Lissy Alvarado grew up attending the Seventh-day Adventist Church from an early age in her native Honduras. However, her arrival in the United States marked a turning point in her relationship with the Church. “It’s not that you want to drift away, but you go through very difficult situations, and when you don’t have stability, sometimes you end up working on Saturdays,” Lissy acknowledges. “There was a time when I didn’t even have enough money to pay the rent. My little girl and I ended up sleeping in a borrowed car.”

While Lissy worked, her mother cared for her two daughters and took them to church on Saturdays. Over time, the girls began to change: They were happier, and one of them no longer experienced episodes of anxiety and fear.

The first time Lissy saw her daughter go to the front to sing, she felt a deep longing. She remembered what belonging to a church had meant to her at that age and made God a promise: If she could get Saturdays off, she would return and support her daughter in anything she wanted to do to continue growing in faith.

As time passed, Lissy became increasingly involved, helping with all kinds of activities while her mother and stepfather continued praying for her. The pastor also visited her frequently and encouraged her, assuring her that she could be a great leader in the church.

When her older daughter told her she wanted to be baptized, Lissy decided she also wanted to officially return to the Church. However, she needed time: Before being baptized alongside her daughter, she needed to marry her daughters’ father. Time passed, and nothing changed. Lissy remembers her daughter praying and crying, reminding her that she was still waiting for them to take that step together.

One day, Lissy’s stepfather told her that an order of baptismal robes had arrived and that one was intended for her daughter. Lissy replied that they needed another, revealing a decision she had not yet shared: She wanted to be baptized, too. “No, we already have yours. We’ve been saving it for a long time,” the pastor assured her. His words surprised Lissy, who until then had known only that they were praying for her.

Finally, in November 2024, Lissy and her daughter were baptized together. “It was so beautiful: the emotion of seeing my daughter get baptized, give her life to God, and then it was my turn right after her. It was very special,” she recalls. “I came back to church thanks to my daughter. She brought me back to the place where I had always belonged,” Lissy says proudly.


A Community of Faith

Edil Funes was invited to attend an evangelistic series at the Baton Rouge Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church. His story could have been very different if church members had not taken the initiative to reach out to him. Little by little, they began including him and entrusting him with responsibilities. That made the difference, Edil recalls. “They started including me. They invited me to serve as a deacon, to help at church, and they counted on me. They taught me, and little by little, I grew fond of the people.”

For Edil, belonging to a church was nothing new; he had previously been a member of other denominations. But this time, something was different. He was drawn not only to the members’ warmth but also to the feeling that he was constantly learning.

Almost two years ago, Edil decided to be baptized. He says the greatest influences on his decision were finding a lesson in every sermon, learning more about the Bible, and strengthening his commitment to the church. He remembers that Nov. 9 as a “very beautiful” day. “I knew what I was doing,” he says.


Praying, Supporting, and Sharing

What Edil may not have known, however, was that someone had been praying for him long before he began studying the Bible and decided to be baptized. That is how Robes of Faith works, an Arkansas-Louisiana Conference initiative that seeks to mobilize church members to be disciples and make disciples. The process begins by choosing someone to pray for. That person is then offered Bible studies and, when ready for baptism, receives a “robe of faith.”

Unlike traditional baptismal robes, these do not remain at the church but pass from one person to another. A single robe can become part of many testimonies. To document that journey, some churches have begun writing the names of those baptized in each robe on its back.

The initiative, which began in Spanish-speaking churches and later expanded to English-speaking churches, has been warmly received. “Sometimes I don’t have enough robes and have to order more to send to the churches. Members commit because they feel they finally have a reason to serve,” says Leonardo Meléndez, Church Ministries director for the Arkansas-Louisiana Conference.

Edil still has the robe of faith he wore at his baptism. He says the opportunity to pass it on to someone else has not yet come, but he remains hopeful; he knows the day will arrive. Far from becoming discouraged, he continues studying the Bible to feel more prepared and confident when sharing the Word of God with others.

Lissy and her daughter also still have their robes, waiting for the moment when they can pass them on to others. Looking back, Lissy acknowledges that only God knows why things happen and says she has returned to church more motivated than ever. There, she can set aside her difficulties and concentrate “on learning, serving God, and helping more people come to know Him.”