Testimony - Tavo Naranjo

     Hello there, my name is Tavo Naranjo. I am 19 years old, born and raised in San Diego for almost my whole life, and i must say, there was never to much to complain about.  Even with living on the more less fortunate side of life, with financial and family matters, it's without a question a blessing from God to have been living here.  Ever since i can remember, I've always believed in God, i just never knew who he was or what he was about at all. There was a point in my life where things couldn't have gotten any worse for me.  I was about 17 years old, living in very difficult situations and at the same time, making some bad decisions.  One Sunday night a friend of mine invited me to the Rock church.  It was the beginning of a new life for me, as i let the holy spirit into my heart and came face to face with Christ the King, for the first time. 

     Now, fast-forwarding about two years to today, the Lord has done a lot of work in my heart. And in between this time, i had done a lot praying for Jesus to show which path to take, for a better life as well as better people in my life.  To be simple and honest, the lord has heard me, lead me to become a leader, and blessed me with an abundance.  About three months ago college Young life was starting a leadership training program, with John Byard, John Caldwell and Sullivan Saunders.  At that time, I had no knowledge of Capernaum Young Life, i only knew that God wanted me to become a leader. 

     A couple weeks had past, and i was learning a lot about being a leader, and my roommate who goes to Young Life at San Diego State with me told me about Capernaum, and what it was.  I couldn't believe it. Right then and there I knew and felt inside that the Lord had set a path for me to become a Capernaum Young Life leader, and to help Tobias lead special needs children and adults to the Lords cross.  Of course i have a  dream of playing in the NFL one day and doing other great positive things, but before I was even born, me becoming a leader in Capernaum was God's dream.  To love the ones who were loved by very, very few. The ones who were sought to be just too different to become friends or hangout with, and who were never given chances or opportunity's.    Proverbs 3: 5 - 6  Trust In The Lord With All Your Heart ; Do Not Depend On Your Own Understanding.  Seek His Will In All You Do, And He Will Show Which Path To Take.  Proverbs 3: 5 - 6

Tavo Naranjo
Volunteer Leader

Testimony - Rachel Ortiz

Hello everyone! My name is Rachel and I’d like to start off by sharing how I got started with Capernaum in the first place. This past summer I was really evaluating my life and I felt like the days were just passing by and something was missing. I felt like I wanted to meet new people and just overall do something different. Since I attend SDSU I decided to sign up to do sorority rush. I had reservations because I had heard mixed opinions about the different sororities, but I just decided to sign up and check it out. I was scheduled to meet with my recruitment leader one day at school and I ended up sitting around waiting for her in the Starbucks on campus for about an hour past the time we were supposed to meet without hearing from her at all. Right outside of the Starbucks some students were putting on a performance so I decided I would go outside and watch while I waited for her a little longer. Once I got outside I noticed a tarp across the way that said College Young Life and I saw my friend Ben, who is also a Capernaum leader, sitting at the table under the tarp. So I went over to say hi and he started telling me about College Young life and also Capernaum. It felt like a light bulb went off in my head because I had told my family a few months before then that I felt like one day I would like to work with special needs kids but I wasn’t sure how to go about doing that. I knew God had set the whole thing up and was looking out for me and directing my steps because if I hadn’t signed up for the sorority rush, I wouldn’t have still been at school at that time, and if my recruitment advisor wouldn’t have shown up I would have never seen Ben and went to talk to him.

I started attending College Young life and in my second time attending I met Tobias. Pretty much from there the rest is history. A little less than a week ago was our first club and it was my first time doing any kind of special needs event. I was a little nervous but more excited than anything because I felt like God had been preparing my heart for this all summer long and that I was totally living in accordance to His will for me. I had such a blast and was so blessed every time I saw one of the kids smiling, laughing and every time I was able to have a conversation with one of them. They each had such special and unique personalities. I know we are blessing the kids and their parents but I feel like I’m the one receiving the gift. It amazes me that this is just the beginning and that there is so much potential for growth with Capernaum. It has been such a blessing to be a part of a group of leaders near my own age who share the same morals and passion for special needs ministry as I do and who strive to be selfless. Just these past 2 months of being a part of Capernaum have boosted my confidence in my faith because I know I have the support of my fellow leaders and the whole Capernaum family. I know God has so much in store for Capernaum and we are all so thankful for all of the prayers thus far, so I hope you keep them coming! God Bless

Rachel Ortiz

Volunteer Leader