I met Wally & Jimmy since before I can remember. They have seen me at my most innocent age and still today. There are few people like that, many come and go, never to hear from again. But Wally & Jimmy had always had a special heart, one that you find few and far in between. I cam honestly say that the many years I have known them, I can not recall a time where trust was lost. None of us are perfect, we all as humans fall, we deceive even ourselves, but Wally & Jimmy have always tried their best and strived for better.
I grew up in a church, my family and I attended the same church as Wally & Jimmy. In a church everyone has their roll, there is good and bad, no one is perfect. Wally & Jimmy were the few I knew I could lean on, turn to, and trust. They brought truth and love to the church. Wally & Jimmy were not only great youth group leaders, but they worked great with people of all ages, always loving and giving. I can look back and remember them leaving in 2002, when they decided to go as missionary to Japan. I was turning eleven that year, still very young, but I remember being sad that they were leaving.
I continued to attend the same church, but eventually stopped going. To me it wasn’t the same. I don’t remember how old I was when I stopped going, but I’d say going into high school. At home things were getting rough and I didn’t have someone I looked up to to share with, nor to guide me through my decisions. I started my own rebellion, my freshman year I started smoking pot and drinking. Drugs became my escape from the problems I didn’t face and it gave me a place to fit in. Slowly but surely it affected my life in every aspect. My attitude changed, my prospective changed, it numbed me. My ambitions lessened, and by my senior year I almost considered myself a drop out. I did graduate, but it didn’t stop there. After High School things only got worse, smoking, more alcohol, and more drugs. It affected my relationships everywhere, including with my self. It only took me down a dark road of no value, low self esteem, low ambition, and hopelessness.
I hit rock bottom beginning this year, 2011. Everything around me started to reflect my selfless choices, I found myself at the lowest point in my life. I isolated my self from anyone I could. Wally was back from Japan by then and would check on me from time to time. She would always have encouraging words that made me feel special and would make me want to do better. April of that same year was a big turn around point; I gave my life back to God. I made up my mind about many things, I decided to quit my bad habits & seek something more significant. The one person I couldn’t wait to see was Wally. Wally & Jimmy’s family have always been eager to help and encourage with love. I believe the solution to many problems must be done with love to have a lasting effect and I thank God for placing such an amazing family in my life.
June 2011 Bridges of Love Started. I look forward to every time I spend with the group. I am proud to say I am a part of this love movement. It has only been a positive place for everyone. Wally and Jimmy have been the biggest support to my new life style. Taking it one day at a time, drug free, finding positive ways to cope and face unresolved issues from the past and new ones today. Without a support group like Bridges of Love I can honestly say I wouldn’t be where I am today. Wally & Jimmy have inspired me to find the true meaning of life, to seek happiness with myself, to love myself and to pass it on to others; to be a bridge of Love.
Reina Salguero
20 years old – Woodbridge, Va.
