An Emmanuel Story: Ruben’s Journey Of Faith And Work

When Ruben Teran was 12 years old, he and his parents moved to Naples from Venezuela. He spoke no English. Today, at age 19, Ruben is a little shy, but once he gets to know people, he says he is “pretty friendly.”  Ruben is a team player as Emmanuel parishioners can see through his work on the Emmanuel AV team.  He is usually visible working the electronics at one or more services on a Sunday morning.

Ruben first began to attend services at Emmanuel shortly after arriving in the US.  Over the last seven years he has established a deep connection to God through attending church services and Youth Group.  Thanks to the Youth Group and the time they spend together Ruben learned to feel the power of God’s love and that power has led him to his deep connection with God.  His faith has dramatically changed his thinking and his behavior.  Now, each day he works to become a better person with better habits, letting God forge the path so he can follow Him.

Ruben is a proud recipient of a 2021 Emmanuel Youth Scholarship which helped him graduate from Lorenzo Walker as an Adobe Certified Professional.  He would like to further his education in cinematography.  Emmanuel has helped Ruben build the foundation for his lifelong dreams of creating movies for the world to see.

The support of Emmanuel Lutheran Church has helped Ruben grow religiously and has provided him with invaluable job opportunities and work experience.  Most importantly, Emmanuel has nurtured Ruben so that he can grow in his faith. Ruben sincerely hopes that the future generations will love and believe in God as he does and that he and others can grow and mature in their faith.