My name is Danny Gonzalez and today I want to tell you my story.

If I had to choose a title for my testimony it would, be “the transforming power of a seed.”

When my Mother was 18 years old my grandfather called her and said to her: “Rosemary I want to introduce you to your husband.” My mother was afraid and told him, “I don’t want that man. I don’t know him.” But my grandpa insisted and told her, “This will be your husband!” From that marriage, where there was never any love, I was born. I remember that my parents fought a lot, my father was an alcoholic and he would always come home drunk and be violent with my Mom.

When I was 5 years old my Mom couldn’t take it anymore and decided to separate from him. I was sad because like every child, I loved my Dad and I didn’t want him to go but he left and so my Mom and I went to live with my grandparents in a place in San Jose called Linda Vista. This place was very dangerous, a place where there were lots of drugs and violence. It was thought that every child that is born there grows up with a label in their front head, a label that said you are a loser, you are a failure. Once there, my Mom took me to a Christian school in the area and when I arrived there I realized that many of my classmates had a father in their lives, but I didn’t have mine. I remember that I used to cry and cry and one day my teacher came near me and said something that changed my life forever. She said to me, maybe your physical father is not with you anymore but you have a father in heaven that will always be with you. He will never leave you and He will always accompany you. He will be your protector, will fulfill your dreams. Your heavenly father will give you victory in everything you do.” I remember that in this school the label that said that I was a loser was replaced by a label that said, “I am a son of God, I am a dreamer.” I also remember having a sponsor that helped me. This person believed in me, and planted the seed of God in my heart. I also remember that on my birthdays my sponsor sent me presents. I remember receiving a T-shirt, and on one occasion I received a soccer ball.

I had 2 dreams when I was in school, one of them was to become an excellent soccer player, and well I didn’t achieve that goal. But my other dream was to be a Doctor. I use to say to my Mom, “When I grow up I want to be a Doctor. Mom when I grow up I will be a Doctor.” And my Mom with tears in her eyes would say, “Study a lot, trust in God and when you grow up you will be a Doctor.”

After finishing my primary school and during secondary school I started to work in a Costa Rica ministry called Castillo del Rey. I was responsible to go to many places in Costa Rica to share the word of God in a clown costume and painted face as a clown and mime. In my last year of secondary school the Director of the School called me and said, “Danny, would you like to Study medicine in Cuba?” “Of course! I would love to study medicine in Cuba! Where do I go? What do I have to do?” I asked him. He told me that I would have to have an interview for a grant. When the time came, I went to that interview and when I arrived at the office there were 50 other students there waiting to have an interview as well. And they were only going to give the grant to 15 students.

I went to find my pastor and asked him to pray. The following week I received a phone call and I was given the news that I had been chosen to study medicine in the island of Cuba. I was so happy and I thank God so much! I prepared my luggage and I went to study in Cuba. I soon realized that not only was God preparing me to become a Doctor, He was preparing me for a life of ministry. God was preparing me to serve Him.

Once in Cuba, I went to a small church, it was in the home of a Cuban pastor. I remember him asking me if I would like to work in the Church for God, and I said yes, so he made me the youth leader of the Church. I was happy and I began to work. I remember we started to spread the Gospel in the University to all the other medicine students.

In the very beginning we won 7 students to Christ and with this 7 we began to study the bible, we prayed and held vigils at night and into the morning looking for the presence of God. We wanted to be filled with God. And one year later we found the fruitful result because we won 200 young students of Medicine of different parts of Latin-America to be apart of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, this was very important in my life.