(Pictured with his wife Beatriz)

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

I was very blessed to grow up in a Christian home in southern Texas where my parents regularly took me to church and taught me God’s ways. However, I did not always follow the Lord closely, especially in my teenage years when I rebelled against my parents and against what I knew God wanted for my life. Thankfully, God still pursued me even when I ran from Him. One evening my home church pastor announced that he would be leading a mission trip to Africa, and I distinctly sensed God telling me to sign up for that trip. Since I had never left the United States nor had the desire to go on an international mission trip, I thought this was kind of odd. Yet I could not help but feel excited knowing that God was going to do something with this trip.

Through that weeklong stay in Africa, I grew closer to Christ and started getting back on track to living for Him. After returning I knew God was calling me to serve Him on the mission field as a full-time missionary. Since I accepted that call, I have been going on more mission trips around the world and have been training at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Years later I returned to the same country in Africa where I stayed for three months learning how to be a missionary and learning how to serve the Lord cross-culturally.

Upon my return from that trip, I married Beatriz who also experienced God’s call to the mission field at a young age. God has immensely blessed us with a marriage that seeks to honor God and to seek and commit to His will for our lives. Part of that will was to come serve in the youth department at Trinity Baptist Church. We look forward to what God will do with this ministry and with the future plans He has for us.