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This last week we played "I Don't Wanna Be" by Gavin DeGraw, and I think the band did awesome! God has put together a great team of hard working guys and gals, and I am proud of them and humbled that I get to play with them.
We played this song to go along with the big idea of the day about serving God with our unique gifts and talents. We also showed verses in English and Spanish that talk about that uniqueness that is imprinted in each one of us by the Creator.
Take a peek…
I Dont Wanna Be @ The Pursuit from Alex Diaz on Vimeo.
Last Saturday I had the honor of being sworn in as a citizen of the United States! It was one of the best moments of my life, and one of the biggest blessings I have received!
Ever since then, I have received many words of congratulations, and also many questions about why I did it. Some people wonder why I would become a citizen during one of the worst financial crisis in the history of the country. Usually, this is my answer: "a bad day at the beach is better than a good day anywhere else." In other words, as bad as things are in the US, it is still far better than most countries in the world. I come from South America, and have seen financial crisis and poverty before. Thankfully, I never lacked anything while I grew up, but I witnessed others who lived in extreme poverty. On the other hand, in the US I have been able to pursue my dreams, get married, go to school, move around a lot, and pursue my vocation (which is difficult to live on where I come from) while living a decent and peaceful life. The people of this country have treated me as one of their own, and the opportunities before me have abounded.
So, I became an American because I love this country and the opportunities it has given me. I love its people and its geography. I love its cities and its communities. And, I love the friends and relatives God has given me here.
I still love my home country, Venezuela, and love the country of my parents, Colombia (neither feeling will ever go away!). But now, the United States is my country too, and I think it’s AWESOME!
A special thanks goes to my wife and my parents-in-law for helping me make this possible. You guys have always been very generous with me. Thank you!
The last few days have been a whirlwind…
- We went to Indianapolis last weekend to visit with Central Christian Church and with the missions board of Post Road Christian Church. We came back encouraged and felt incredibly loved by family and friends. We got the chance to speak at Central and it was a blast! Thanks to all of you for your friendship and hospitality! [During the sermon I mentioned I'd post the story of when I moved to SoFlo a year a go. If you want to find out what happened, click here.]
- I was glad that things worked at The Pursuit without us. It made me feel not needed and that’s awesome! So much of ministry has to do with training other people and working ourselves out of our jobs, and it looks like slowly but surely I am finally heading that way.
- On Monday I took my citizenship test/interview and passed all the questions! It took most of the day, but it was worth it. My ceremony is on Saturday. This is the culmination of five years of work and paperwork. Sweet!
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