{"id":7171,"date":"2026-05-20T12:55:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T16:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/faculty\/?p=7171"},"modified":"2026-05-20T13:02:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:02:41","slug":"surprised-by-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/faculty\/2026\/surprised-by-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Surprised by God"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"7171\" class=\"elementor elementor-7171\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-99f6474 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"99f6474\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7bfd893\" data-id=\"7bfd893\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-87d5f8b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"87d5f8b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>At the beginning of 2024, I learned about the Faculty Commons movement in Cali through Carlos Esteban Cuervo,\u00a0who is with Faculty Commons here in Colombia.\u00a0Later, several\u00a0\u00a0Christian professors began meeting to encourage one another.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-cc70c86 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"cc70c86\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-461ac81\" data-id=\"461ac81\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a0055c2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a0055c2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Among the activities, we began reading the book\u00a0<em>Una Historia Mas Grande;La Metanarrativa De Dios (A Grander Story)<strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p>The authors&#8217; testimonies were wonderful and impactful. The one that touched my heart the most was that of Dr. Walter Bradley (professor of mechanical engineering), who shared his testimony as a Christian professor with nearly 100 students.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Accepting the Call<\/strong><\/p><p>When I read Dr. Bradley\u2019s story, we were fasting at our church. At that moment, I felt a call from God to share my testimony of life in Christ with my students at Universidad Libre. I decided to accept that call. I prepared my testimony with the help of Carlos Esteban Cuervo and presented it\u00a0to\u00a066 students.\u00a0<\/p><p>I could see from their faces that some were puzzled, others distracted, but several were happy and excited to hear me. So I invited them to form an extracurricular group where we would meet to talk and learn the principles of the Christian faith. To my surprise, a group of 17 students formed; all were very excited, eager to learn more (see the photo of the group below). We currently continue to meet on Thursdays at the university.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-ddcf884 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"ddcf884\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7b33207\" data-id=\"7b33207\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-18a2a2b elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"18a2a2b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/faculty\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/652\/2026\/05\/unnamed-2026-05-20T125348.289.jpg?w=1200\" title=\"unnamed \u2013 2026-05-20T125348.289\" alt=\"unnamed - 2026-05-20T125348.289\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b9d7032 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b9d7032\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-4b624e6\" data-id=\"4b624e6\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-44c0178 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"44c0178\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Drawing Closer to God<\/strong><\/p><p>What has given me the most satisfaction from this whole process is hearing the students tell me that the group has helped them get to know and draw closer to God. I remember a particular case of a student who, at the beginning of the semester, had been hospitalized due to a suicide attempt.\u00a0<\/p><p>At one of the meetings,\u00a0she told me that before joining the group, she felt an emptiness in her heart.\u00a0\u00a0She needed a personal relationship with God and to know Him through her own eyes. She expressed that being in the group was a blessing for her.<\/p><p>First, I thank God for touching my heart and helping me move forward despite my fears. I also thank Carlos Esteban Cuervos and Edgar Penilla, wonderful friends who guided me and helped me in this new life experience. God is a God of wonderful surprises.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-079fb0c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"079fb0c\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ef341cb\" data-id=\"ef341cb\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e1c2d60 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"e1c2d60\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/faculty\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/652\/2026\/05\/unnamed-2026-05-20T130130.081.jpg?w=528\" title=\"unnamed \u2013 2026-05-20T130130.081\" alt=\"unnamed - 2026-05-20T130130.081\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-2c3db04\" data-id=\"2c3db04\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0954e51 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0954e51\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Diana Marcela Peralta<\/strong><\/p><p>Medicina Interna<\/p><p>Universidad Libre<\/p><p>Cali, Colombia<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the beginning of 2024, I learned about the Faculty Commons movement in Cali through Carlos Esteban Cuervo,\u00a0who is with Faculty Commons here in Colombia.\u00a0Later, several\u00a0\u00a0Christian professors began meeting to encourage one another. Among the activities, we began reading the book\u00a0Una Historia Mas Grande;La Metanarrativa De Dios (A Grander Story). The authors&#8217; testimonies were wonderful [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45210,"featured_media":7174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2439,2438,2437],"tags":[3489,2835,2595,3249,3775,3596,2513,3598,3597,2454,2767,3688,3777,2988,3776,3201,2470],"class_list":["post-7171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grander-stories","category-mentoring-students","category-personal-faith","tag-a-grander-story","tag-connect-with-students","tag-connecting-with-students","tag-courage","tag-diana-marcela-peralta","tag-evangelism-fear","tag-faith","tag-fear-of-evangelism","tag-fear-of-sharing-my-faith","tag-grander-story","tag-identify-as-a-believer-to-students","tag-ministry-to-students","tag-share-story","tag-sharing","tag-surprise","tag-testimony","tag-walter-bradley"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Surprised by God - Faculty Commons<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/faculty\/2026\/surprised-by-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Surprised by God - Faculty Commons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At the beginning of 2024, I learned about the Faculty Commons movement in Cali through Carlos Esteban Cuervo,\u00a0who is with Faculty Commons here in Colombia.\u00a0Later, several\u00a0\u00a0Christian professors began meeting to encourage one another. 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