Rolando

Before I was born again my mom, my two brothers, and I would go to church every Sunday. I would pretend to know Jesus personally, saying things like “I read my Bible” and “I know Jesus” but it wasn’t the truth. At school, I was a completely different person, I relied on what my friends and colleagues thought of me more than what God thought of me. I strove for other people’s approval and it was exhausting. It wasn’t until I went off to college that I started to change. My mom wanted me to find a church over here and I promised her I would but I didn’t try hard. I did end up finding the Fellowship of Christian Athletes during a club fair at USF. I started attending the club frequently and it didn't take long for one of the guys there to invite me to his church, Cornerstone.

It’s kind of hard to describe my first time there. Maybe it was how they worshiped, or the sermon, or even just the call of the Holy Spirit, but as I was sitting there in church, I felt something. I felt a presence leading me there, telling me that is where I was supposed to be. But this was just the beginning, there were people and things that I really didn’t want to let go of in my life. Thankfully God continued to convict me and showed me that I had to stop setting my eyes on worldly approval. It took a weekly Bible study with a Campus Minister, a ton of questions, and a couple of amazing friends (who eventually become my roommates) to show me that I wasn’t put on this Earth to appease the people around me. At the end of the day, it’ll just be my relationship with God. It took me a long time to really understand this, but when I finally understood, in October of 2015, I personally gave my life over to the Lord.

I am definitely still not perfect but with the help of the power of the Holy Spirit and the counsel of pastors and friends I continue to be transformed each day. As I continue to get rid of the old me, I can see myself becoming the person that God wants me to be. God’s not asking me to be perfect but to grow my relationship with him and to be his son. One thing that God is constantly reminding me of is Gal 1:10. You can’t go wrong when your goal is pleasing God.

~Rolando