By Jingle Ortiz, Hope Leeds
I am so thankful to God for bringing godly people into my life.
When I joined Hope Leeds, I wanted to understand more about my faith and deepen my spiritual life. And mentoring was introduced to me. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t keen in the beginning. Maybe because it would take much time to meet my mentor or they may be strict or they might scrutinize what I was doing in the church.
Then, the time came that me and my husband were mentored by our dear pastor, we kept cancelling our appointment. And he then kept chasing us, booking us for an appointment. Then, we would turn up late. And one day he said to us, “Do you really want this? Please let me know now, for I am sure there are so many in there who are looking for a mentor.”
It was our wake up call. We then realised that he has invested time, so we should value this and really we should be grateful. We have seen this perseverance in him. He has this kind of compassion that he offered his time and love to us. I believe this in itself is extremely valuable.
We then created this special bond where we hung out and ate and he has always been my go-to whenever I have been having trouble at work, family and even in the church. He has always been there for me and he gave us real and raw advice. I felt like I could be really honest with him because he did not make me feel judged. He was there to listen and spiritually help me grow.
One day, me and my husband had shared our financial difficulties, financial struggle. He was then able to give us some advice. So, we also acquired a financial advisor. I have experienced being corrected. He has this firm and gentle approach. And now I am able to apply this in correcting people. It is so good to really feel like there are people who really care.
And by observing how he led us in serving God, it helps me improve in becoming an effective leader. And now that I have started preaching in the church, he is able to give me some advice, tips and feedback to improve myself. So, learning from him has really enhanced my gift and equipped me for ministry. It has inspired my passion for the mission and enriched my understanding of the Bible.
So now that I have my own mentees, I am able to apply what I have learned from this mentoring experience. It helps me to demonstrate this selflessness and obedience. And serving as a mentor has proved to be a rewarding experience. It allows me to self-reflect and gives me an opportunity to establish a trusting relationship with an individual who is interested in exploring a range of possibilities.
I am so thankful to God for having this opportunity in our church. This has been a massive help for my personal growth. It has influenced the way I talk, my thoughts, my feelings. My life has completely changed. My spiritual eyes and ears are opened in a way that is preparing me for what the Lord has for me.
I am thankful that my mentor never gave up on me.