[votivesoul]

When I was 26, I was working for a painter, a brother in the church I was a member of.

It wasn't really what I wanted to do with my life. God saved me when I was 24. I didn't have a very good work history. I only stayed at a job for a few months to a year, then moved on.

One day, I though to myself, that if I really want a career, I'm going to have to go to college.

I wasn't sure about the commitment, the cost and debt, knowing I'd be 30 before I graduated, what if I married, etc?

Finally, after many weeks of thinking and wondering and praying about it, I took a drive to the university (University of Wisconsin-Whitewater) that I was thinking of attending, praying along the way about what the right thing to do was. I got to the campus, and as I was praying, I felt led to pull into a parking lot. I shrugged it off at first, but then decided I needed to submit, and so I pulled in and parked.

I sat in my truck, watching students criss-cross the campus. I began praying for the people I saw walking past, and the Spirit descended upon me and suddenly God spoke to me in what I would describe as an inwardly, or interior, audible voice.

He said "Aaron".

I replied "Yes, Lord"?

"They have never known Me. Who will go"?

"Amen" I whispered, beginning to weep. "Here am I. Send me."

That was fall of 2004. I soon applied for funding and for admission to the university. I didn't hear anything for a long time. Finally I went to see the admissions office. They had misplaced my application (it was accidentally filed with someone else who shared my exact name, first and last). The admissions officer profusely apologized, fast tracked me to admittance, and bought me lunch to apologize.

So, I started university in January of 2005. I lived in a dorm, and began evangelizing as many as I could. I met a lot of new people, and ended up teaching Bible studies pretty much at least once or twice a week to someone new.

There's a lot more to share of how it all began, and what happened, including something quite incredible/hard to believe, but the campus ministry I started led to a church plant. Lots of folks heard the Gospel. Many came into the faith. Found some other Apostolics and brought them onboard. Not all whom God saved are currently serving Christ, but there are those who are, too. Quite a bit of persecution, as well.

I graduated in 2009 with a B.A. in Spanish, 3.625 G.P.A.. I married in between sophomore and junior years. We had our first child the next year, and life goes on...