The Miracle of Faith

Story by Kasper Haughton, Jr. 

Francisco Pérez knew about the Adventist message years ago in his home country of Mexico. However, he slowly found himself turning away from God and following a path of addictions and bad decisions.

A year ago, Pérez moved to Akron, Ohio. One day, members from the Akron Hispanic church were distributing literature in his community. Gilberto Meza, a member of the church’s literature evangelism team, providentially met Pérez, and the two struck up a conversation. As they spoke, Pérez recognized that Meza’s materials were Adventist-based. With a face aglow, Pérez asked if the local pastor could visit him.

A couple days later, Julio Alava, pastor of Akron Hispanic, met with Pérez and asked him if he’d like to return to the faith of his youth and be baptized. Without hesitation, Pérez answered, “Yes!”

Today, Pérez is a baptized member and faithfully attends Akron Hispanic. “God changed hearts in an instant in the early church,” praises Peter Simpson, Hispanic Ministries coordinator, “and He is still doing those miracles of faith today.”