Although we are in Cali meeting with Javier, I still want to share with you more of the testimony of Alex from Cartagena. He was raised in a small town begun by runaway slaves who settled in a small town outside of Cartagena. As I said earlier, it was his sister who preached to him and invited him to church. He had never heard preaching like that and his heart responded. He said that the next day he was a new man. He felt different, thought different and was delivered from drugs. A month later his wife came to Christ. He did not do well in school and after coming to Christ he began to read books, particularly the Bible. At age 30 he finished high school. He then went on to become an English teacher, left that to work in the tourist industry, then started his own tour business. He raised 6 children in a 2 bedroom home. About 5 years ago his father, who was a policeman, died and he inherited his 5 bedroom house. So now he lives there with his wife, three of his children and their spouses, and his two single sons. Four of his children worked with him in the business, two boys and two girls. The two girls are still there but his sons went on to start their own business which runs the party busses that I have written about. He has two other boys at home, at least one of them is going to college. The two girls and their husbands go to church with him along with one of his sons who will not take communion because he is not right with God.
For many years he was working with a Pentecostal church but couldn’t agree with the preaching. So he left and started a youth project. He preached to the youth in the neighborhood and their parents started coming to hear the Word. Thus the start of a church. Not being a pastor, he called for help. A pastor Luis who is presently working in the US because he could not support himself and his family during covid, sent Eddie Contillo who was himself a delivered addict. Eddie is a graduate of MINTS, The Miami International Theological Seminary. I’d put him in his 30s. Along with working in the church, he runs a barber shop out of his house/street.
Jose is teaching Alex along with 40 other students in the Cartagena area for SRL. He is also a grader for SRL’s virtual campus. He was one of Dońs first students at Nueva Providencia (when he taught in the pigsty). He actually does street evangelism using the Westminister confession!
These guys are great! They make a great team!
