José Malespin
I came to Costa Rica from Nicaragua when I was 14 years old. I’m the second of four siblings. My mother made the decision that I should keep up with my education, even though our economic needs were a lot. After high school I went to college and graduated as a math teacher. My mother was already a Christian when I was born, so I was educated in Biblical principles in my first years. Her love for sharing the gospel was my main example of serving God. I accepted Jesus at 8 years old, but I committed to God seriously at 17. Since my teen years I was involved in the youth ministry at my church, mainly in teaching the Bible. I always had this feeling of doing something important for the kingdom of God that would benefit people. After graduating from college, I started to pray about this feeling in my heart and being able to have the chance to give my skills and knowledge to God. However, I didn’t know what, where or when.
Current Ministry
I heard of Students International through a friend, and after a long period of praying and looking for direction I decided to apply for this ministry. God has given me the chance of working for him through this ministry and finally I feel that I’m doing something for which I was called. At present, I’m working in the Tutoring Center, one of the six sites that S.I. has in Costa Rica. In this site I help the kids, giving them extra help with their formal education, homework and interaction with other kids. Also, we communicate to them about God’s principles hoping they become people with values who help their families and influence their communities. Many of these kids have been living in families with problems like alcohol, drugs, violence and family disintegration. I can understand now that all my struggles and hard moments in the past were necessary for being prepared for this ministry. This ministry is making a change in the hearts of these kids, and I pray they can find in Jesus the light they need to lead their lives down a better path.
