A group of men confined behind prison walls helped Mac McCaslin build walls that will allow 16 families to start a new life in El Salvador. A chaplain for two Indiana prisons, Mac shared with the inmates the story of The Fuller Center blitz build in a rural, impoverished region of Central American. Even though some of them only make 60 cents a day, an offering to help cover expenses for Mac’s trip raised about $400.
Not only that, some of the prisoners plan to apply for their own passports upon their release so they can do more than give money. “They want to give back,” he says.
In addition to his work in El Salvador, Mac has also made missions trips to Peru, Guatemala and Europe. And he worked in the first two Fuller Center blitz builds in Shreveport, La. Each one builds his faith. “If we all reached out and helped our neighbor, think how fast this world could turn around. And everyone is our neighbor.”
Mac says helping build a home for a family who now lives in a shack with a dirt floor is a special experience. “You see how a house changes their lives. They get such a boost to have their own home and then I see them helping other people,” he says. “The language is different, but there are a lot of good-hearted people here who just need some encouragement. They need some hope.”
The murder of his mother 24 years ago nearly destroyed his life as well. “I was bitter and I turned into a man I hated. God showed me if I didn’t change I would end up dead or in prison. And God changed my heart. He called me into ministry and this is part of my ministry,” he says.
“I like seeing people come together and build relationships. And I like seeing the joy people have in serving. You go back home feeling like you have too much stuff. There is no ‘poor me’ after you come to El Salvador.”
–David Westerfield, Community Renewal International, reporting for FCH.
