Founder of "Forgotten People" has mission to help victims of Hurricane Harvey

HOUSTON, TX - A man from Dallas, who lost almost everything as a child, is using his tragedies to fuel his passion to help others.  While his mission in life has been focused on helping people in Guatemala, he has also turned his attention to helping victims of Hurricane Harvey. 

Kyle Ewald is the Founder of "The Forgotten People".  For years, he has been helping those, who live in remote areas of Guatemala, who he felt were "forgotten".   He knows that feeling all too well, after practically raising himself.  "The man, I knew as my dad, passed away from a drug overdose when I was eight from a heroin overdose and when I was thirteen, I walked into my mom's room and found her face down and she passed away from the same exact thing - a heroin overdose as well," explains Kyle. 
       

For a while, Kyle followed in their footsteps, experimenting with drugs and spending time in and out of jail.  He says his parents never took him to church, but members of a church encouraged him to attend and would even pick him up and take him.  "From the moment my mom died, I felt like I had nobody.  The youth pastor, really I call him my step-dad now, he would always bail me out of jail and disciple me and help me figure out who I was," says Kyle. He gave Kyle a Bible that he kept in his truck.  At the time, Kyle was a bouncer at a strip club.  He says one day, he pulled up, and just couldn't get out.  He pulled out the Bible and begged God for help, telling Him how empty his life was.  He quit his job and began Bible School! 
       

He soon went on a mission trip to Guatemala.  That changed everything for him.  "I remembered a woman crying.  She said, I don't want water, food, or medication, I just want in my village to build a church.  She was blind - she would go down three hours each way to go down the hill to just go to church.  She couldn't even see, but knew the presence of God was there, and so I made it to my life's mission," says Kyle.  They built seven churches in Guatemala, plus Life Centers, where Kyle and his wife constantly provide schooling, medical care, food, and activities for almost 300 children!  He provides them with concerts, like they've never seen before!

"We, as a non-profit, focus overseas, but we've also recently really been focusing on helping home," says Kyle.  He traveled to Houston and just started rescuing people during Hurricane Harvey.  Then, as he usually does, he teamed-up with Shaun Breeden from "Know the Fight" organization.  They gathered 150 volunteers, who traveled from all over Texas, to help victims of Hurricane Harvey.  In seven days, we helped the demo process for over 100 homes. 

He not only helped them physically, but mentally, as well.  He would tell some of the victims about his situation.  They had  lot in common, had lost almost everything.  "A lot of people use that as something that suppresses them & they'll carry that the rest of their life, but I've really learned to use that as a stepping stone, to really bring you where you want to bring - because traumatic stories can bless people - they see people who've been to hell and back and they say  man - he lost everything, I lost everything, and I can get over that. Always use your trash, your story as a stepping block to get to where you're going," smiles Kyle. 

Kyle says you can go to his website to request help, if your home flooded.  www.theforgottenpeople.net. 
       

I asked how we could help his mission, and he encourages others to spread the word, financially, and through prayer.