Juan Sandoval's Early Life

Josh Rozeboom
Proffessor Sikkema
English 101
10 September 2014
A New Beginning The life of Juan Sandoval, told to the author by my mom. I would have liked to have interviewed my great uncle Juan, but he passed away in August 2014 and my mom told his story. At Juan's funeral last month a number of the orphans who are now in their upper twenties or early thirties attended. They were so thankful to this day for what Juan had done for them and how their lives would have never been the same if it weren't for him. I got on the topic with one whose name was Mark about how you can't choose the life you were given and regardless of the circumstances God has a greater plan for the future. He told me about when he
Juan and Joan are my great uncle and aunt who dedicated a good portion of their life running an orphanage. Juan was born in Tijuana, Mexico in 1927 and lived in poverty as a child. His dad left his mom when he was very young and his mother had trouble raising 5 boys. They were very poor so Juan and his brothers pretty much spent their lives on the streets. Juan began stealing and doing drugs and at the age of 20, he found himself in trouble with the law. In a way, the Rose park orphanage was born in a Mexican jail. It was the 1950's and sitting on the top bunk of a teeming cell, Juan Sandoval asked Jesus Christ to come into his life. Before then, his existence had been one of constant rebellion. Then, he accepted a gospel tract from a visiting lady that proved to be the start of a new life guided by God. From that moment until his release, Sandoval was inspired to witness and hold bible studies with the other prisoners. When free, after three years in jail, he dreamed of learning more of the faith that had brought new meaning to his life. He had only a sixth grade education, had grown up in extreme poverty, and knew little of the legal documents that made it
Her father was a world war 2 veteran who loved to travel, so their family traveled a lot. One of her favorite trips that she would go on was to Tijuana, Mexico to visit with her aunt Joan and uncle Juan at the orphanage. Her family would also take some of the kids back to Holland with them for a month or so at a time to let them see what America was like. The boys names were Pepe, Ramon, Christian, Antonio, Pablo, and Danny. Her Aunt Joan picked which boys she thought would be the best for traveling to the United states. Before they came Joan made a cassette tape recording of some basic Spanish to English translated words. The boys were taken to the beach to see Lake Michigan, local parks to play on the playgrounds, and a cottage on an inland lake were they went boating and fishing. In the winter the boys went sledding and even got to sled behind my grandpa's car through the neighborhood. They enjoyed taking the boys shopping and buying them clothes and toys for their time in America. She said how the kids were so amazed to even see grass in the lawns because where they were from it was mostly gravel and dirt. The kids were also amazed to experience what snow was like because they had never seen a real winter before. The boys had so many questions and things to say about America. Most of them were around the ages of 4-12 and had never really known who their parents were. Now, after more than