Rico Alaniz and family
Back in 2002, something so powerful happened that my life was revolutionized for the good. It was a Tuesday morning, end of February, and I was taking an English class at the Cape Cod Community College that was part of the Access program. We read the newspaper every morning in class and that particular morning there was a story about a young man named Spencer MacLeod. The whole class was asking, How could this happen in a small town like Yarmouth? Spencer had died from a fatal stab wound to the heart. The reality of the whole thing shocked me. The reason why it touched me was because back in ’93 in Seaside, California, I had gotten stabbed by my own friends. I had joined a gang at age 14. It was Chicano/Mexican bloods. The leader’s brother put a hit out on my life and a friend and I were stabbed and ended up in the hospital, fighting for our lives. I decided to move out of state, leaving my dreams behind.
I moved to the Cape where I met Adriana, a young lady who would one day become my wife. She had come from a broken home and we’d say “Why get married and end up just like our parents?”We moved in together and soon a baby was born.
From the beginning we had big problems. I worked hard, drank hard and didn’t spend much time with her. We always had good jobs but we were miserable. I was contemplating leaving her and my son. I felt I had done enough damage to their lives. I really wanted to change my lifestyle but I had no clue how to do so. I remember on a particular night crying out to God, that if he existed, Help me!
A couple of months later a young man named Jermaine Concepcion joined our Access class at the college. It was Tuesday morning around 9 a.m. and I was outside smoking a cigarette when he walked up to me and asked me if I believed in Jesus. I said Yes, I’m a Mexican Roman Catholic. He asked me if I wanted to pray for salvation and told me I had nothing to lose. I told him I was thinking of leaving my family and he said, Do me a favor, before you do that let’s pray. Right there we prayed and I repented of my sins. I felt a huge weight coming off of my body. Now I know what I did…I became born-again that day.
After that, Jermaine proceeded to tell me that the young man, Spencer Macleod, who had died in Yarmouth had been his friend. He had left the apartment right before the attack and Spencer ended up dying that night. Spencer was a young Christian man who loved people and cared for his friends. All he cared about in life was to bring people to salvation. Through his life, Jesus saved me and my whole family. Now I have been coming to Victory Chapel for ten years. I am married now to my beautiful wife Adriana and have three beautiful kids. I have been in prison ministry among many other ministries and most recently we have been sent out to pioneer a church in Cranston, Rhode Island. As I write this testimony I pray that this will touch your life. There is always hope in Jesus Christ. He’s alive and changing lives!