‘He Died so I Could Return to the Lord’

April 11, 2023 | Trelawny, Jamaica | Melchor Ferreyra and Inter-American Division News

It is a moving, amazing, true-life story. It seems to be plucked from the most dramatic pages of reality. It is the story of Anderson Represa, a Seventh-day Adventist young man from El Salvador. His experience impacted the life of many children and young people who attended the 5^th Inter-American Pathfinder Camporee in Jamaica.

I know that as the narrator of the story, I am expected to be objective, and should not let my emotions get involved. However, I find that impossible, after listening to the dramatic story I am about to share. My eyes were filled with tears, and I felt a lump in my throat as I, with a recorder in hand, listened to every detail about the life of a fervent dreamer, a young and spiritual Adventist member, very active in his Pathfinder Club and local congregation.

Church leaders, pastors, and elders remember him as an exceptional, dynamic and responsible young person, someone fully engaged in almost every activity organized by his church. Anderson studied in the Adventist educational system, where he learned to love his Adventurers and Pathfinders classes, eventually becoming a youth leader.

Anderson loved preaching and witnessing about Jesus, and he didn’t fear telling his friends that he was a son of God, saved by the wonderful grace of Jesus. He did the same when attending a School of Medicine in a public university in his country, where he became an outstanding student. Just like Daniel in Babylon, he always upheld the banner of truth.

It was November 2022, and some leaders arrived in his church in Soyapango, in the east part of the city, to promote the 5^th Inter-American Pathfinder Camporee. He asked to be included as part of the El Salvador delegation.

In preparation for the territory-wide camporee, the El Salvador Union organized a youth gathering Dec. 16-18, 2022. Anderson attended, and he reaffirmed his desire to attend the international event in Jamaica.

His outstanding participation in the youth congress very soon caught the attention of the event organizer, Pastor Luis A. Aguillón, executive secretary and youth leader of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in El Salvador. Aguillón talked to him, as they exchanged words and impressions about how thrilling it would be to attend the Camporee in Jamaica.

“I saw him so full of dreams and plans, and I was thrilled to find out that he would be attending,” said Aguillón.

Just a few days later, on Dec. 24, Aguillón got a phone call that left him speechless. “Please, come urgently to pray for Anderson, because he is very sick”, he was told.

When he arrived to pray for him, Aguillón couldn’t believe what was happening. The doctors told his family that Anderson had just been diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor.

Anderson did not get discouraged. He called his dad who lives in the United States and got most of his relatives and friends together. Among them was his brother Tony, 24, who had distanced himself from the church. Anderson told Tony that, even if he had to face death, he would do it in the hope of seeing his church and family in the kingdom of heaven.

Addressing his brother directly, Anderson, who was 20 years old at the time, said, “Dear brother, I want to see you in heaven when Jesus returns.” It was a moving scene, because he immediately added, “I want you to do two things for me: First, I want you to plan to attend the Pathfinder Camporee in Jamaica, even if I die. Secondly, I want you to come back to church and get involved in the outreach plan of telling the world about the wonderful love of Jesus.”

Tony began to cry inconsolably. He hugged Anderson and told him that, if he died, he would fulfill his promise.

Anderson died in January 2023. It was an event that impacted Tony’s heart, who immediately confirmed that he would take his brother’s place at the camporee. Today, we can see Tony in the stadium bleachers, taking part in the event activities. He walks around, fulfilling his brother’s wish, with Anderson’s credentials. He represents a Master Guide, someone excited about the Pathfinder Club. Above all, he stands on behalf of a missionary who died so that his brother could live out his faith.

“God knows what He is doing,” said Tony. “My brother had to die so I could fully return to church and renew my relationship with God.”

Death snatched away Anderson before he could fulfill his desire of attending this international event. His brother Tony, however, is now participating in the most exciting adventure of his life. He says he longs to meet Anderson in the glorious resurrection morning, and tell him that he was in Jamaica, that it was an event that impacted his life, and that the Lord touched him and transformed him. “I want to tell him, ‘I honored my promise, my brother; I fulfilled your wish. I went to Jamaica and Jesus changed my life,’” added Tony.

When I finished my interview, Tony’s eyes were moist with tears. In fact, at several times during the interview, we had to stop so Tony could breathe and stop crying for his brother. Despite all of this, there is enormous hope in his heart. It is the hope of meeting his brother again when the final trumpet sounds.

It is with this hope that Tony has made some momentous decisions. “I know that my brother has sealed his salvation”, he said, “now it’s my parents and me who have the opportunity to return to the Lord and be faithful so we can meet our brother again.” And Tony added, “Every time I see and carry his credentials with his name at this event, I reaffirm my desire of being faithful to the Lord, telling the world that Jesus is coming again soon.”

Nearly 10,000 Pathfinders and youth leaders attended the 5^th Inter-American Pathfinder Camporee in Trelawny, Jamaica, Apr. 4-8, 2023.

Melchor Ferreyra is personal ministries director of the Inter-American Division.

Translation by Marcos Paseggi