The young student from Colombia squirmed in his seat. It was the week of prayer at his boarding school and the speaker from New York was making an appeal. He had survived other appeals, convincing himself that they were intended for others—not him. Even when he felt he should respond, he was held back by fear of his buddies laughing at him.

Fernando Ortiz was raised in an Adventist home and had already been baptized, but he knew he had never experienced that special relationship of walking with the Lord. In fact, he had become rather rebellious and had little interest in spiritual things. But during that week, there was a different atmosphere on campus, and changes were already beginning to happen in Fernando.

As Jorge Grieve continued his appeal, students began to respond. Fernando could sense the Holy Spirit calling on his heart. This time he thought, I don't care what my friends are going to say; I want to commit my life to the Lord.

Fernando got up and made his way down the long aisle as tears began to fill his eyes. When he arrived at the front, he was surprised to see that some of his friends were there, too. That was a defining moment in Fernando's life. A few years later, Fernando moved from Costa Rica to California. Some time had passed since the day he walked down the aisle. It was evident that he had allowed some distance to develop in his relationship with God and the church.

Knowing that our faith only grows when put to work, his perceptive pastor asked Fernando if he would like to help with the youth at the church. Fernando thought, Sure. Why not?

"I don't know why I said 'Yes,'" Fernando later reflected, "but I did. That served as an affirmation—not only because the Lord helped me to do the work with the youth, but because some men of God affirmed that in me. So I thought, You know, I can do that. And that was the beginning of a long journey."

As Fernando helped organize activities and served the youth, he discovered that he liked it. During the next several years, he became more involved and worked with several different pastors. To his surprise, each pastor felt impressed to tell Fernando that he should become a pastor.

Sensing that they may be right, Fernando said "yes" to God's call, and returned to Costa Rica to study theology. Later, while at the seminary at Andrews University, a friend of his who had worked at an orphanage in Romania returned, and said, "Fernando, I have found the perfect wife for you!"

Fernando was not so sure. He had no interest in developing a relationship with someone on the other side of the Atlantic. Later, Fernando admits, "The Holy Spirit had his hand in it, because He impressed me to call. From the first call, there was this spark, and from then on it was just wonderful."

Her name was Daniela, a beautiful girl who had worked with children and youth since she was 14. Raised in an Adventist home, Daniela was especially influenced by her grandmother, who had great faith in the Lord. Daniela gave her life to Jesus at the age of 12, during a large evangelistic series by an American evangelist, just after communism had fallen in her country. Even at a young age, she learned so many things about God and prophecy from the Bible, and she was impressed she should totally dedicate her life to the Lord.

The church where she attended believed very strongly in its youth and provided opportunities for them to be involved, so ministry became a part of Daniela's life. Her faith was challenged often, but through study and prayer she grew stronger. Daniela attended the university in her city, and was the secretary of a student outreach organization called Amigos. They created all sorts of activities to connect the university students to the Adventist church.

When Fernando finally placed that first telephone call to Daniela, their friendship grew through conversations about ministry, and he decided to go visit Daniela. But when she learned that her new friend, Fernando, was studying for the ministry she thought, I would not be a good fit for a pastor's wife. I do not want to marry a pastor. I enjoy my life here, I am preparing for a career, I like my country, and I am comfortable here.

Daniela felt God had called her to her ministry for her university and community, and it was difficult to think He would ask her to leave it, and her family, and go far away to another country.

Daniela and Fernando both wanted God's best, and often prayed together on the phone to seek His direction for their lives. In addition, Daniela spent nights in prayer asking, "What do you want me to do? Is this your calling or not?" One night as she prayed, she just needed God's assurance. His answer came through Romans 8:28: "All things work for the good of those who trust the Lord." That was a very decisive moment for Daniela. Yes, I think the Lord is calling me to this, she resolved. And even if I don't know a lot about ministry, I don't know what it means to be a pastor's wife, I don't know what I need to do, I'm willing to go for it! Daniela knew that God had really called her that night.

Daniela and Fernando both came to know the Lord and grow strong in their faith through being engaged in ministry to others. It was that shared passion for ministry that brought their hearts together. They realized that God had prepared them to serve Him, and they saw His providence in bringing them together to serve Him as a team.

When asked about the focus of his ministry, Fernando responded, "I see ministry as empowering. Ministry, for me, is a person who gives the tools to the members for them to get a closer communion with the Lord—tools to serve, tools to learn, tools to be what God wants them to be. My part is so humble and so little, but it's a part. My part is to say, 'You know, here are the tools. Go to work.' So when they do it, they say, 'It's not Pastor Ortiz. It's God!' And my part is to provide the inspiration for them to be all that God wants them to be. And I think in doing it that way, they will give glory to God."

Daniela realizes, "It is God who transforms lives. We don't have power over that. We have seen it over and over again. Sometimes we struggle when we go and have a Bible study, and we try to convince them of something, and the person doesn't buy into it as much as we want them to, [even though] we show that it's in the Bible. We cannot do anything. But what we do is we go home and pray, and we say, 'Please, Holy Spirit, impress that upon them. It's Your truth, and You're the One who can reveal Yourself in their lives.'

"Sometimes it takes years, and sometimes, like in the case of [one] couple, sometimes it's the next day, and they call us and they're excited because they get convinced. So it's God who does all the transformation. We don't have that power."

God has placed Daniela and Fernando in southern Indiana to serve the Bloomington and Bedford congregations. They live in a university town where Daniela is continuing her education, and they feel that God is prompting them to have a strong presence on campus like Daniela had at the university in Romania. They are now leading a group of young people in that ministry. Fernando is encouraging them with his studies in Galatians on walking in the Spirit, with the attitude that Daniela has embraced as her life motto: "I no longer live, but it is Christ who lives in me."

Gary Burns is the Lake Union Conference communication director.