The PLI Experience: Stories from the PLI Family

Rosy Martinez and her husband, pastor Luis Martinez, are current participants in our bilingual Leadership Essentials SoCal. She and Luis live in Spring, Texas, with their three daughters: Raquel (26), Rebecca (20), and Roselyn (18). She currently serves at Trinity Klein Lutheran Church and School in Klein, Texas, as a deaconess and the director of the Hispanic Ministry. She also codirects an ESL program, a mother’s group called “Ser Mamá”, and she assists and coordinates the details of the Spanish Worship Service. She was born in Chicago but raised in the beautiful country of Mexico.

The path to follow Jesus or to be a disciple of Jesus was never meant to be an easy one, but it is also not a path for “Llaneros Solitarios” (lone rangers).

Why did you decide to participate in PLI? 

I was introduced to PLI by Sarah Benson, a good friend of ours whom I met when she was the school nurse at Trinity Klein. Sarah and I talked about a bilingual leadership program that she was so excited about. She thought I would be a good candidate for it. She said I could assist with translation and share with them my thoughts as a participant in a bilingual setting. At first, I thought this was a crazy idea. I had no time in my schedule to do one more thing. But I got home after talking to Sarah and remembered what I had been praying to God about every day. My prayer was very specific: God please help us know how to lead the people you are bringing to us; please teach us how to be leaders. For me this prayer was a cry of desperation. So literally, God sent PLI to us!

How has your experience in PLI shaped you as a follower of Jesus? 

PLI has helped me see that Jesus wants us to be successful in our calling. He will not fail us, and He will also provide everything we need to do what He has called us to do. He wants us to be effective leaders for the mission of God! He knows my struggles and despite all these, He still invites me to come and do ministry with Him. I know this and believe it, but as we get busy doing ministry, our hearts get carried away by trouble, anxiety, and so on. We get trapped in the cycle of “working for God” and forget how vital it is to humble ourselves and remain in the position of being followers of Jesus, allowing Him to go deep in whatever area of life that needs to be transformed.

How has your experience in PLI shaped you as a leader? 

I still have a lot to learn as a leader, but I can say that PLI is paving the way in my journey. Something that keeps echoing in my mind that I learn at PLI is to want and welcome change in my life and ministry for the sake of the mission of God. I have learned to be willing to ask hard questions. I know hard questions will challenge me and make me feel uncomfortable, but I also know that nothing will change if as a leader I continue to stay in the comfortable chair. But the most important: prayer and study of God’s Word. Second, get surrounded by a community that holds you accountable and supports you in prayer. And third, to rest! We have a merciful God who wants His people to rest, to enjoy life, friends, family, and the things He has blessed us with.

What stands out to you from your time in PLI? 

One of the things that stands out is the awesome group of leaders we have. Every single one of them brings something unique and each of them cares deeply about each of the participants. And my favorite thing is the multicultural group of people I have the pleasure of meeting at the immersions. Listening and learning from a different culture is so enriching! It’s a picture of how heaven looks—people of every nation, all together praising God.

Where do you see God working in your community? Can you share a story of hope or of people coming to know Jesus? 

I love this question! Thinking about the wonderful thing God is doing brings joy and encouragement to my life!

I work with the immigrant community, and I know first-hand many of the struggles they face.

Mariana is a dear friend of mine; she is always excited to share with me what God is doing in her life. Mariana started coming to ESL classes in 2019, then she joined our Spanish mother’s group, and after several months she started coming to our Spanish Bible study. Now she and her husband and their two kids have been attending our Spanish worship service every single Sunday for the past three years. In one of our many long conversations about our faith in Jesus, she shared with me how lonely and lost she felt before joining ESL classes, and the difference the church, the body of Christ, has made in her life. Now, she knows that she is loved, forgiven, and that God has shown His goodness and mercy to her in this community of believers. She knows that God will never abandon her, that Jesus is her savior. She is sure of the eternal life she has in Jesus and that nothing can take that away from her, and she confesses this with such boldness. Her situation hasn’t changed much; she still faces many difficulties, but the Holy Spirit has transformed her life and now she is very committed to serving in our Spanish mother’s group. She is excited to share Jesus with other moms that maybe are in the same situation she was in.

What is God teaching you right now? 

Humility, vulnerability, acceptance, and trust. God has been present even when I go into those doubting moments. He called me and continues to equip me and send me. The path to follow Jesus or to be a disciple of Jesus was never meant to be an easy one, but it is also not a path for “Llaneros Solitarios” (lone rangers). God is teaching me to look around, to intentionally listen to those I serve and identify the gifts they bring to the body of Christ and invite them to a deeper relationship and commitment with God and the church. And finally, but the most important, to depend on God with everything in me, and to pray, pray, pray without ceasing. 

Is there anything else you want to share about your experience with PLI? 

I am excited to see the wonderful things God is doing and will continue to do through PLI in our Hispanic community. I know this is a challenge for both PLI and for the Hispanic leaders, but a challenge that is good, and will make such an impact. I feel like there are other “Llaneros Solitarios” out there. Maybe not because they want to be on their own, but because it’s easy to get trapped in that role, and we can’t get out of it by our own strength. The work that God is doing through PLI is healing and refreshing. The words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 15:13 could very well describe how I feel about my experience with PLI as a trust God in this journey of leading others to Christ my Savior:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.