Last fall, three seemingly average students matriculated in Moody Graduate School’s Spiritual Formation and Discipleship program. Like most Moody students they enjoyed coffee at JOE's and studied at Crowell Library. However,  Richmond Wandera , Tony Morales and  Michelle Tolentino ­ are anything but average. All three students are former Compassion children who came to Christ through relationships with their sponsors and Compassion International’s discipleship programs. Compassion, which is currently led by Moody alumnus Dr. Wess Stafford, enabled Wandera, Morales and Tolentino to graduate from Compassion’s Leadership Development Program and now attend Moody. This three-part summer series, updated each month on Moody’s Web site, shares their stories and experiences at Moody, as well as future plans.

Tony Morales – Dominican Republic

Worlds apart are the el trains Tony Morales watched in movies and the last stop on Chicago’s Brownline track, where Morales uses his native language to attract and then teach people about God. In fact, his Chicago experiences are showing him that real scenes from American life are anything but Hollywood.

Every other Thursday Morales and Moody classmates go to the streets, evangelizing and conversing with people about faith. The bi-weekly event led to his understanding of a problem he never knew existed in America–homelessness. “It’s a very difficult culture,” Morales says. “But I know God wants me to understand it. I am trying.”

Morales continues seeking experiences that will help him understand faith amidst the diversity and challenges of a city. Over the course of his first year at Moody, he has worked with the Pacific Garden Mission, ministered in Chicago’s Boystown and even used his ability to rap in Spanish to connect with people on the streets. He attends church in the ethnically-diverse and rapidly-changing neighborhood, Logan Square.

As a former computer programmer, Morales’ desire is to return to his home country, the Dominican Republic, and share his faith through leadership and his work. But, coming from an area where he describes faith as more grounded in experience rather than knowledge, he wanted an opportunity to learn why he believes what he believes first.

Morales feels his experiences over the past year are helping him to refine and further develop his understanding of the gospel, and ultimately how it relates to helping others. “Jesus was about people and ministering to their needs. I am learning to develop a skill through which I can help them,” he says. But, now the challenge is determining the exact way in which he will do that.

“I want to take what I am learning back to my country. We [my country] need Christians who are in positions of leadership to be a light,” says Morales. “I want my career to teach others and let them know I am doing this because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, every need is not a calling and learning that is challenging me to pray more so that I can go where God wants me to serve.”

The first graduate from Compassion’s Leadership and Development program in the Dominican Republic, Morales knows the challenges he will encounter when returning to his home. He remembers though, his own childhood and the way in which the ministry of others gave him deeper purpose. He also knows the temptation to quit when the circumstances are tough. There were times that working, studying English for more than four hours a day and ministry almost depleted his desire to serve. Yet, his mother, whom he has not seen since leaving the Dominican Republic, reminded him that God was preparing a way. “She reminded me God is there and He is working,” he says. “If I hadn’t trusted her, I wouldn’t be here now.”

So, he continues to trust and as he prepares for his second year at Moody, looks most forward to the spiritual support and instruction he knows he will receive from his friends, roommates and professors. His diligent work, desire for the gospel and outgoing and kind temperament are perhaps preparing the way for a story better than that of the Hollywood screenwriters. In his own words, “This is God’s story. It’s just my life.”