Daniel (second from right) and other Latino church members celebrating a birthday!
Written by Daniel Garcia, Ministry Apprentice
In 2010, my stepdad, who I consider my father, was murdered in Mexico. It was a warm July evening when my mom received a call from my dad’s roommate. I don’t know exactly what he told my mom, but I pray that I never hear my mom cry the way she did that night. My mom felt like she needed to be there for her husband and needed closure, so she headed for Mexico. It was a terrible time for my family and me. I was in eighth grade and had to look out for my brother and sister who were nine and three at the time. Thankfully, my godparents let us stay with them. Otherwise we would have had no place to stay. The following five months were long and miserable as we waited for my mom to come back.
New Year's Eve of 2010 my mom surprised us by arriving back to the U.S. I felt hope for the first time in a long time. Looking back at the autumn of 2010, it was then when God saved me. During that time it felt like Kansas City was in the midst of a gang war. I was hanging out with the wrong crowd, to say the least. There were times when I feared for my life. I remember one night praying to God to please keep me away from my enemies and remove them from my life. I felt like God hated me at that time because, not only did I lose my father, but all of my friends started to go to prison or ran away from the city for a lot of different reasons. My family and I put all of that behind us. I never wanted to relive that, so I just continued on with my life.
It wasn’t until this year that I realized that I never dealt with all of that emotional distress. It was a terrible year mentally. I felt weak, powerless, and depressed. It wasn’t until one of our church members, Yolanda, faced her own battles that I realized it was time to face my past. She made me realize that in times of trouble is when God draws us closer to Him. Yolanda’s faith was resilient. She never once doubted God. She always spoke about what God was going to do to heal her family and the miracles that He was going to work in their lives. I felt empowered by that. It was almost like God was giving me strength through her. In Yolanda’s hard times God found a way to reach me. There’s power in your testimony and never once doubt the importance of the work that God does in each and every one of us.
The way Yolanda’s testimony empowered me, I pray that my testimony can encourage the teens I have been working with this past year at Mission Adelante. God uses our testimonies as a way to share the powerful transformations He has done in our lives. Our testimonies can also help others start believing in Jesus and help solidify their faith!
CURRENT NEEDS:
Love the arts? Enjoy working with children and youth? We invite you to come serve at Arts Community! This fun program meets Monday evenings to practice their talents, create friendships, and learn more about Jesus. Visit our website for more information: http://www.missionadelante.org/arts/
Do you speak English? Many of our community members don’t but would love to learn and practice with you! We are in need of ESL volunteers for our spring trimester. Come make friends from other places and help them learn a new language! If you are interested in volunteering, please visit our website at http://www.missionadelante.org/esl