In Full Battle Rattle, Love is his Battlefield.



Mark Lugo



Mark Lugo, aka “the singer”, doesn't just talk the talk, he walks the walk! Mark’s battlefield is LOVE. As a child, he found his gift singing in the church with his family. They were even better than the Von Trapp family! Being raised in church ministry, Mark gained passion for ministry and serving people. He says, “I was bathed in faith.” Blessed with his God given talent, Mark excelled in high school earning All-State honors ranging from 1^st to 3^rd chair. He became a licensed minister in 2010 and really does map out his “Battlefield of Love”. He’s no urban cowboy, but even better, he’s an urban missionary for the Nehemiah Initiative.  Nehemiah Initiative, you ask? Ever heard of adopting a street for picking up litter and beautification? (I remember those days with my college sorority!)  Well, the NI allows people to adopt a street for prayer and claiming Gods’ blessings and goodness be restored. How amazing is that!? Their first goal is to “adopt” EVERY street in San Antonio for prayer, blessing every home, business, school, church, and government office located there.  Mark is the Executive Coordinator and helps reach out to all the neighborhood churches and community to come together through prayer and claim the streets to be protected and spirit-filled. It's a community effort with NO religious boundaries! Beautiful!!! Holy Prayer Warriors, lying down the tenet boundaries, coming together for the good of the "hoods" (and please note that "hoods" refers to ALL areas of San Antonio, including the Northside! If you’d like to learn more or volunteer, go to www.ni-sa.org.



Mark and Vermonica Lugo with sons Benjamin and Joseph



One amazing thing that really stood out to me about Mark was his willingness to trust God to meet his family’s needs and go where God says to go. He and his wife, Veronica, moved to South Carolina without a job, a home, but only on the premise that God said go. After living there for 9 months, he lost his job but found his place in his church as a worship leader, a youth minister, preaching form time to time. He was promised 30 days. Those 30 days turned into 3 years until God led his family back to San Antonio, Texas. He was going through a time of transformation after moving back that lasted for three long years. He says, “you don’t always have the same support that you had [before the transition] but that’s part of the transition.” He went through three years of not feeling quite where he wanted to be but trusted that the time was drawing near. You know that the Bible says that God will give you the desires of your heart. Mark’s heart is to serve in full time ministry and to provide financial freedom for his wife and children, Benjamin and Joseph, and his children’s children.

Mark shared with me how he sees so many similarities between biblical principles and USANA. One, our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. USANA’s products help our bodies receive optimal nutrition. Result? Optimal Health! Two, Jesus sent out his disciples two by two. USANA’s compensation plan is based the power of two! We share true health & true wealth with two and then our businesses grow with a compound effect (really AWESOME!). Third, the Bible says we should live and not want. USANA provides a business that allows us to live healthy and want for nothing except to serve others. Mark shared that there is NO WAY he would be a part of something that wasn’t based in helping others. That’s why he’s found USANA, and specifically, Team Illuminate the perfect fit.



USANA CEO Dave Wentz and Mark Lugo



It has taken time to build the areas of belief Mark needed to be successful: himself, the products/company, and the industry. For the past year, he has been faithful, that’s just who he is! He’s faced all of those impeding questions: Can I do this? Do the products really work? Is this the right industry at the right time? Breaking through the barriers of limiting beliefs, Mark has found Team Illuminate as a source to go to for developing and encouraging EMPOWERING BELIEFS! Mark walks by faith. But let's face it, everyone comes under attack of our own fear thoughts. God says for us to take our thoughts captive. I think this is one of the most important skills one can develop. Strike out the fear thoughts and completely embrace the faith thoughts. Our Team Illuminate members break down the fear by creating an atmosphere of questioning, crucial conversations, and digging deep to the essence of truths. Before joining our team, Mark built is first layer of belief through the products. Seeing the results and learning the science behind our products propelled Mark to attend USANA's 2011 International Convention as a product user. After learning more, he joined our Team Illuminate and USANA family! He grasped the vision of true health and creating true wealth.

Team Illuminate at USANA's 2012 International Convention

Now, let’s be real!  Empowering beliefs, limiting beliefs, faith, fear, and we could go on and on. Did he start out BELIEVING? No, it took taking steps of faith (he's no stranger to this one!) and building a foundation. A solid foundation in the areas of product necessity, our company, this not so always embraced (but highly lucrative) industry, our Team Illuminate, and himself. In order to build a solid, residual income with USANA, Mark needed that solid foundation. He's still building it with the help of his teammates and leadership. But layer by layer, he's determined to create a legacy for his family. Joel Osteen says in his book I Declare, “Every time you are kind and respectful, every time you help someone in need, every time you come to church, serve, and give, you are storing up mercy. It may be for your children, for your grandchildren, or even a hundred years from now for somebody in your family line who will experience God’s goodness because of the life you’ve lived.” To me, I honor my new-found friend, teammate, family member Mark. He epitomizes a life of service and I know his life will create amazing memories due to the daily choices that he makes. His family will prosper and claim all of the heavenly blessings here on earth because of his commitment to keep it real and be a servant.  He has a vision of love, his mission is LOVE, and LOVE is his Battlefield.



Mark and Veronica Lugo with sons Benjamin and Joseph