The following day my wife told me about the problems she had to face on her own. I felt like the Samaritan woman who felt rejected by all. My mother and my sister showed up. I was telling them how fed up I was of not having anything to believe in. I explained how life was meaningless without a light to guide me through the darkness and that god must give me a purpose. At the climax of my plea Ricardo Castro shows up out of nowhere. I was frozen on the spot. He had visited me once before and I had not seen him since. I asked him why are you here? he replied I was on my way to another place, but for some reason I felt the urge to visit you. This is what I have been waiting for the response to that hollow cry. I knew in my heart that our lord had sent him. I told Ricardo that I am an imperfect lump of clay that has no shape or form, but if he’s willing to put the time and effort. that lump of clay can be transformed into a tool that may be put to use by our Father Jesus of Nazareth.

Since that day my life has changed. I no longer am a friend of drugs or violence, I am now a friend of knowledge and wisdom . The thirst of belonging is gone and my soul is now full, the darkness is now light and I walk hand and hand with my brothers knowing well that we walk over the dragons, like pastor Chazarreta explain at the Revelation Seminars at the Sunnyside Spanish SDA Church from November 26- December 4, 2011.

By God’s grace, the Revelation Seminar held at Sunnyside Spanish SDA church, many of my doubt and questions where answered. On December 3, 2011 I was baptized by Pastor Gerizin De Pena. Now as I look forward with hope, I plan on getting my GED and become an instrument of the Lord to help others discover what I have discovered of a life away from violence, drugs and emptiness.

I used to feel like an eagle that thought it was a chicken, but now I feel like I was created to do, Sore. When Jesus truly touches your life everything becomes clear and full of hope.

After a few weeks of coming to the Richland Church, they wanted to study the Bible. The more they studied, the more their lives were changed. One example is that Maria began a daycare business in her home so she could stay home with her son. Business was poor and she wasn’t’ sure if she should continue, but they prayed to know God’s will in this situation. The next day Maria received calls to fill her daycare.

They came to the evangelistic series we held at the church. By the end of the series they committed their lives fully to God and were baptized. Aldo is on one of the praise teams at the church and they both are members of a small group.

The story I will choose to share this quarter is especially meaningful to me.  I have been praying for this soul to give his life to Christ for 14 years.  My son, Cameron Fitzgerald, made the decision to be baptized and two Walla Walla University students began studying with him (Tommy Poole and Bryson Bechtel). As they marched through what it means to be a disciple of Christ in the Adventist Church, Cameron decided he wanted mark this decision by going to Africa and working with a team to do medical-missionary evangelism in Eastern Zambia.  He and his friend Noah Dybdahl will begin studying with two younger boys who made a decision to follow Christ in baptism—and so it goes that disciples are made! The words of the apostle Paul to Timothy are appropriate:

 “¹ You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” 2 Timothy 2:1,2

I’ll never forget the look on Cleo’s face when I met her the second night of our series. She was lingering by herself in an obscure corner of the foyer with a dark, unpleasant look on her face that said, “Stay away from me. I don’t like you.” I walked over to her and thanked her so much for coming the meetings. She had received a brochure in the mail. As we talked a little more, I sensed this woman needed to give her heart to Jesus Christ. After training my visitation teams on how to lead a person to Christ, I specifically found the team who would be seeing Cleo and I told them that Cleo needed to give her life to Jesus and to be sure to cover that carefully with her. When Carol Bryan visited her, she did lead her to Christ and it has changed Cleo’s life. The next time I saw her after she had invited Jesus into her heart, the dark, unhappy look was completely gone and now her face radiated with joy and peace.

Later in the series she became convicted to give up her tobacco and caffeine addictions. The Lord has given her marvelous victories over both, and she has been completely free of smoking and all caffeine for over one month now. Best of all, Cleo was baptized on October 23rd, and she’s getting involved in ministry already, saying she wants to know how to share her faith with others. Watching Cleo respond to the Holy Spirit’s work in her life and watching her grow by leaps and bounds is absolutely one of the most rewarding experiences our congregation is having right now. There is no joy like it. I want to repeat—there is no work like the work of cooperating with the Holy Spirit in bringing souls to Jesus Christ and watching Him change their lives.

But everything changed one day when the nominating committee was trying to select a new personal ministries director and couldn’t find anybody. Nobody wanted to accept the responsibilities. After going through several names and not knowing who to choose, Sonia unaware of what she was doing and volunteered herself. Everybody was surprised, but unanimously voted Sonia to be the next Personal Ministries Director. She began praying for guidance and for a plan to reach out to non-believers. Today she is one of the most exciting and dedicated Personal Ministries directors and soul winners I have ever known. Before I began the meetings in Federal Way, she already had fourteen people ready for baptism and showed me the pictures she took of them so that the church could pray for them….

Not long ago, he was baptized out at the Walla Walla Penitentiary. He’s a Seventh-day Adventist now.

As far as jailhouse conversions go, the guys who’ve worked with him say he is entirely genuine. He has nothing to gain by this – he’ll be in that place until the day he dies. There’s zero chance of him ever seeing the light of day. But he has given his heart to Christ and embraced His word, and those who know him say the change in him is obvious and visible. God is good.

This is the work of the Holy Spirit and our prison ministries group here in the Walla Walla valley. There’s a ton of volunteers from many different valley churches that minister at the penitentiary. There were another four baptisms at the Pen just a few weeks ago. The Lord is working.

He started rambling about the west coast offense and on how the teams that were great a few years ago are not great today because greatness is not inherited. It is only on an individual basis. I agreed even though I was not sure what he was talking about, and told him that is why everyone needs their own relationship with Jesus since its on an individual basis and not inherited. He totally agreed with me and said that was exactly what he was talking about! I asked him where he went to church. He did not answer but asked me where I went. I told him. He told me when he was in Nigeria he went to an Adventist boarding school and assured me he knew more about Adventist theology than I did. He told me those were the best years of his life. I gave him my card and invited him to our church and group Bible studies. He told me he would definitely come.

Later I was thinking how odd, this total stranger tells me to take off my earphones so he can talk to me, and then we end up talking about Jesus. Then I remembered that last night at the Radical Prayer meeting we were praying for opportunities just like this!

We talked for quite a while and sometimes he would get to what he called philosophizing and sometimes would get a little tense. Then I would direct the talk back to football, lighten him up a little bit and then bring it back to Jesus.

At one point I told him it was not coincidence we had met. He was not so sure, “whatever.” But later when I left I told him I hoped to see him again soon. He held up my card, smiled and said definitely, “You will!”

The gentleman’s name is Hillary. Please pray God continues to lead him. I think it is more than ironic that this happened right after our prayer vigil and Radical Prayer meeting.

A week after the meetings began, Brian Smith and Pastor Curtis Rittenour visited the Hopkins. Tina shared, “My appetite for the Bible was sparked and we just had to keep coming back for more! The meetings opened the Word of God up to us. It was all so clear and helpful.” But when it came right down to it, Tina was afraid to make a decision for God. She had experienced some difficult things with her own father’s religion and hesitated to make a deep commitment.

In a prayer session with the pastors a few weeks later, Tina gathered up all her concerns, put them in a box, and handed them over to Jesus. On November 28, 2009 Tina and her daughter Heather were baptized. David came into the church family by Profession of Faith. After the baptism, as Pastor Curtis introduced them to the church, there was a beaming smile on the face David as he looked at his wife and daughter. He said, “This is where God wants us to be.”

As the nights progressed and calls were made by Elder Jose Rojas, I tenderly approached each individual as they passed to the front and heard from their lips their sincere desire to be baptized. I was truly happy for these individuals as they were buried in water night after night, but every time a call was made I would turn and look for the one girl I had been praying for a long time. Let’s call her Mara.

You see, her story is a rather sad one, abused as a very young child she grew up confused and full of anger and guilt, she eventually left her single mom (the mother later remarried) and returned to her biological father’s house in a different state. Everyone thought that perhaps this would heal her wounded heart and finish high school and make a life of her own.

Unfortunately she was violated by her very own father, became pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful child. You can imagine her state of mind, not to mention her mother’s desperate attempts at justice and concern for her daughter. My counseling sessions were long and emotional; her husband was supportive and decided to confront the situation as best they could.

Because of her age and state of mind, the state took control of the new born baby, and there was no consolation for Mara as the state pursued a legal recourse to take the baby permanently from her. This would of course take time. Meanwhile, Mara accepted to come back to Oregon and live with her mother while the courts decided her case. She was so afraid and embarrassed to step back into church, afraid of judging eyes and loose mouths. I reassured her of my total support and invited her to the Check Him Out meetings. She would not make a commitment, but agreed to think about it. I prayed she would.

It was Thursday night when Jose made a special call, for all those who were hurting and wanting forgiveness from Jesus. There was an overwhelming response from the youth that night, and as Jose kept making the appeal I would once again turn my head around and look for Mara. And there she was! Seated and not responding to the calls, quiet as a mouse, yet I could see in her eyes a faint response, an almost imperceptible gesture of wanting to respond yet not being able to, as if something pinned her down to her chair. It was the look in her eyes that told me she really wanted to stand.

Suddenly our eyes met and I would not let her look the other way. I focused my eyes on her like a laser beam and raising my left arm I invited her to come, she suddenly snapped from her trance to reality and her eyes grew cold and serious. She very clearly told me no with her mouth.  Jose kept making the appeals. She grew tense and started to look for a way out of the auditorium. Her mother was seated next to her and was crying and praying.

I prayed a different kind of prayer that night. I wondered what I would do if this girl was my daughter. Would I give in to feelings of shame and frustration? Would I deny my own daughter one more chance at salvation? I had to say no. Not in a million years! And as these thoughts passed my head I also had a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Once again our eyes met and I would not let her go, I was surrounded by young people who had stood up in response to the call, they were taller than me, so I had to weave my way around and stay focused on Mara. I raised my left arm and invited her to come, once again she said no, but this time it was not as strong as before, she had tears in her eyes and I could tell the Spirit moving inside her heart. I pleaded with her to come, she came and I hugged her. We both cried a bit, I could tell she was happy with her decision, and as I congratulated her for taking a stand for Jesus her mother came over bathed in tears of joy and we had a short sweet prayer of thankfulness. Mara had come back home. That Sabbath she was baptized.

As to her legal situation, it is still in court. We have asked the Lord to be the attorney and allow Mara to raise her baby. We believe He will.

Janet moved from California to Oregon a few years ago, trying to start a new life away from  her abuser husband.  ”I have no luck in life, I had suffered so much; my life has been destroyed, I’m a wreck”, she said.  When she was 8 years old, her own father try to sexually abuse her. When she expressed to her mother that something improperly almost happened, she was surprised, astonished that her mom did not believe it.  She was afraid and went to different family home just to be away from her father.

At young age Janet encountered a handsome gentleman, hoping to fulfill her dream of being happy.  Her dream turned to a nightmare, her husband became her worst enemy, after she got pregnant with the first baby;  then she have the second, third and fourth children.  Her life in California had no meaning, she tried many things; partying all night, drinking, smoking just trying to be happy, but nothing worked. She decided after lengthy deliberations with a friend to go north, and went to Portland. She didn’t know anybody in Oregon, but she came anyway with her four children and belongings.  

Life in Oregon was very difficult, without a job, a home or friends.  Physically, emotionally and spiritually, life was not worth living She suffered from insomnia, depression, anxiety and loneliness. Many times she heard voices telling her to grabb a sharp knife to end her life by cutting her veins. But she thought a lot about her children and the suffering it may cause to them.  After many emotionally, mental and spiritual battles, she started reading the Bible. “The Bible brought peace to my heart, hope to my future and joy to my family.” She went for few months to a Sunday church with her children. Something happened doctrinally at that particular church, and she stopped going; but she kept reading her Bible and praying at home.

After seventh months, she found out about the Sabbath, and started keeping  it.  One church member invited her to go to the Seventh Day Adventist church. She asked what day the Seventh Day Adventist church kept. The person told her, that they keep the Sabbath. “That must be the true Church, because the Bible mentions the Sabbath to be kept holy”.  

The first time she decided to go to church, I went with another person to pick her up. We spent one and half hours looking for the address and never found it, (we didn’t have her phone #) Next day she called again with the exact address.  After that day she’s gone faithfully to the crusade with her children; at the end of the crusade she was baptized. Her life changed, she found peace, joy and hope in her Redeemer and Savior Jesus Christ.  She’s an active leader in the church, a true testimony of the power of the Gospel to change lives.

She loves the promises in Romans 8:38-39) “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor dept, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”       

Catalina Perez, 17, began her new life with Jesus at Washington Adventist Camp Meeting on June 20, 2009, where she testified through baptism she was ready to meet Jesus. Catalina is now waiting the resurrection morning when she will awake to eternal vigor and health as cancer claimed her life on Friday afternoon, July 17, 2009.

At age 11, Catalina and her family started Bible studies with colporteur, Gerald N. Retzer. About this same time, Catalina was diagnosed with cancer. Her family continued Bible studies off and on due to Catalina’s illness and frequent hospitalization. Of the entire Perez family, Catalina was the one who showed the most interest in Bible studies. One day she told Retzer, “The more we study the Bible, the more interesting heaven becomes.”

Catalina and her family began attending White Center Spanish Church in Seattle, Washington, in December 2007. She started Bible studies with Pastor Benjamin and Marcela Figueroa who talked with Catalina about giving her life to Jesus. “I would love to,” Catalina said.

Two more years went by and Catalina’s desire to get baptized grew stronger. Every time she was scheduled for baptism, Catalina ended up in the hospital the day before her baptismal appointment.

In June, Catalina told Pastor Figueroa, “It is now the time to give my life to Jesus.” Catalina had recently had a chest surgery and had been running high fevers but she called Retzer and Figueroa early that week and had told them it was time to get baptized.

Because of her recent chest surgery, there was some concern about Catalina being submerged under water for baptism. The pastor offered the option of joining the Seventh-day Adventist Church by Profession of Faith. “No, I want to give my life to Jesus,” Catalina said with determination, “I want to be baptized.”

At Washington Adventist Camp Meeting, White Center members surrounded Catalina and lifted her, wheelchair and all, into the baptismal tank. In the audience, the entire camp meeting Earliteen department, for ages 13-15, filled the front of the auditorium to show their support for Catalina. Throughout the week, these teenagers had prayed for Catalina’s health to allow her to be baptized during camp meeting.

After Catalina’s baptism, the audience in Rainier Auditorium gave this young woman a standing ovation welcoming her into the family of God.

Later, as Catalina prepared to go home, Pastor Figueroa asked her “How do you feel?” With confidence, Catalina replied, “I feel with God!”

Catalina is now at rest and waiting the resurrection morning when she will awake to eternal vigor and health. Catalina’s story is a witness and example to her peers and other people whose life she impacted.