Saturday, February 7, 1998

Preacher proclaims importance of seizing opportunities

By LORETTA FULTON / Abilene Reporter-News

Boanerge Perez believes he is in a unique position to teach his people about opportunity and the importance of seizing it.

A native of Nicaragua, Perez moved with his wife and children to the United States in 1991 on a work permit. That was after years of living in a place where he saw limited opportunity and an unemployment rate that reached 85 percent.

He's here to tell you that opportunities abound in his new home.

"The United States is a country of many opportunities," Perez said. "I'm sorry that some people don't take advantage of that opportunity."

That's just one of the messages Perez will be preaching to his new congregation at the Graham Street Bilingual Church of Christ.

Perez's main message will be the gospel and the need to be united in presenting it.

"Our Lord Jesus called us to be united," he said.

He also believes he can bolster the evangelism efforts of his congregation by bringing Latin American zeal to it. In Latin American countries, he said, people are more "militant" in their evangelizing.

"They evangelize from home to home," he said. "I really trust in God that we need to go back to that kind of work," he said.

Perez, who goes by the nickname "Bo," his wife, Angela, and their children ages 16, 14, and 12, have been in Abilene since Dec. 27 and are settling into their home well.

Although Perez loved his homeland, he ran into difficulties during the civil unrest in the country in the 1970s that culminated with the Sandinista regime coming into power in 1979. At one point, armed soldiers came to his house to "enlist" him into the army, he said.

Perez moved to a secret location, leaving his family behind because he knew they wouldn't be harmed. Later the family was reunited and Perez continued his work and studies. In August 1991, the family left the country and moved to Idaho where they had relatives.

After working for several years on a dairy farm in Idaho, the Perez family moved to Universal City, near San Antonio, and finally obtained resident status. Everywhere they have lived, the family has been active in Hispanic ministry. When the opportunity to preach at the Abilene church came about, they jumped at it.

Perez grew up in the Church of Christ, which has 35 congregations in Nicaragua, and was baptized at age 11.

"All my life after that I've been in the church," he said.

Perez studied agriculture in school and then got a degree from the Nicaragua Bible Institute, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ.

The decision to leave Nicaragua for the United States was based on a couple of reasons, Perez said.

"I was looking for a better opportunity for me and my family," he said. "I also wanted the opportunity to work with a church over here."

Thanks to the financial backing of Hillcrest Church of Christ, Perez is able to serve as full-time minister of the Graham Street church. It's a situation that makes him beam.

"Abilene is a very nice place to live," Perez said. "The people have treated me and my family very, very well."