Cumberland Road

Alfonso Marquez writes:  "I was born in Juarez, Mexico on December 27, 1961. I grew up there until the age of 17 when I received a scholarship to go to study at a Normal School (School to prepare Teachers). I finished and practice for only 6 months in Mexico City. I returned to Juárez on December 1979. In January 1980 I decided to get across the border to work in Las Cruces New Mexico and at the same time studied at Las Cruces High School. I tried to enroll with the US Navy, but because of my status (undocumented) I was not able to serve. I travel around the US looking for opportunities to experience the American Dream. In March 23, 1983 I met my now beautiful wife Martha in Juárez. I used to go back to Juárez every Christmas. Martha and I decided to live together in the US Elizabeth was only 3. In September of 1983 we come to live in the Rio Grande Valley in a little town name Weslaco from there we travel to west Texas, to south Colorado and back to the Valley of Texas following the seasonal work harvesting crops. Our daughter Martha born in Hereford, Texas in July 1984. In 1988 we moved to Laredo Texas I received an offer to have a steady job and Martha was tired of moving from place to another, she wanted stability. Alfonso Jr born in December 1988. In 1992 after been working and managing a business for someone else, I decided to start my own business. In August 18, 1994 I got saved and our lives really turn 180 degrees. Abraham born in 1996 in a Christian home. In 1997 we received Christian and Claudia two kids from Martha’s sister who got very sick and could not care for them we decided to help and latter we adopted them legally. In 1998 I started driving for CFI out of Joplin MO. In May of 1999 Alfonso Jr and I met Rev. Leonard Turner at the Petro Truck Stop on exit 369 on I-40. He invited me to start a Hispanic ministry because God put in his heart to outreach the Hispanic community, after talking with the NCD director Lynn Thomas he was told that he can not start a Hispanic ministry so he needed to pray for a Hispanic leader, and here we go again. After we met Leonard at the truck stop Leonard invited us to worship at Union Cumberland Presbyterian Church, after the service Leonard took us around the community and to a Mexican restaurant in Kingston Pike named Monterey. We ordered good authentic Mexican food and talked to the restaurant personal. When Pastor Leonard took us back to the truck stop, he noticed my nickname was “Preacher “ Leonard asked why I had that nickname. I told him that i thought God was calling me to the ministry but I didn’t have a place. Leonard told me you might have a place here in East TN. I told him that I didn’t have theological preparation I only have the desire to serve. Leonard told me we may send you to school, he was talking about PAS. We left to delivered our load to Ohio and return home to Laredo. Two weeks later I received a letter from Pastor Leonard inviting me to be interview by East TN presbytery Board of Missions (BOM), then I took it seriously and shared that with my home church Pastor in Laredo we were and still members of ICM Iglesia Cristiana Misericordia of Laredo Texas an Assemblies of God a 3000 church members congregation (Pentecostal). I talked to my pastor about the possibility to moved to East TN and start a Hispanic ministry but I didn’t know anything about Presbyterianism, neither Cumberland Presbyterians. My Pastor asked if I had shared that call with Martha and my 6 children because the ministry covers the whole family even our dog. I was concern about the liberal way of Presbyterians and as Pentecostals we were very conservative. I remember my preacher’s wife saying “go and do it like Paul, be Greek with Greeks, Roman with Romans and Jew with Jews, and don’t forget the gentiles. In September 1999 we receive a letter with a couple of plane tickets on a weekend because the Presbytery BOM wanted to interview us. We came and experienced great things and later on about in November we received an approved letters from East TN Presbytery’s Task Force  form by session members of Union and BOM to start our ministry immediately after 2YK. We left Laredo on January 19, 2000 and arrived  to East TN on January 21st. I attended Program of Alternate Studies (PAS) from 2000-2004 got ordained on April 2004. After that I translated for new Hispanic PAS students from 2005-2006. Under the leadership of Dr Thomas Campbell asked me if I was willing to coordinate the Hispanic PAS and called me Hispanic PAS coordinator from 2007-2012 I taught several courses and help Dr. Robert Rush ask me to translate our Confession of Faith to Spanish we did it with the help of other Colombian brothers and sisters.  I served as consultant for the BOM of our denomination to start and register our Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Mexico from 2007-2012.

I had the blessing of watching many of my Hispanic brothers and sisters in Christ graduating from PAS. 
I served as board member of the Children’s Home three times 9 years. I resigned in 2012. I been serving our community for 21 years now. 
I teach ESL, GED, help with Immigration documents, IRS, Social Security and many, many other things, just to stay busy."

Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue. 
Source:  https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Pierce_Murphy/through-the-olive-branches/caldera-blue
Comments: http://freemusicarchive.org/
Additional comments:  modifications made to shorten and loop song for introduction and closing of podcast.
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