Jaquiel never imagined he would be lying face down on the ground, covered in blood, fighting for his life. He had been shot six times and didn't know whether he would live or die.
Jaquiel never imagined he would be lying face down on the ground, covered in blood, fighting for his life.
“It all started three years ago, when I was already hanging out with friends that weren't real friends.,They weren't the right friends. I did things and saw things that I never should have had to.”
“I'm not going to lie, it's dangerous like any place. Houses next to each other, many children and a lot of crime, many young people. And the most common thing is selling drugs and things like that. That’s the general environment.”
Jaquiel had gotten himself involved in some of those activities.
“Because of those things, because of those mistakes, I suffered the consequences. One day I went to my grandmother's house and while arriving at my grandmother's house, I looked back and a motorcycle was coming. When I looked back, I was shot six times.”
As he lay on the street bleeding, Jaquiel didn’t know whether he would live or die.
“What I did at that moment was repent and ask God to forgive me.”
Jaquiel’s aunt came running out of the house and flagged down a passing car to rush them to the hospital.
“When I crossed through the hospital doors, my eyes closed, and from there I woke up the next day at two in the afternoon.”
“It is by a miracle of God and thank God I am here today, super grateful to him. I got baptized because I want to be close to Him.”
Jaquiel came from a Christian background but never cared much about religion or going to church. As all this unfolded, the local Adventist church constantly prayed for him and his family.
It took time, but Jaquiel recovered from his six gunshot wounds. He’s made big changes to his life. He is currently training to become a professional barber to stay focused on his future.
“Now, my character is one thing that... it's a struggle. It is a fight with character. But you know that I always have a positive mind in trying, and I’m changing and that's it. And you know that you can't do it overnight, but everything happens in its own time and I know that with God's help I will go far.”
Others in Jaquiel’s community also struggle to find a better way to live. The options are limited for young people here. And many are driven to do things to survive. This quarter a portion of your 13th Sabbath Offering will help construct a center for young people in Costa Rica. This center will be a refuge where they can come to develop job skills and contribute to their community.
Please pray for young people, like Jaquiel, who need God’s transformation in their lives. Thank you for supporting 13th Sabbath Offering projects like this.
“God is everything to me. In every way. Because God saved me.”
