Pastor Daniel married his wife Nancy in 2006. A year after their wedding, Camila was born. She was a joy to her parents and shared her father’s passion for music.
At the end of 2012, a medical diagnosis indicated that Camila, only four years old, had a brain tumor. The results of the studies were not encouraging; the doctors said they could not operate on Camila and that there was nothing they could do. The tumor continued to grow and Camila’s health deteriorated rapidly. Everything was delivered into the hands of God, praying and waiting for His will.
In February 2013, Camila, now five years old, told her father, “Dad, I am going to go with Jesus.” Ten days after, Camila passed away, leaving her parents to deal with the pain of losing a daughter.
Two years later, Pastor Daniel moved his family to the city of Itauguá, Paraguay, with the desire to impact their community. They began to pray for direction. Camila’s words echoed in his mind and heart until he finally understood that if his five-year-old daughter was sure that she would be in heaven with Jesus after she passed away, then the children of the neighborhood could also have the same sense of security. This assured Pastor Daniel that working with the children would not be a waste of time.
It was then that, they learned about the support that Jesus Responde, Global Aid Network (GAiN)’s partner in Paraguay, was providing through the wholistic community centres. These community centres, all throughout Paraguay, invite children from families who are living in poverty and crisis to gather weekly. They come for a nutritious meal and various activities, such as sports and games, educational tutoring, and spiritual care (songs and Biblical teaching through AWANA, a children’s discipleship program). In some cases, some community centres host vocational trainings for parents of the children.
Hearing about the impact of these community centres filled Pastor Daniel and his wife with so much joy and hope that they decided to open their own community centre in partnership with Jesus Responde. They called it La Semilla.
Today, Pastor Daniel tells us how children get excited when they receive a nutritious meal, as many of them do not eat breakfast or eat at home. La Semilla has helped Daniel and his family fulfill their call and teach these children about Jesus.
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