “And through
that, it was like the
floodgates just
opened,” Veronica
adds. Then, she says,
“Everything else came
in. We were at the
airport – getting a
notification on our phones that we
received a big bank deposit from –
someone. I still don’t know to this day
who it was.”
“ Over Christmas,
we spent two
weeks in the
future.”
– one of Mark and
Veronica’s sons
The vision for the innovation was
there in front of them in South Africa.
“You feel like you’re in a big family
there,” says Veronica. “When you walk
A majority of evangelical
churches do not have organized,
sustainable, intentional ministries
aimed at making sure foster and
orphan kids are nurtured.
LIV Founders Tich and Joan Smith along with several
LIV kids enjoy some South African sunshine.
Visit YouTube's "LIV Documentary Feb 2016" for a
great video about this amazing village.
March / April 2019 www.saBeacon.com 5
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