I was born in Mexico and was baptized in the Catholic Church as an infant. Then, my family moved to Los Angeles, California when I was five years old. While growing up there, I learned a little bit about God while in catechism, but nobody showed me the importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I had good parents, but they were not believers, so I had no people in my life who were true followers of God. I attended church a few times, but in my teenage years I began to forget about God, as I was very distracted by earthly things.
However, I am thankful that even as I was ignoring God, He was always looking out for me. As I look back, I believe He saved me from falling into various destructive temptations that many of the people around me were giving in to. Now I know that it’s because He had a better plan for my life. When I was in college, I still believed that being successful meant to work hard just to have a higher social status and material things. But the more successful I was in work and school, and the more I acquired, the emptier I felt, so I began to search for more meaning in my life.
In 2004, I moved to Kansas City and met a great friend who knew the Lord, and she invited me to church. When I entered the church, for the first time I really felt the presence of God through his people, and I also heard God’s word preached unashamedly. I kept visiting the church for several weeks and heard various messages about how God loves us unconditionally, even while we are sinners. My heart was convicted and I was ready, so I repented and asked Jesus to be my personal Lord and Savior, and at that moment He forgave me of all my sins. And in obedience to Him, I was baptized by full immersion the following week.
Since the moment I gave my life to Jesus Christ, I have tried my best to live for Him. Now my priorities are different and I know that true success is in living for God and not in living for myself. Today I have a wonderful wife, two beautiful kids, and many other blessings that I don’t deserve. God has been good to me, and while I am far from perfect, and I while I still have much to learn, I now have the assurance that I will be with Him in heaven one day.