Testimony of Paul Mondragon
Due to the fact that my parents were divorced when I was very young and that neither one of my parents were willing or able to care for my two brothers and I, we lived in a foster home from the time I was five until I graduated and entered the military. During my school years I did not regularly attend any religious services. My foster dad was Catholic but had long since turned away from the Catholic Church. My foster mom was raised from a Protestant background but was not consistent in her attendance at church. There were times, however, when we would attend various revival meetings in the local community. During a stretch of time of about a year and a half in the mid to late 70’s, we did attend fairly regularly a “prayer meeting” in the home of some friends. It was during this time also when I was sent to Sunday school at a local church. I can honestly look back and say that the Lord was graciously working in my heart. I can remember a desire to read through the Bible when I was approximately 8-9 years old. I began working through the Old Testament, but after a couple of months stopped. During the rest of my school years I did not give much thought to religion. At the same time, I still considered myself to be Catholic.
One other very significant thing happened during this time while I was in school. In October of 1980 a family moved next door. At the time, I was not happy about this development because the acre unto which they moved served as my playing area. I often played baseball and football there, most often by myself. In a very short time however, I was very glad that this family had moved into the neighborhood as I quickly became very good friends with the son of the family. More importantly over the course of my life, I soon became very good friends with one of the daughters. We would play basketball, football (actually catch), run together, and just talk for many hours. Over the course of approximately ten years this friend would become much more than just a friend; she became my wife.
Going back in time a little, during the time I was stationed in Germany, I was once again having a desire for spiritual things rekindled. I began to attend the Catholic services at the base chapel. This time was significant not because I was converted, but rather because the Lord was drawing me to Himself. Though there were several good people in my unit, there were none that were openly Christian. In my heart I had the desire to know God yet only knew him as evidenced through the Catholic Church. Perhaps this is a step back from my youthful experience with the “prayer meetings” in which many of those in attendance did have a meaningful submitted relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, but I believe it was during this time and the time after leaving active duty that the Lord chose to show me that there was so much more to Him than what the Catholic Church offered.
Yolanda and I were married on April 28, 1990 at the Aquinas-Newman Center located on the campus of the University of New Mexico. We had been living in Los Lunas south of Albuquerque and attending church at the Catholic Church in Belen. We had successfully petitioned the deacons at the church in Belen to have our wedding at UNM due to the fact that UNM was a large part of our life at the time. In November of 1990, I was activated from the Army Reserve to go to Saudi Arabia as a part of Desert Shield/Storm.
Upon my return to New Mexico, we moved to Albuquerque. At the first apartment we lived in Albuquerque, we met a single mother who worked at home to be able to raise and send her three children to a private Christian school. As Yolanda had recently stopped working due to being pregnant with John, she was interested in speaking to this lady, Debbie. By God’s grace Debbie not only shared how she worked at home, but also her dependence upon and relationship with the Lord Jesus. In the nine months that we lived above Debbie, I came to realize that I was in need of salvation and there was nothing that I could do to fill that need. But God had made a way for that need to be filled. I placed my trust in Him alone and was saved.
We then began to attend the Calvary Chapel in Albuquerque and became involved in the home schooling movement. During this time, the Lord was placing in me a great hunger for His Word. I began listening to many teachers on the radio.
In March of 1996 we moved back south to Belen and began attending the Abundant Life Christian Center where I was baptized and became very involved. In October of 1999 I was given my first opportunity to preach the Word in a church meeting. I knew then that I had committed “occupational suicide,” that is there was nothing that I desired to do more than teaching the Word of God. Over the course of the next approximately four years I was graciously given the opportunity to preach on several occasions. During this time also the Lord through the ministry of several friends and His Word began to unveil the Doctrines of Grace to my heart. This is a process which yet continues to this day.
In June of 2003 the Lord moved my family and I to Ridgecrest. Upon arriving here I knew that I must continue to pursue the biblical teachings as contained in the Doctrines of Grace. We did not initially know if such a venue existed here, but were soon after told that it did; we must simply find it. By God’s wonderful grace He brought us into contact with the Ridgecrest Reformed Baptist Fellowship through which He continues to transform me ever more. To God and God alone be the glory.
