Yesterday, two men, William Contreras and Paulo Machado, made their lifelong commitment to the Servants of the Word. Here’s a little bit about them by way of introduction:
William was born in Cuenca, Ecuador, exactly 37 years ago (today is his birthday!) He is part of a large family: he has a two sisters and three brothers, one of them his twin brother Wilson. He lost his father 14 years ago, his mother still lives in Ecuador. He became an affiliate in 2005 and moved to Mexico in 2015 to start his formation. Throughout that time, he has been involved with our university outreach, MCU, and is now the director of MCU Apodaca in the metropolitan area of Monterrey. He is also currently studying to complete a degree in Computer Engineering.
William always has a funny story to tell. Here is one you might enjoy: his parents used to read the Bible to him and his brother. When they first heard the Lord’s words in Genesis 12:1 telling Abram to “leave his father and his mother and go to the land that He will show him”, they packed their bags and planned to leave. When their mom found the packed bags she demanded an explanation. After they gave their rationale she had to explain that this passage didn’t exactly apply that way given their age (they were six years old). This is just the kind of zeal William still has for the Lord and his word!
Paulo was born on the 30th of October, 1983 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He also comes from a large family. His father (who passed away in 1998) was an excellent math teacher. Paulo has 6 siblings: Douglas (37), Daniela (35) Angelo (32), Renata (30), Lucas (27) and Bruna (23). He studied at a technical school and received a degree in Telecommunications, followed by a degree in Business Administration. After that he worked for a few years and spent a year in Angola as a Christian volunteer.
In 2009 he did a Gap year in Monterrey and there met the Servants of the Word. Halfway through that year he became an affiliate and six months later started his formation. In those two years in Mexico he served in the youth program before moving to Ann Arbor to the International Formation House. In 2015 he moved back to Latin America and currently lives in Costa Rica where he serves in the university outreach.
Paulo loves to cook (especially meat Brazilian style) and to spend time in the outdoors. His two soccer teams are Palmeiras (in Brazil) and Alajuelense (in Costa Rica).
Rejoice with us as brotherhood over the gift of these men!
