Oscar Gutiérrez has grown up
in a world of soccer, parties, and girls. His life has been changed through the
ministry of Vida Joven (VJ – In English, Young Life). Now soccer is a tool for
him to invite kids to VJ, he is preparing to be a leader, and he is continuing
his education in the university that he withdrew from three years ago. This is
his story…
Before VJ, before I knew anything about it, my life was completely
dedicated to partying. I toyed with the emotions of girls and smoked a lot.
When I started partying, I wasn’t necessarily smoking and into many vices, but
the more I got into it, my life was certainly spiraling downward. I got into
marijuana a few times. This whole scene lasted about eight months, and looking
back, I felt like my life didn’t have any meaning.
In September of 2008, I met a girl. When I met her, she didn’t tell me
anything about VJ. She was hanging out with a couple of other girls who wanted
us to go to VJ’s club, so I went with them. In the club, we watched a video
about a guy named Nick, who should have been incapacitated, but functioned very
well considering his circumstances. I saw in this video that nothing was
impossible.
Shortly thereafter I had the opportunity to go to my first VJ sports
camp. At the camp they took us to a labyrinth and taught us about listening to
God’s voice. I tried it out, but it was very difficult for me to hear him. The
camp was good because, while they were somewhat restrictive, but they weren’t
legalistic. They made me not want to do the things I had been doing.
Following this I was invited on another VJ camp. When we were there, we
had a time of worshiping God. Something moved me to tears during the singing. I
was closing my eyes, and when I opened them, I looked down at the floor and I
saw the face of Jesus. I sobbed uncontrollably as I felt the Lord calling me. I
felt him intimately; I knew then that he cared for me. This motivated me to
give my testimony about my life and what I was still doing to the others that
were with me. They were people from my city that knew me or knew of me before.
Before I started talking, I didn’t feel like I’d have the words to speak
because I was embarrassed, but my heart compelled me. I wanted to express that
yes, I can change and others can too.
My next camp was a follow-up camp. There we went on a walk of faith.
They blind-folded us and had us walk around. It reminded me of Catholic
tradition we do here in Granada
in which they blind-fold a statue of Jesus and parade around the street
carrying him on their shoulders. They do this a lot the day before his death.
It’s called a procession of silence. The idea is that Jesus is walking through
the crowd – the world, but he’s blind to it, he’s not of it. During this walk
we were put thru a barrage of tests.
In one of them, they had me grab onto a rope and to imagine two worlds
– this world and the one Jesus calls us to. The devil started speaking to me
then, reminding me things of my past. I remember a moment when that was all I
could focus on. I felt pretty confused and I cried because I didn’t know what
to do. I felt very alone. But I kept walking and tried to focus on God’s voice
alone. Then he spoke to me. He told me he’s the way and the truth and the life.
After this, the things that the enemy was saying to me didn’t matter at all. As
I continued walking, I felt closer and closer to God. Later, we were given the
opportunity to go to the labyrinth again and invited into intimacy with the
Lord; to hear his voice personally. This moved me a lot. I felt great meaning and
purpose in this relationship I was introduced to. It was one of the most
impacting experiences of my life.
By the fourth camp I was playing soccer and stepping into leadership. I
felt incredibly incapable and ill prepared, but every time we had a meeting or
I was pushed into something, God gave me the words to say to the kids there.
These kids were into drugs and after a number of activities, we encouraged them
to cry and let their emotions out. I said then, “Lord, I want you to change
these kids’ lives. I know that they need you and I know that you’re the only
one who can touch their hearts. You’re the only one who can change them.”
When we got back, I followed up with these kids. I saw that they truly
desired God and this brought me great joy. True joy. It brought meaning into my
life.
VJ is very close to my heart. It introduced me to Jesus and taught me
how to 
move forward in my life. I know that because it has done this for me, it
will continue to do so with others as well, and I want to be a part of it. I
love that sports can still be a part of my life and I can actually use it to
reach out to other kids. Now, I am focused on other kids and it’s given me
direction and meaning. I’m moving forward. I am available and want to be
available for the kids at VJ. We have a vision to change their lives and
facilitate an encounter with the Lord. I am really excited about VJ. I love it!
I want to continue moving forward to be a great leader for them. I believe in
this vision; it changed my life and it will continue to change lives.
