My name is Rafael.  I was born in East L.A. and was raised in the city of Northridge in the San Fernando Valley.

I have two older siblings, a brother and a sister who were born in Mexico.  After sometime around when my brother was 12 years old, he came to the States to live with us.

My dad was well-known around town and people respected our family because of his reputation.  I was proud of my dad.  Unfortunately, my parents separated when I was about 4 years old.  I suddenly felt ashamed and confused for not having a father in my life.

Until I was about 10 years old, I was a pretty normal kid.

In my early years, I grew up in Fresno, California.  Mom worked in insurance and Dad in construction.  I really liked going to church with my grandfather and grandmother, my Dad’s parents;  he was an elder and she played the organ. I went to church with them every Sunday and went to Sunday School.   I’ll never forget what seemed like endless summers!  After our move to Milpitas, my older brother and I were always out playing with the neighborhood kids; I remember we would go down by the railroad tracks and chase lizards.  My life seemed carefree in those days.  When I was about 8, my grandfather and grandmother moved far away to Sacramento.  We would see them once in awhile, but now there was no one to take us to church.

My HOPE and FAITH in Jesus during COVID-19

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’  Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.” (Psalm 91:1-3 NKJV)

I started my mission with Kosovo Force (KFOR) at the end of November 2019. In February 2020, the coronavirus crisis hit. I did not pay much attention to it initially, however, as time progressed, it was almost impossible to ignore the reality of the pandemic. Kosovo was one of the few fortunate places that did not have any coronavirus cases for the longest time. However, the situation quickly changed and on March 13, 2020 the first 2 cases were confirmed in Kosovo with the number of people getting infected growing steadily. Updates focused on the number of newly infected people and the number of deaths. Our mission’s focus quickly turned to fight the coronavirus crisis and to help the institutions in Kosovo with personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves. Social distancing soon became the norm for KFOR so that we would not spread the virus. When people were asked “How are you?”, most said “good” as the standard answer, however the fear was becoming more and more palpable and I could sense it was spreading.