Minority in Ministry

As a Puerto Rican-American from the Bronx (NYC) who attended a differently diverse university in an urban New Jersey community and joined staff with a majority Caucasian organization, I can assure you that it is not easy to become part of a community where you are a minority and still hold true to your individuality and culture.

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As a child, I had always seen multiple ethnic backgrounds and diverse cultures represented in nearly every area of my life.

When I moved to New Jersey for college, I witnessed a shift in the cultural population and slightly felt the need to adjust. Stepping into the classroom was noticeably and often uncomfortably different in its ethnic demographic.

As a Deaf education major, I became well acquainted with the feeling of being uncomfortable in a community of people who are all of a different culture. (Most Deaf adults asso ciate with their deafness before they do with their ethnicity. In their world, you are either hearing or Deaf.)

Even later in life, as an interned with a national organization where I worked with a  majority Suburban American team, I would occasionally feel uncomfortable and alone. Sometimes I felt misunderstood and often pride led me to believe I deserved special attention because "they needed to learn about my differences".

Being a minority, ethnically, spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally is never easy and rarely, if ever, comfortable.  This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t purposefully place ourselves in places where we are the minority.

Look at Peter, a friend and disciple of Jesus Christ. Acts 10 and 11 record:

·         Peter’s fear to enter into a different culture - Peter originally didn't want to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. They were completely different than he was in culture, spirituality, ethnicity and more.

·         God's calling for him to stay uncomfortable - The Holy Spirit led Peter to bring the truth of the Gospel to the Gentiles. Later in chapter eleven, he is even able to be a bridge-builder between the circumcised Jews and the Gentiles.

·         The fruit of his obedience to the Holy Spirit – Despite Peter's obvious discomfort and fear, his obedience finally led him to the opportunity to be a bridge-builder between the Gentiles and God and into the whole body of Christ (The Church).

It wasn't easy for Peter to be the only Jew amongst Gentiles, nor was it easy for him to be one of the few Jews within his community who believed Gentiles could know and experience the Holy Spirit. He probably often felt scared and alone like I did entering the deaf community and like I'm sure you have at some point as well. He may have even though it to be an impossible task (outside of God) to merge the two different cultures together. However, as believers, God calls us to be part of the impossible. He doesn’t just call us to Himself, but He calls us to community so that we may be a brighter example of what love looks like to this dark world.

Still I will Praise You!

"Oh no, you never let go through the calm and through the storms. Oh no, you never let go every high and every low. Lord, you never let go of me." - Matt Redman


Our God is unfailingly GOOD!
So then why do I so often, want to know what is next? I want to know where I can go and what I can do to get to where I think He wants me to be. I want to know what's next in life but God says "Be still and know that I Am God!". Paul prayed for the thorn in his flesh three times and I have prayed so much more so, waiting...when will it be my turn to be on campus, at full support? When will it be my turn to serve college students. And He says "Be still and know that I Am God."


"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5,6


God will always prove Himself faithful and good! Look at the story of Naomi (book of Ruth) or the one of Job. I'm sure she thought that God abandoned her. I'm sure she asked "why?!...why did I have to go through this?" My story is nothing compared to Naomi's or Job's but in a similar manner, I so badly want to ask "why?" sometimes. Why am I still raising support two years later?! Why can't I find the consistent support that I need? But God had a plan for her life and continues to have plans for the lives of His children, including me! I might not know His plans, but I know I'm in His hands. I know His Word will comfort me, like it has. In His providence, He will accomplish His will for my good and His glory!
As Pastor Ray Cole says: God is unfailingly good!


Contact me for the rest of the story about this process of raising support.

QT - "In Remembrance of Me"...

When I think about God's works, I'm saddened by and even disappointed in my preference of the technologies of today. I was born and raised in New York City and very little amazes me or makes me wow. I remember the first time I went to Florida with my family to visit friends & family who boasted about how amazing the light show at Disney was. Based off of their description, my family and I were excitedly awaiting the spectacular show! As the show began, I remember thinking "I've seen this before, but I guess it's nice to see it in Disney World". It really didn't baffle me or cause me to be in awe at all. I had grown up in the city that never sleeps! I had seen the NYC 4th of July Fireworks on TV and from over the river near my home in the Bronx! I had been to Times Square many times at night where the  sky is constantly lit with a plethora of colors! I was numb to the live up close version in Florida because I was so used to my own.

I've realized lately how in a similar pattern, that's so effectively dimmed the potential brilliant view of God, the I AM. In Bible Study yesterday there were several opinions about what that could have meant, "I AM". Did God give Moses a vague answer (Exodus 3:14)? Did God give him a very specific answer in His way of using our language to captivate all of who He is as to say He simply "is"? I don't know, I'm not sure yet. But I know God wanted to get across to Moses (which we all agreed to) that He is sufficient enough that Moses doesn't need details, like a name that mankind has given Him. He simply needs to trust. I realize I similarly have a dulled view of who the I AM truly is. Like the light show in Disney that didn't amaze me. It's as though I've become numb to hearing that CHRIST DIED ON THE CROSS FOR MY SINS. It becomes a ritual phrase Christians use without an ounce of brain energy or a phrase unbelievers use to mock us. 

Why does it seem like it was more possible to be deeply intimate with the Father before mankind started to create a new world? Well for one, there was more discipline in the old days. We could blame it on the generations. For another, there is more technology now...easier to be busy, we can say. But really I think we've chosen to dumb ourselves down by choosing the most comfortable convenient route little by little, day by day. There is very little reliance on the Holy Spirit when I want to do something nowadays. Think of the shepherds in scripture for example. They look up at the sky and they can see the glory of God and be grateful each time because they have light to work and night to cool down. They have rain to care for their crops and sun to feed them. They have clouds to shade their animals from dehydration and they have stars to lighten the night. I look up in the sky and it's like I've become numb. Don't get me wrong, as an artist I LOVE THE BEAUTY of every piece of the heavens, but am I grateful for that which lays in the heavens beyond that which is pleasing to my eyes? Not even rarely.

I heard it said that our sun is the smallest known star in the universe and yet we can fit 1.2 million earths in our sun! Whenever I stop to meditate on and savor the amazing gift Jesus is in my life, I HOPE I AM humbled and overwhelmed with a sense of repentance, followed by gratitude and then with joy...AND NOT JUST NUMB TO THE THOUGHT.