Juan Marcos: My mother and my brother were instrumental in my coming to Christ. When I was 5 years old, my older brother had recently accepted Christ and told me about what Jesus had done for Him. One night, we lay awake in our bunk beds, and I listened to him talk about this. Getting up out of bed, I hurried to the kitchen to find my mom. I recounted what my brother had been saying, and I told her that I wanted to accept Jesus and go to heaven with Him, too. We knelt down together at a chair in that eat-in kitchen, and my mom led me in prayer to receive Christ as my Savior. 

Raquel Jean: I grew up in El Salvador, a missionary kid and a pastor’s kid. By the age of 13, I was a Sunday school teacher of 4-year-olds. I translated for short-term teams from the US. I participated in all the activities and studies. As an adolescent, I began to develop my own definition of how I wanted to live my life. This went against my parents and their hopes for me. One night, after a complicated and rebellious day, I returned home, on my own, at 1am. I was 15. The next morning, a Sunday, after a rebuke from my worried parents, we went to the morning church service. I sat in the front row with my mom, and my dad translated for the guest speaker. As I listened to him preach, twice (once in English and then the Spanish translation), my eyes were open to the reality of my life. The preacher said, “When we are children of God, we fall into sin, and Holy Spirit living in us calls us back to Himself. We repent and return to full communion with God. When we are not His children, we see sin, run to it, and stay in it.” I was shocked. I knew exactly which one I was. That day, in front of 1,200+ church members and guests, in the church my dad pastored, I stood up and surrendered my life to Jesus. I wanted to experience life in Christ. I wanted freedom from my sin. The next Sunday, I was baptized, and a new life began. It was hard to allow God to reshape my life, my actions, and my choices. He patiently worked with me until I was 19, when I was confronted again by the results of my sinfulness. But I can confidently say, that after that morning, at the age of 15, I no longer ran to sin, I fell into it, and Holy Spirit gently called me back into fellowship. I am so glad that He continues to work in me still.