about me

I just realized that some people reading this blog might not know me as well as others, so that's why i've decided to talk about me on this post.
let's see... where do i start, ok, my name is Santiago, or Santi for short, i'm spanish 100%, born in Spain and lived in Spain all my life, i was born the 9th of january of 1987, wich means that right now i'm 19, i'm a capricorn, i've got blond hair, blue-green eyes, i'm 1.82 meters tall, and i just checked my weight not so long ago, and i weighted 77 kg, nice number aye? :P though i will loose some kilos when i go to Mexico, i'm sure of that, like when i came back from Bolivia; i think i lost 3 or 4 kg in a month. i would add a picture of myself, but i just can't upload pictures... don't know why, everytime i try it says there is an error, so you'll have to do with the ones i have on my hi5: http://www.hi5.com/friend/profile/displayProfile.do?userid=23733441
oh! and i forgot to add, i'm single, and i don't have a formal gf, though i've got a really really good friend that looks promising for that position, but i really am just trusting the Lord on this.... i'm sure He will bring the one for me in His time... but the question is... when is that?

ah well, if you still want to know more about me, then keep reading, if not then just close the window, or wait for next post, cuz now i'm gonna write my testimony, iwrote it a long time ago, so it's not completely updated, i just changed a few things but many more need to be added, i just haven't found the time, especially now with the exams i have this week... but oh well, pray for them that i may pass all the subjects!
anyway, here it is, please, forgive me if it's a bit long :P

"My name is Santiago de la Torre, presently 19, spanish national.

I’ve been FM all my life, i come from a medium-high society class, i’ve gone to school since i was 6 (and suffered a lot from that), but my mom put in us since we were kids, a good christian foundation in the Family, she was in Argentina as a full time missionary just before the persecution there, when she came back and i was born after that, i am a good student, and i’ve been attending to some of the best schools in Madrid, always passed with good grades, i’ve always been one of the best each year (there is always someone better than you, what can i say :P) and well, i could have continued studying, go to university, get a diploma, apply for a good job, and start to earn money to achieve this life’s goals: riches, fame, women, a sports car, etc etc, but i’vr come to know that the most important thing in life is to change ppl lives, to make a difference, and that’s something that will last forever; there was a time when i wouldn’t have thought of joining the family, i barely read the word, didn’t pray, just didn’t had time to do those kind of things while studying.. (or so i thought), so, i just lived my life, behaving well ; i was known as the “holy” guy in school, for being innocent, and not doing the same bad things as othesr did; anyway, this was forgotten with time, and i felt more accepted in the last years. I’ve kind of always felt rejected at school by the other ppl, i had to change school once becouse i couldn’t keep living like that, there was a time when i came home crying everyday becouse of the other ppl’s behaviour towards me, i was being bugged teased, laughed at all times... i lived with that for 4 years till then came a time when i could not stand it any longer and i changed schools.
To make a long story short i’ve been a nice person, but haven’t had that desire to reach out, and show the Lord to others, and change lives, so you could say i was another systematic in the bunch, till we went to Mexico 3 years ago; we had been wanting to go for some time, since i wanted to meet the family singers and i wanted to become a singer too; i was in a choir for 4 years and the teacher said i was pretty good, so i wanted to meet them, see the studios and all; but being there also changed my life. I got to attend to some bible classes there with lot’s of other ppl and other teens my age, and it was incredible to see them all coming from really far just to be at the bible class, there were some teens that were amazing.. they knew each verse that was asked for, and the inspiration time was my favourite one, everyone singing (though i barely knew the songs) and all happy, living like brothers, i felt really accepted, and felt love was there, they had love for each other, and it was just awesome. Also the ones who gave the classes, who i don’t know if they were in the JT board, were really on fire, especially Sammy; and Robin was great too, always with a smile on her face, you might already know now the ones i’m taking about, if you live in Mexico. When our 3 week stay ended, i didn’t want to leave, i wanted to stay there, i was 16 at that time, and already finished the obligatory studies, but my dad wouldn’t let me, and so, we came back home.

When we came home i really prayed and cried out to the Lord, asking what did He want me to do and be, if He wanted me to continue studying or He wanted me to become one of His disciples, and i cracked the bible open, and read Isaiah 61, that reads as follows:

1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. 5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. 7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. 8 For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.
10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

That was really heavy, especially knowing that i didn’t receive things like that normally, like get smthg so clear that leaves you with your mouth open; and that thing i read, was all i needed to know to give my life to Him and forget about my past life, and start a new one.

Next thing i knew, the school year had begun, and my dad wanted me to go and start the Bachelor degrees, i at first refused and told my mom, but my mom also told me to continue for my future life, so i resigned, but instead of going to the school fulltime, i went to classes in the afternoon and it was like distance study, you study by your own, and the teachers are there at certain hours, if you want to talk with them and ask them questions, or ask them to solve your problems in a certain subject, you could go and ask them, anyway, so i started to attend to the classes and study, but stopped after the first trimestral exam (in wich i had good grades), becouse i thought i was wasting my time instead of doing the real thing, what i wanted to do, and learn from the word and the Lord; i also got a confirmation from Him that it was what He wanted me to do, to stop studying. But in order to quit i had to convince my dad first... wich wasn’t easy, and i was really scared of what his reaction would be, nevertheless my mom was now by my side, encouraging me since she also got a confirmation that i should stop studying, and well, after much prayer i once asked Him when did He want me to tell my dad, and i got that i should tell him about all that in 3 days, so 3 days passed, and i was really nervous, but PTL, after i told him, he finally agreed since it was what i wanted to do, though he wasn’t happy with my decision, but... what could i do.

On January of this year 2004, i went to visit a friend of the JT Board in England, who i met in a seminary that Aaron’s team from Africa were doing around Europe about how to give bible classes, and learn how to make them. So, i stayed at Steve’s for 10 days, where i turned 17, and it was really cool, we went out witnessing a couple of times, and it was really inspiring, and we also got to talk to each other, wich also helped a lot, and made me think clearer and organize my thoughts and ideas. I wished i had stayed more time, but i couldn’t the Lord Told me to go back home.

On February there was a SNR Teen camp in Germany for all Europe (mainly western) and though it was first meant for FD only, they invited me too, i was really excited about it, since it would be my first camp, i never was to any other before, and there i got to meet lot’s of really interesting ppl, some souled out for the Lord young teens, one in particular is the one that really helped me during my times of weakness and struggle GBH!!, and if it wasn’t for her...., she also gave me the vision of what i think is my role in the family and what the Lord is asking of me now, but i will talk about that later...

Days passed after i came from Germany and i was starting to feel bad, becouse i stopped going to school suppossedly to go to a home and start my life as a missionary, but i had nowhere to go.. all the options that i had were turned down by the Lord, and i started to wonder if i was doing something wrong... it was then when i started to talk with a dear friend, i got her e-mail from the Germany camp, and she gave me her messenger id, so we spent long hours talking sometimes till late in night, and she gave me her testimony, wich was really awesome, to see how the Lord worked in her life, so it made me think that He might have a plan for me, that if i wasn’t going anywhere it must have been for a reason; each day she sent me some reading material, profecies that she got in her times of struggle, that helped me to have more faith in Him, and trust Him, put all my burdens on His shoulders, and to know that “He would not leave me nor forsake me”. She helped me soo much, that i’ll always be indebted with her, and each day i pray that the Lord would bless her for what she did with me, and probably have done with others. So, i made the commitment to continue withothers what she started with me, that that flame would be passed from one person to another, she first lighted me, and i thought it would be unfair if i didn’t do the same with my other family friends, give them the light too, and help them in their times of trouble, make their life a brighter one, and after i help them, ask them to pass the light i gave them to whoever they find in need so that this chain would never be broken.

So far i’ve helped (or tried to), to at least 9 ppl, some of them did appreciate it, and have become really good friends, others didn’t, and i feel so good, when i feel that the Lord is talking through me to them, and i believe that i can be of use this way, and help others find the same things i did, and help them when they are going through tests and trials; i think that this is what the Lord is calling me to do, be smthg like a teen shepperd or smthg like that, couse i understand them, and i’ve also been in the system, and know what is it like, and the funny thing is that they pay attention to what i say and put the things i tell them to do into action, but i would like to be better, get some kind of trainment to get polished and be more useful to them and the Lord, be a better vessel.
And the latest update is that after 2 years waiting, the Lord is finally opening the doors for me and my family to go to S.America and become FD there"

well, that's it, but know that i haven't added anything about my adventures in Bolivia :P