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Print magazine

Saved by the Pandemic

By Juan Cancino Castillo, March 21, 2023

Adrián used to take his wife and three daughters to North Cascade Hispanic Adventist Church every Saturday. He would drop them off and then, at the end of the service, he would pick them up to take them home. He never prevented them from going to church. For many years he remained respectful, but he never showed the slightest interest in attending, let alone being a member of the church.

When his wife was baptized, along with his eldest daughter, he continued to take them to church every Saturday. Adrián was a very respectful husband and a very responsible father, but he had a great vice, which he practiced on Saturdays while his family was in church. His vice was alcohol. It didn't make him violent, but Saturdays were days when he habitually drank alcohol.

All this changed, when the pandemic arrived and many families were forced into their homes, without leaving for fear of becoming infected. It was there, that his wife lived her faith, through Zoom meetings and social networks.

On Saturdays, she would participate in online meeting services. Adrián did not need to go to church to leave his wife and daughters, so he began to participate. His weekend routine of drinking alcohol changed radically. He participated in online services with his wife and God touched his heart and changed his life.

Today he attends with his entire family and, in the last evangelistic campaign of 2022, he decided to give himself to Jesus through baptism together with his two youngest daughters.

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Author

Juan Cancino Castillo

Washington Conference north Hispanic district pastor
Section
Ministry
Tags
Ministerial

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The Gleaner is a gathering place with news and inspiration for Seventh-day Adventist members and friends throughout the northwestern United States. It is an important communication channel for the North Pacific Union Conference — the regional church support headquarters for Adventist ministry throughout Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. The original printed Gleaner was first published in 1906, and has since expanded to a full magazine with a monthly circulation of more than 40,000. Through its extended online and social media presence, the Gleaner also provides valuable content and connections for interested individuals around the world.

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