Juan Antonio - a Living Testimony

Juan is a 13 year old boy who lives at Tomas Rodriguez, an underprivileged community in Nuevo Cuscatlán.  In this place, most of families face lots of difficulties because they live in vulnerable conditions.  It’s not just their poverty; but also the influence of gangs in the community and the surrounding area.

Juan with SOE team member Mirna

 He is the 3rd of 4 children. He lives with his mom and dad, a man with problems of alcoholism. Most of the time he and his siblings are alone, because his parents leave to work.  Sometimes Juan also helps them to work by collecting firewood and seasonal fruits from the coffee plantation nearby home to sell them and make some money. Apart from that he also has to take care of his 2 year-old little sister. In general, they are a family with ups and downs, and survive just with the basic things to live.

 When we first learned about Juan, he was just a little boy, known by his neighbors and teachers at school as a troublemaker. He and his family lived in a small and humble hut made with unsafe materials in very bad conditions. In 2014 Sports Outreach, supported by a missionary team from the United States, built two houses in the community. Juan’s family received one of them. This is when the influence of SOI began in Juan’s life. Hallelujah!

 Soon after, we invited Juan to attend the handcrafts and discipleship program that SOI runs in the Tomas Rodriguez community on Saturday. He accepted coming and started with the little ones group, but his attitude and behavior wasn’t the best. He didn’t like to hear the Word of God; he always was entertained with other things; he used to fight with the other kids and said profanities to them.

 But we never gave up on him and never stopped praying for him. Sister Mirna, Smirna, Stefany and I were always motivating and encouraging him. We also encouraged the other kids to be to tolerant with Juan.  The days went by and little by little we started noticing a change in him.  He showed more empathy and enthusiasm to the Word of God.  His behavior changed dramatically. He became friendly with his classmates and very receptive to the instructions we gave. We discovered that he is a smart and talented boy, good at making handcrafts like pieces of jewelry.

 In 2018 God blessed him with a sponsor in Sports Outreach’s EmpowerMe program.   Every month, he receives a package of groceries, and for Christmas gets presents as well. His parents are very happy and say that it is a great support for their economy.

 In this same year, Juan, his mother and his little sister started attending church at “Glory of Jehovah Church”. Although, his dad is still dealing with the alcoholism but doing better, Juan and his mom are persevering and growing in faith waiting for the miracle of health for Juan’s dad.

 Motivated and excited because of the help he was receiving, Juan started coming to the SOI soccer academy every Saturday morning. Not only is he learning more soccer, but  he also learns more about God.

 I can say that Juan is growing so fast, physically and spiritually! Now he has passed to the adolescent handcrafts team.  The work of God is so evident in his life; it is so gratifying to know that the seeds one day were sown,  and now are blooming as the Bible  says in Isaiah 55:10-11 “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to It without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it“.

 These days, he has influenced his little sister’s life.  She is coming to SOI discipleship group and the handcraft  program, too. Like her brother, there is a long way to go with her, but we strongly believe God is already working in her little heart.

 Juan is a living testimony; his neighbors are eyewitnesses of how he has changed for the good and now they have a good opinion about him. I can be sure that this is just the beginning, and I know that God has amazing things in store for his future.

FYI! This story was written in English by Fatima, a member of the SOI El Salvador (SOIE) team. She learned English in SOIE’s EFL program. Great job, Fatima!