I am 29 years old, a Colombian, and have been with the Missionary Servants of the Poor for nine years. When I was still living in Colombia, I had what the world considers a “normal” life. I had my career, my friends, my girlfriend. I liked parties and having fun but in the midst of all that my heart was lacking something important. I believed sincerely that my life would have no meaning if I didn’t dedicate it to a good cause. So I began to study medicine not only to earn money but to serve the poor.

Something else that affected me was that I was a member of an NGO called “A Roof for my Country” which has great influence in Latin America. We built houses for the poor. At the beginning everything was very nice. People were grateful. But as time passed, I began to feel empty again. Why? I didn’t know. I told my mother about my emptiness and she reminded me that, without God, that is what happens.

Well, one day she was watching EWTN and saw a program about the Missionary Servants of the Poor and recommended it to me. I didn’t want to watch it but later I looked around on YouTube and listened to Fr. Giovanni Salerno speak and he said something that really affected me. “If we give to the poor only material bread, we make them poorer. The poor are not only hungry for material bread but they need Christ, the spiritual bread, to be able to discover their true dignity as sons of God and to feel themselves loved for who they are. Here is a point of departure for true change. A poor person who is conscious of their dignity works, changes, stops drinking, becomes responsible, etc.”

I met the Missionary Servants of the Poor in June of 2012 and after that week I fell in love with the prayer and work. I spent a little more than a year at the City of Boys in Andahuaylillas, Cuzco serving the poor. After that I began my six years of studies with the community in Ajofrin, Toledo, Spain which I finished in 2019.