Overcoming
Adversity to
Empower
Future Leaders
By Rich Danzeisen,
Executive Director,
One Mission Society USA
children
of the
boarding
school and
ministered to
hundreds of students over his lifetime of service. Out of this
expression of love, Theobaldo
quickly became the father that Remberto
never had. Remberto recognized that significant change can occur when someone
is willing to invest in the lives of others,
even those without much hope of a future.
Remberto continued to make use of
many other opportunities that would eventually lead him into ministry, where he met
a young man named Eder Payares, a high
school student in the town of Magangué.
Remberto recognized similarities in their
lives as Eder was also from a poor river
town and had to overcome challenges as
he pursued God’s plan for his life.
Remberto soon discovered that Eder
also had a love for Christ and an interest in ministry. Eder had worked diligently
in different ministries in the church and
Remberto Barrios
learned from an early age that the way
you deal with adversity can have a significant impact on your future. Born in the
grip of poverty in a small river village in
Colombia, he was abandoned by his father at birth. To make matters worse, his
mother died when he was only one year
old. Without parents, it was up to his
15-year-old sister to care for Remberto
and his siblings. They discovered how to
take advantage of any and all opportunities that the Lord provided them. One of
those opportunities was a relationship
Remberto developed with the head of his
boarding school, Theobaldo Camargo.
Theobaldo took an interest in Remberto
and poured a great deal into all of the
youth. He had a passion to minister to the
10
really wanted to attend seminary. His
parents were poor,
so he couldn’t afford the room and
board, in addition
to tuition costs. So,
Remberto and his
wife took Eder into
their home and provided food, clothing,
and housing for him.
Living together provided
ample opportunities for both
formal and practical ways for
Remberto to speak into Eder’s life, much
like Theobaldo had done for him. Spurred
on by Remberto’s investment of life and
ministry, Eder soon filled several roles in
the church and at the seminary. He also
began preaching and followed Remberto’s
example to raise up other young leaders
like himself.
When Remberto became the president
of the OMS-related denomination, his passion to mentor others led him to start a new
initiative called the “preaching school.” The
school provides deep, practical training t