Hello, my name is Alejandro, and I will share with you the wonderful story of how God came into my life.
I’m 41 years old, and I am from Madrid, Spain. I’ve never been a member of any church but, as a Spaniard living in a mostly Catholic country, I have knowledge and basic education in Jesus Christ from the Catholic point of view.
Last summer, in August 2017, I went to visit Romania with some friends. We wanted to explore the country so we rented a van and drove through the wonderful landscapes and valleys. The first night that we arrived in Romania, we were kindly hosted by a wonderful family. They let us sleep in their house and served us a wonderful breakfast in the next morning.
On Saturday morning, my friends and I were walking out in nature, and we passed near a church, and suddenly we started talking about religion. At that moment, the daughter of the family that hosted us said: This is an Adventist church, and I’m Adventist. I was really curious, because I had never heard about Adventism, so we started talking about our experiences with God. Mine wasn’t good, but her experience was incredible to me and it was truly inspiring. Her name is Sarah. She´s a wonderful person, and if you keep reading, you´ll see how she opened my heart to God.
[From left] Alejandro, his girlfriend Sarah, and pastor Kwon Johnghaeng, who gave Alejandro Bible lessons and baptized him
We talked a lot, and Sarah told me how much she loves God and how much God loves us. She explained to me the basic principles of Adventism, her beliefs and how much God cares about us. I didn’t realize it, but at that very moment, she put a seed inside me. Today I know that seed was the Holy Spirit.
After that, I went back to Spain, and for the next month, Sarah kept inspiring me and talking to me about God. I visited Romania for a few days again, and for the first time in my life, on a Sabbath day, I visited an Adventist Church—the Bucharest International Adventist Church—its pastor Benjamin Stan offered me a warm welcome. I felt how different the culture was from other churches I had visited in the past. It was a very good experience for me. I felt very comfortable in the church, and the people were friendly.
Those days in Romania were special, truly inspiring and full of happiness. I felt how the seed she put into me was growing because she was watering it with the Word of God. Not only could I feel the love of God, but also Sarah’s, who may very soon be my wife—God bless us.
Later, in November, I had to travel to PyeongChang, South Korea, host of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. I work for the Olympics, so I must live around five months in the countries that hosts the Games.
During my first days there, as I started settling down, I was coming back from work one day when the bus stopped in front of a poster. The poster was entirely in Korean, so I couldn’t understand anything at all, but it had the image of Jesus Christ in the background. I liked the picture and I sent a photo of it to Sarah. Immediately she told me it was from an Adventist church because she saw the Adventist logo at the bottom of the poster. She told me, “Alex, you should try to find that church.” So I started to look for the Adventist Church in Daegwallyeong.
Daegwallyeong Seventh-day Adventist church
I tried to find the church, but it was hard because of the construction, the trucks and the snow, and the village was new to me.
And so my experiences with God began…
The next Friday I had to go to a dental clinic because I had a little issue with a tooth. I found one very close to my home, so I decided to go after work. The sun had already gone down, and the Sabbath had started. I entered into the clinic, but they were about to close.
The dentist asked me about my problem, and he decided to work on my tooth. Once he was finished, I was very grateful and, of course, I wanted to pay for the service. He said, “Free of charge, my friend.” I was impressed and overwhelmed with his selfless behavior, so I went home very happy, thinking how awesome and kind Korean people are. You will understand a little bit later that this was the beginning of my wonderful experience.
The next week I prayed to God to help me find the church, and the next Sabbath I did. And there I was on Friday night in front of the door of Daegwallyeong Church, a Spaniard, who had only been to an Adventist church once in his life, in front of a Korean Adventist Church, wondering what was going to happen, both nervous and excited.
Finally, I entered the church, and I met Pastor Im JongHyuck, his wife Jang EunYoung and a few members of the church. They gave me a warm welcome and in less than five minutes, another member of the church entered. When I saw him, I was impressed, shocked and happy. There he was; the dentist who had helped me was an Adventist, too. At that very moment I realized that God was talking to me and telling me, “Alex, welcome to the Adventist Church. Here you will not only find Me, but also wonderful Christian people who follow My Word.”
Pastor Kwon baptized Alejandro at the Daegwallyeong Church
Since that day I have started to attend that church. It is not easy because although the pastor speaks English, almost all the church members speak only Korean. However, every time am there, I can feel that God is with us.
I only have words of appreciation for all the members who always smile at me because I can feel that they really want to help me find God. I want to especially thank Pastor Im JongHyuck and his wife, who were always helpful and studied the Bible with me. During the last months in Korea, I realized how easily you can find God if you open your heart and let Him transform you. It happened to me. I also met a really gifted man, Pastor Kwon JeongHaeng, who has been encouraging me and presenting me with the most precious truths from the Bible.
These experiences were amazing and changed my life in the most wonderful way. And because God’s timing is perfect and never late, on February 24, 2018, I was baptized at Jinbu Adventist Church, and I am now a member of the Adventist Global Church. A Spaniard baptized in Korea–I am happy because God chose Korea to be my transformation place.
The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games will last forever in my heart as that was the place where I became a new man. God bless Korea!