What This is All About!

If you are reading this then you are a very close friend of ours or extremely curious, which I believe are both good things most of the time. "Two Worlds, One God" is an idea the Lord placed in our hearts over this last summer and He affirmed it to us through friends and random people telling us: "Hey you should write something!” So I called Braden and finally here we are. The reason we called this blog "Two Worlds, One God" (which was Braden's idea) is because Braden and I have very little in common other than our God and our preference for Starbucks, but since this blog is mainly about God, we will leave the Starbucks thing for another day. I am sure Braden will dedicate some time to tell you guys about himself later, but I wanted to share just a bit of my story and how God has guided me in my walk through this life.

I was born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba. My birth itself was a miracle, but I won't tell you much about it since I want to dedicate a post just for that experience. Growing up in a communist country was definitely a challenge for my Christian walk. Every day when I left the house in the morning I knew my faith was going to be tested in some way, but this process helped me to lay a strong, logical, foundation to what I believed and why. However, there was one thing missing; a relationship with Jesus. I knew to keep every aspect of the Law and how to speak and behave properly, especially in church! But no one ever told me about this relationship with Jesus stuff. Don't get me wrong, I was sure that Jesus came to this world, and died for me, and was risen from the tomb, and will come back eventually! But He was just way too busy making sure the universe functions properly to have, or even want, a relationship with a this Cuban, red-headed, freckle-faced, little boy. This all changed in March 2006.

In March 2006, my dream came true! I found myself in a 62 foot yacht heading to Mexico in a journey to every Cuban's promise land: The United States. After almost three weeks and a few stops, we finally made it. This new place brought a whole new set of challenges for which I was just not ready. Challenges that I realized I could not conquer on my own. I needed something else, I needed someone else. I needed Jesus, but I was sure He was too busy for such small business. The next few years were full of ups and downs, victories and defeat. But through all that, I started to realize that God was never too busy for me, and that my life was not “small business” for Him. As a matter of fact He had given His life so that I could live mine for Him. All this time He had been restlessly pursuing me, it was I who was keeping Him out. This was probably the most life-changing realization I've ever had. As I started to nourish my relationship with Jesus, I was amazed by His ever-lasting love, His never-ending grace, and His patience with me. Then we got "Fired Up"!

As a result of this experience we (a very special group of friends from my church in Hialeah, FL and I) felt the need of sharing this beautiful experience with Jesus. Then we came up with "Fired Up" an outreach program based on our local church seeking to get teenagers and young adults engaged in active ministry, and to help them discover what it is to truly have a relationship with God. God used this ministry powerfully to make His calling and purpose for my life clear to me. I knew then and there that I needed to prepare to engage in full-time ministry. A year later, and after much denial, I was driving about 700 miles north from Miami, FL to Collegedale, TN. Southern Adventist University was the beginning of a new chapter in my life.

Coming to Southern was both a challenge and a blessing. Here is where Braden and I meet by the way, I am just not sure if I can put him in the blessing or the challenge category. Okay, I’m just kidding! Braden’s friendship is probably one of the biggest blessings God has given me in my time here at Southern. But between school, work, and a long distance relationship (which is another full-time job, just the kind that one doesn't mind doing) it has been hard at times to stay afloat, but every time my strength has failed, His power has prevailed.

If there is one thing that I have learned in my few years walking with Jesus it’s that He is real. But He is real beyond simply the truth of His existence, He is real in your life and my life. I cannot even begin to express the transforming power that one can find in the realization that Jesus Christ, the One who created galaxies with the breath of His mouth, the One who walked on water, and died, and was risen from the death, is actively pursuing you, because He wants be real for you and with you.