Jacob Paul: Welcome to the Truth in Love podcast with your host, Kimberly Faith. The Truth in Love podcast seeks to present God’s timeless truth through the lens of his remarkable love.

Kimberly Faith: We’re in the Truth in Love podcast. And we were joking about how my cell correct, wanted to call them the last name Vigil vigilante. But you’re not a vigilante, are you, John?

Joe Vigil: Not at all. 

Kimberly Faith: Not anymore?

Joe Vigil: Not anymore. Yeah. Oh, wait. You’re a lawyer. Right? No. So this is off the, no. I’m kidding. I’m kidding.

Kimberly Faith: No. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing you for not very long, both of you, but I’m so impressed by the way the holy spirit has worked in your lives and your story. I was just so grateful that you agreed to come on the podcast. 

Maria Vigil: Thank you. Thank you for having us.

Joe Vigil: Yes. Thank you.

Kimberly Faith: Absolutely. So tell me, I mean, what I know about you is pretty short and sweet. You’ve been married for a long time. Since 1989. Right?

Maria Vigil: Yes. Yes. As a matter of fact, ’89. 

Joe Vigil: Yep.

Maria Vigil: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Where are you from?

Maria Vigil: Originally, Charleston, South Carolina. 

Kimberly Faith: Okay. 

Maria Vigil: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: I love Charleston.  It’s beautiful.

Maria Vigil: It is. It is. And my heart is there, but my mother never wanted us to just stay in our neighborhood. She always wanted us to go beyond our borders and join the army. I went to college first. I got accepted to go to college and it was in California. And going to California, it wasn’t me. It was something else I needed to do. So I wanted to be a pilot in the army.

Kimberly Faith:  Oh.

Maria Vigil: And because women weren’t doing pilot things at the time, this was the end of ’78, ’79, around that time when Vietnam was really, you know, they were winding down from Vietnam. 

Kimberly Faith: Right. 

Maria Vigil: And I had twenty twenty vision, but I had astigmatism that prevented me from doing certain things. 

Kimberly Faith: Okay.

Maria Vigil: So I ended up being an engineer, which has been very fruitful.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. 

Maria Vigil: And I mean, if I had a choice of MOS’s or a job to do, I will continue being an engineer, 11.

Kimberly Faith: Thank you for your service. Yeah. 

Maria Vigil:Thank you. 

Kimberly Faith: You were in how many years?

Maria Vigil: Thirty two years. 

Kimberly Faith: Wow. 

Maria Vigil: Active duty.

Kimberly Faith: Wow. That’s mind blowing. You know, I say that, I’ve been an attorney for almost that long, and I think, how could I be that old?

Maria Vigil: I don’t think so. I think it’s the passion

Kimberly Faith: Yes. 

Maria Vigil: That we have.

Kimberly Faith: 100%. Yeah.

Maria Vigil: It’s all passion.

Kimberly Faith: I’m trying to be a color commentator, but you know what, Joe? I’m sorry. 

Joe Vigil: No. 

Maria Vigil: But it’s all passion. 

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. That’s right.

Joe Vigil: Yeah. 

Kimberly Faith: So, Joe, what about you?

Joe Vigil: Right out of high school, I joined the army because I, at that time I knew I wasn’t smart enough to go to college. I mean, I was just one of those students that couldn’t focus, daydreamed, did this, didn’t do that, you know, and supposedly in those reading classes. But my reading, as I noticed as I got older through high school, that, well, reading seems to be fine. You know, why does everybody think it’s, you know, it’s bad? But it wasn’t. I just grew into it a lot better. But, like, right out of high school, I joined the army. 

Kimberly Faith: Why did you join the army?

Joe Vigil: Well, everybody in my family, they joined the air force. So I was a little rebellious. You know, I’m going to join the army. You know? Why are you going to join the army? Go on the air force. It’s better. I’m sure it was, but it just wasn’t going to be my cup of tea, so to speak. 

Kimberly Faith: Where did you grow up?

Joe Vigil: In Niagara Falls, New York. 

Kimberly Faith: Okay. 

Joe Vigil: Yeah. I was born in California, but I grew up in Niagara Falls, New York.

Kimberly Faith: Interesting.

Joe Vigil: Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: Niagara Falls. 

Joe Vigil: Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: So how did y’all get together?

Joe Vigil: Uncle Sam. United States Army. I mean, that’s obviously the common denominator with us. We met at our duty assignment in Virginia. And when I saw her come into the unit, I was like, Oh my God, look at this chick, man. And I was head over heels immediately. The sexiest chick I ever met in my life. 

Kimberly Faith: Tell us how you really feel, Joe. 

Joe Vigil: She wouldn’t give me the time of day. She wouldn’t give me the time of day. So, you know, I worked her over. You know, not physically, but, you know, you know, worked with my words. We were both cartographers. We made maps at the time.

Kimberly Faith: How cool.

Joe Vigil: Yeah. So I did what I call my little twenty eight years in the army. So between the two of us, we have sixty years of military experience.

Kimberly Faith: Thank you for your service.

Joe Vigil: Yes. Thank you. 

Kimberly Faith: 28 years.

Joe Vigil: Yep. So that’s where we both earned our college degrees and everything. 

Kimberly Faith: In cartography?

Joe Vigil: No. Mine was well, I got two bachelor’s degrees. One was in general studies and, you know, the business administration that every enlisted soldier can get, then I went on for a master’s, and that was

Kimberly Faith: What’s your master’s in?

Joe Vigil: Human resource and development. And the reason why I went to the human to the development side as opposed to the management side, I enjoyed the training aspect

Kimberly Faith: Okay.

Joe Vigil: Of the human resource the human resources development side.

Kimberly Faith: So you all were married in 1989.

Joe Vigil: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith:  And raised a family together.

Maria Vigil: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Okay. And lived all over the place, basically.

Maria Vigil: He did most of the raising, I would think, because it seemed like as I advanced and got more rank, I was never there no more than ten months at a time. I would end up in a school for another ten months here and there or assigned somewhere else for a period of time. And then he would honestly, he was always the foundation of the family in every way. He was the mom and he was the dad as well sometimes. And when I would do things, it would be over the phone. 

Kimberly Faith: Okay. 

Maria Vigil: So I spent a lot of time going. But my family, we always sat down and talk about what’s the purpose behind me going.

Kimberly Faith: Oh, right. Right. So your military assignment.

Maria Vigil: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Were either of you deployed, like, during any of the worst?

Maria Vigil: I was. 

Kimberly Faith: Okay.

Maria Vigil: I had just gotten out, matter of fact, my first day in school at the sergeant major academy was the day of 9/11.

Joe Vigil: Yeah.

Maria Vigil: I was getting ready and everybody in the room. I was staying with a nun at the time. We would rent a room from her.

Kimberly Faith: She was active duty or she was just

Maria Vigil: No. She was a retired nun, Catholic nun

Kimberly Faith: Interesting.

Maria Vigil: From Vietnam time, believe it or not.

Kimberly Faith: That’s crazy. I went to law school at the University of Louisville with a nun. And she, like, glommed onto our family. We loved her. She’d come for Christmas or anything. Yeah. Anyway, that’s a really fun story.

Maria Vigil: But with that, instead of really coming back here and doing what we normally do, we were at war.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah.

Maria Vigil: So we ended up at FORCECOM, and I had a unit in FORCECOM.

Joe Vigil: Which was in Atlanta at the time.

Maria Vigil: Which was in Atlanta at the time.

Kimberly Faith: Iraq realignment. 

Joe Vigil: Yeah. Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: Was it before the Iraq realignment? 

Joe Vigil: Yes. We were there for three years. 

Maria Vigil: Almost four.

Joe Vigil: Yeah. So you were at Gillum though.

Maria Vigil: Right.

Joe Vigil: I was at G three five seven and then for two years. And then for my last year, I moved over to the G one.

Kimberly Faith: Okay. And how many children do you have in the world?

Maria Vigil:  Three. 

Joe Vigil: At the time, three. Yeah. 

Maria Vigil: Three.

Kimberly Faith: So you were mister mom and mister dad?

Joe Vigil: Yeah. 

Maria Vigil: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: Wow. 

Joe Vigil: And master sergeant all combined.

Maria Vigil: All combined.  Well, I went forward with my unit. We went there really for an exercise because, you know, they were ramping up saying they’re going to go to war if, you know, things didn’t happen at a certain time. But what happened, I was there doing our thing, and a missile came over our head. 

Kimberly Faith: Oh, wow.

Maria Vigil: I’ve seen all of that on the television. I’ve been out to White Plains and saw certain things. 

Kimberly Faith: White Sands.

Maria Vigil: White Sands.

Joe Vigil: Yeah.

Maria Vigil: And when the first missile went over our head, I knew we were then at war.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Where were you when that happened?

Maria Vigil: We were in Kuwait.

Kimberly Faith:  Okay.

Maria Vigil: We were getting ready to move forward.

Kimberly Faith: Alright. So you were in the initial part of the war then.

Maria Vigil: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: In the Gulf War.

Maria Vigil: Not the Gulf War. The Iraqi. 

Kimberly Faith: The Iraqi. Sorry. I shouldn’t get that confused. I remember them, but I wasn’t

Maria Vigil: Well, that’s okay. And that’s understandable.

Kimberly Faith: So how many times were you deployed during your career?

Maria Vigil: I’ve been deployed twice. 

Kimberly Faith: Okay.

Maria Vigil: Just twice. 

Kimberly Faith: Well, that’s enough.

Maria Vigil: Yeah. It was enough.

Kimberly Faith: So they didn’t deploy both of you at the same time?

Maria Vigil: No. We planned it that way.  Uncle Sam, we prayed. To be honest with you, it wasn’t a thing of man interfering. It was actually God’s plan.

Joe Vigil: And we were pretty well blessed because there were times where you run into a husband and wife, the married couples, that both of them were deployed and they had younger children.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. I had clients we had to do guardianships for them because they were both deployed. I remember that.

Joe Vigil: But that was in a task in itself because while she was in Kuwait where I worked in the basement, we would get reports in our cell about what’s going on. And I saw this one report. I’m like, oh, man.

Kimberly Faith: That’d be scary.

Joe Vigil: And I called her and emailed and say, hey. Pick up the phone. Let me know your alright. Finally got a response. So because of this report that we got right at her camp, and it kind of made me a little nervous.

Kimberly Faith: But Well, I’m glad that you brought God back into the conversation because I want to pick up that thread. 

Joe Vigil: Alright. 

Kimberly Faith: Most important thread in our life, right? 

Maria Vigil: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. So okay. You grew up, obviously, you know, miles apart. Did you grow up in Christian families, or were you born again later in life?

Maria Vigil: I grew up in a Christian family because my grandfather had his own church, Reverend Martin. He had his own church, my grandma, but I was not saved. You know how the family goes to church? 

Kimberly Faith: It’s a cultural thing.

Maria Vigil: It’s a cultural thing. 

Kimberly Faith: Absolutely. 

Maria Vigil: And that’s how it was until I became an adult. And I felt like I was missing something. I grew up praying, but my relationship with God, intimacy with God didn’t exist.

Kimberly Faith: So how old were you when you finally got saved?

Maria Vigil:  I was 25. 

Kimberly Faith: Okay.

Maria Vigil: 25. I got baptized in Hawaii, of all places, in a Baptist church.

Kimberly Faith: Nice. So that’s where you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Maria Vigil: Yes.  And I started feeling this fire after that. A desire to do more and be more that

Kimberly Faith: I love that. I love that you felt the desire. Because Jesus Christ makes us in him, our soul and spirit, and we do have a fire. I love the way you put that. 

Maria Vigil: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: We’re on fire because he is our fire. 

Maria Vigil: Exactly.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah.

Joe Vigil: Amen.

Kimberly Faith: What about you, Joe?

Joe Vigil: I don’t remember how old I was, but I grew up in a religious home as well. You know? Every Sunday, we went to mass or whatever, and that’s like we were talking about earlier. It was my foundation. 

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Joe Vigil: However, she grew up as a Christian, I grew up in another denomination. And one Sunday, I was getting ready to go to church, and she was getting ready to go to church, two separate places. And the following weekend, she’s, come on, go to church. I don’t want to go to church with you. Come on, go to church with me. I don’t want to go.

Kimberly Faith: Was this in Hawaii?

Joe Vigil: No. This was in Virginia. 

Mariah Vigil: Yes.

Joe Vigil: In Virginia. So I’m complaining, and we’re bickering a little bit. And I said, alright. So I got dressed. I’m getting dressed. And she takes me to this church that she had been attending, you know? She had been attending. Okay. So anyway, we get there. This pastor, he’s giving his sermon about Elijah and the chariot, you know, and he’s on fire and everything. He’s like, I can’t wait to see the Lord. You know, where are you going? I’m racing to see the Lord outrunning the chariot and all that. And I’m like, wow. I’ve never heard anything spoken like this before.

And I was like, wow. Because normally, it was just dry. You know?

Kimberly Faith: Maybe a different language.

Joe Vigil: Yeah. And you could set your watch by when you were walking out.

Kimberly Faith: Right. 

Joe Vigil: And so anyway, we were sitting on a balcony, right? So we were sitting on this balcony and I looked over to her, she’s on my left. I said, I’m going. And she said, where are you going? I said because by this point, he extended the invitation to salvation.

Kimberly Faith: Okay. 

Joe Vigil: Okay? And you see people walking down, people are clapping, praise the Lord. And so I lean over, I said, I’m going. She said, where are you going? I said, I’m going. She said, where are you going? I said, I’m going. She thought I was walking out of the church. Like, I’ve had enough. I don’t need this. 

Kimberly Faith: I can’t take it anymore. 

Joe Vigil: I’m going back to where I came from. I’m walking down the center aisle. People are doing the same thing. Praise the lord. Another one got saved. So we walk out at the end of service, we’re getting in the car, and she said, man, I can’t believe you did that. I can’t believe you joined this church. I’m like, what are you talking about? She’s, well, I’ve been going here for three months now, and I haven’t even joined this church. And I’m like, what are you, what do you mean? And then you drag me here, and you’re not even a member of this place?

So that’s how it worked out. So, like, that was a Sunday. The following Wednesday, I got baptized.

Kimberly Faith: So when you went forward, did somebody counsel you, or was 

John Vigil:  Yeah. It was the typical, you know, were you baptized before? And I said, yeah. As a baby, they said, that doesn’t count. I’m like, oh, okay. So I’m like, alright. So then they asked a few other questions like, you know, you know, what denomination did you come from? Where did you grow up? And I told them all that, and they said, well, be here Wednesday night at 6:00 we’ll  water baptize you. I’m like, alright. I’ll be here Wednesday. And sure enough, it was my turn. It was like and I’m the last one to go to get water baptized.

Kimberly Faith: Well, so when you went forward, though, I mean, did you I mean, I’m assuming you prayed and received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. And I like to make sure you know, I mean, we’re talking. People, you know, in my office, ask people, well, tell me about you know, because they’ll say, well, I’ve always been a Christian. I’m like, well, what do you mean by that? I said, because, you know, I haven’t always been alive. And I was born at some point, and Jesus said, you must be born again.

Joe Vigil: Right.

Kimberly Faith: So tell me about when that happened. And a lot of people will just say, well, I was just baptized and joined the church. I’m like, wait a minute. When did you receive Jesus Christ as your born savior? 

Joe Vigil: Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: I’ll bet you remember when y’all said I do to each other.

Maria Vigil:  Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: You know? It was probably a, you know, a relief for you. You finally captured the butterfly, right?

Joe Vigil: Yeah. Little hesitation over her part of it. No. No.  But that’s when I was born again. I knew I was born again.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. 

Joe Vigil: And I knew there was something significantly different about me in terms of, like, I didn’t I’ve never felt this way before. I had been searching

Kimberly Faith: Yeah.

Joe Vigil: At that point.

Kimberly Faith: You may, I mean, like, I said yes and standing in my seat. You know? I mean, not standing in my seat, but standing. I remember thinking when I was hearing the word, and I’ve made several professions of faith as a younger child, and I was 23. And I was thinking, what? I’ve been trying to save myself. And I was like, I give up, Lord. I’m done trying. I need you to save me. And I didn’t say any words out loud. It was my heart. That’s what I was like. I’m done.

I surrender. You know? I need you to save me because I can’t save myself. 

Joe Vigil: Right.

Kimberly Faith:  That sounds kind of like what you did.

Joe Vigil: It was. Yeah. I believe that’s what it was. But if not for her, my wife, and I thank God for her because and I’ll say it like this for all the men that are  listening because they know what I’m talking about. My wife pestering me to go to church, and I went. And I thank God for that. She said, hey. Come on. Let’s go. And I’m like, alright. Let’s go. And that was the day. It was December 9, and I can’t even remember what year it was. And that I was born again, and I was excited about it, you know?

Kimberly Faith: So you guys have been serving together for quite a few years. 

Joe Vigil: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: And along with serving your country and raising your children. Now did you all retire around the same time?

Joe Vigil: Two years apart. Two or three years.

Maria Vigil: Almost three years. Almost three years apart. 

Kimberly Faith: Alright. But I wanted to say something about what he said how he got there.

I thought I was dying. Because I kept having this dream over and over. I needed to get my family together in order. It was all about everything needed to be placed in order.

And that’s something I love about God. When it’s your turn, there’s a fire that is like it just makes you want to do what you have to do

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Maria Vigil: But you don’t understand why you’re doing what you’re doing.

Kimberly Faith: Or even why you’re doing something.

Maria Vigil: And what you’re doing. And I didn’t tell him, but I said, Lord, I said, what’s going on with me that you feel I need to get my husband to the congregation, to the church for whatever.

Kimberly Faith:Yeah.

Maria Vigil: And I didn’t understand it was just a little bit of it. And then when he said he was going, then I realized what he, you know, what God was telling us. 

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Maria Vigil: We’re getting ready to go to a different country.

Joe Vigil: Yep.

Maria Vigil: We’re on our way to Germany as a family of five. I need, I guess, God is saying, I got something special for you guys to do.

Kimberly Faith: Nice.

Maria Vigil: And that’s when we both saw it.

Kimberly Faith: So after you were both saved, then did that change your marriage?

Maria Vigil: It made our marriage greater. 

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. 

Maria Vigil: It made us understand. It opened both our eyes to the same things.

Kimberly Faith: You had a common bond in Christ.

Maria Vigil:  We had a common bond. It was really it wasn’t him going in one direction and me with the kids going in a different direction.

Kimberly Faith: I’m sure it’s a lot less confusing than it is.

Maria Vigil: Yes. And we were all on the same accord. And our focus was our holy father.

Kimberly Faith: That’s great. So we had an earlier conversation before today about your childhood and your upbringing. Joe, you told me you’re a Native American, right?

Joe Vigil: Yeah. Half.

Kimberly Faith: Half Native American, and you grew up kind of poor.

John Vigil: Right.

Kimberly Faith: And how do you think that growing up, how did that affect your ability to come and trust God as your father?

Joe Vigil: It was difficult. Well, before I became born again, it was difficult. After I became born again, it became much easier. Didn’t have much of a male role model in the house. I had on both sides, my mom’s side and my dad’s side, there were men that just did their own thing, you know, whether it was the drinking or the drugs or getting in trouble, what have you. I knew what I was not supposed to be, but I didn’t know what I was supposed to be. So there was like, okay, I can’t do this, this, this, and this.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah.

Joe Vigil: Which kind of fell in line with the denomination. 

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. 

Joe Vigil: Right? So that made it a little bit easier. But, anyway, going back to your initial question, like growing up, I grew up predominantly in an Italian neighborhood.

Kimberly Faith: Italian?

John Vigil: Yeah. And so there was a black family across the street. Yeah. And there was us, you know, and a couple other families. And so that’s where I grew up, in the neighborhood that I grew up. So you know? And then on the other side of town where my grandparents were on my mom’s side was the native side. I didn’t know what a reservation was until we went up to Canada one year because, you know, my mother didn’t grow up on a reservation. My grandfather did when he was younger, but not very long, and he was the only one. 

Kimberly Faith: Well, you know, what strikes me as remarkable about both of you and just our past conversations is that, you know, despite the fact that I mean, I feel like people today need to hear people who have grown up in the minority population or even, like, for myself being a woman professional. I remember crawling through the cracks in the glass ceiling and hearing people whose testimony is they’re victors, not victims. And I was so struck by how both of you, you know, growing up and you know, we kind of I mean, the sixties and the seventies were cultures where there was a lot of racism. There’s still a lot of crazy stuff going on, right? And but we’re here by the grace of God.

Joe Vigil: Yes. 

Maria Vigil: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: And God doesn’t make victims. He makes us victors, and I’m really impressed with both of you.

Joe Vigil: And to your point, I like that because my mother was the one who would say, you know, and she was the type like most parents would, you know, you can be anything you want to  be. You can be anything you want to be. Just apply yourself. Just apply yourself and, you know, things going forward like that. So it really wasn’t even in terms of ethnicity at the time. It was just like, just do the best you can.

Kimberly Faith: Gotcha.

JoeVigil: Just do the best you can.

Kimberly Faith: Maybe poverty?

Joe Vigil: Yeah. Well, I won’t even call it poverty. We were, at the time, this was, like, the mid seventies, early eighties. So whatever that bracket was, it was middle class, lower middle class. We were just underneath that.

Kimberly Faith: Working class. That’s what we grew up in.

Joe Vigil: Yeah. So I couldn’t even say we were poor, really.

Kimberly Faith: Right. I don’t know what that means.

JoeVigil: Yeah. We had food on the table. 

Kimberly Faith: Yeah.

Joe Vigil: Okay. I grew up in two blizzards, you know, and we went outside to play in those blizzards, you know, the blizzard of seventy seven being one of them. But my mother could choke $5 out of a penny somehow. So, you know, with the other neighborhood wives and everything, they would get together periodically, trade coupons from the newspaper. Hey. I got, you know, a case of green beans. Why don’t you give me a bag of potatoes and some, so the neighborhood woman would 

Kimberly Faith: Barter. 

Joe Vigil: Yeah. Barter.  And then in the you know, right before the wintertime, there was all the baking of the bread and being put in the freezer to get us through the winter as well. So this was in New York. So there was always something. I remember there was a case of toothpaste.

Kimberly Faith: I think that, you know, I mean, poor is a relative term. Our poverty level in The United States is nothing is nothing like the poverty in Nigeria.

Joe Vigil: Right.

Kimberly Faith: And or we’re, just name in the country. Right? But I think it’s the mindset that your family gives you, which you’re, like your mother, you know, you can be anything. And my, you know, my mother was very much you know, she I mean, this is how crazy she was. She said, well, you can name yourself whatever you want to. So my first grade school report cards have Little Star McLarty on them because that’s what I named myself. And, I mean, talking about inspiring. 

Maria Vigil: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: You know, you just. But what about you?

Maria Vigil: Well, I didn’t grow up poor. I was at the lower class or the middle class. My mother was a nurse.

Kimberly Faith: Okay.

Maria Vigil: My father was a navy seaman. 

Kimberly Faith: What years did he serve?

Maria Vigil:  My parents got divorced when I was well, South Carolina did not have a divorce law, so they went to Georgia and got divorced.

Kimberly Faith: I did not know that.

Maria Vigil: And so I was, like, five years old.

Kimberly Faith: Okay. 

Maria Vigil: About five. But my mother, you know, got the benefits, you know, the ID card for us. So Charleston had a naval hospital at that time when it was a naval base there. So we lived pretty good. And my grandfather had a piece of land, and he built homes for his children.

Kimberly Faith: Oh, wow.

Maria Vigil: So we had our own village.

Kimberly Faith: Some village people.

Maria Vigil: Yeah. We were. You know, when I tell people that, they think I’m joking, but I’m serious.

Kimberly Faith:  Wait. What was the name of your village?

Maria Vigil: The Martin Village. How about that? But he built houses for them. He was a carpenter. So he built houses, and my grandmother had the biggest house. She had the nine room house because at one time she had nine children. So and, really, only four of them lived in that house. And  everybody else was old enough to have their own houses around my grandfather and grandmother’s house. And because of that, I grew up understanding that you don’t raise your children by yourselves. You raise your children with the people around you.

Kimberly Faith: Sounds like you both kind of grew up that way. 

Maria Vigil: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. 

Joe Vigil: Yeah. 

Kimberly Faith: Huge blessing.

Maria Vigil: So that helped. And my mother loved old people and young people. So because of being a woman of color, she could not get a job in the hospital. So she did private nursing.

Kimberly Faith: So interesting.

Maria Vigil: And she did that for such a long time until it was available for her to do the nursing that she was set out to do.

Joe Vigil:  Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: Wow. So she really, she was just a go-getter.

Maria Vigil: Yes. And she told us to and taught us to be the same way. I have three sisters, and her idea is don’t look at yourself as a person of color. Look at who God says you are.

Kimberly Faith: I love that. I love that. What a wise mother.

Maria Vigil: And she was very wise.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Yeah. Man, that’s just a great story. And to me, that’s very, it gives me goosebumps, actually. If your mother could teach this generation of all races and ethnicities that lesson, our politicians wouldn’t have a job.

Maria Vigil: Exactly.

Kimberly Faith: You know what I’m saying? 

Maria Vigil: That’s true. Yes. And believe it or not, she taught me, she loved my husband. She really well, she loved all her son in laws. But she taught us to tell our children that. Don’t look at yourself of, you know, don’t label yourself.

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Maria Vigil: That’s really what is, you know, what she said. She said, because the world will label you anyhow.

Kimberly Faith: That’s right.

Maria Vigil: So don’t label yourself. Don’t fall into it. She says, whatever God says you are is who you are.

Kimberly Faith: I love that.

Maria Vigil: And even when it hurts, even when you’re being called out because of your name or looked at differently, because of your hair, your color, she says, that’s okay. Just remember, God doesn’t make mistakes.

Kimberly Faith: That’s right. You know, it’s so interesting that we all three come from different cultures, like the hippie culture. But in the hippie culture, one of the redeeming qualities was we didn’t know anything about racism. I mean, we’re all kinds of people, and I didn’t even know that I was supposed to act differently with different people because of their skin color because that’s how we grew up. And, really, you know, it wasn’t until I was much older. I’m not even, like, late elementary school that I realized that there was a problem. But, you know, it’s so refreshing to hear other people’s stories of just like, no. This was normal for us to view ourselves as, you know, God’s creation. Created in the image of God. 

Maria Vigil: Right. 

Kimberly Faith: So thanks for sharing that. That’s really wonderful. And so here, let’s fast forward. You’re now actually retired from the military. And now you’re both doing mission work.

Maria Vigil: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Oh, how many countries have y’all been to in your mission work?

Joe Vigil: Oh. You’ve been to a few more than I have. 

Maria Vigil: I’ve been out there at least five times.

Kimberly Faith: Okay. 

Maria Vigil: But God always seems to use, Joe and I have been around the world on our own a couple times already. And he always uses us to do mission individually, you know, talking to somebody.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. 

Maria Vigil: We were in Ephesus this past summer.

Kimberly Faith: Nice.

Maria Vigil: And we did not realize we were following Paul’s footsteps.

Joe Vigil: Literally.

Maria Vigil: Yeah. But we did not realize it until we ended up in Ephesus. 

Kimberly Faith: Nice.

Maria Vigil: And when we ended up there, Joe was hearing a lady talk about Acts 19. And I said, Acts 19. And he says, so me, I said, I need to go back and read this real quick to understand exactly what she’s talking about because our tour guide did not talk about Paul that way. 

Kimberly Faith: Right. 

Maria Vigil: It talked about the Romans, talked about everything else.

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Maria Vigil: But I said, let me go back and really read that. And that’s when I understood we were following. We went to Crete. We went to places that Paul went on his way to Rome. And that was just as a wow.

Joe Vigil: Because where we were in this one particular area, the other tour guy that overheard about, she said, and behind you which she was talking to our group, and behind you is where Paul spoke out of Acts chapter 19. And I looked. I was like, there. I was like, wow.

Kimberly Faith: That’s super cool.

Maria Vigil: So with that, we got to start. We start realizing this is, even though we’re on a personal trip, God was using us to talk to people throughout that trip about salvation.

People who needed to be healed, we would talk to them about healing. But, the real mission trip, we did it with an organization, and the organization would go to different countries that have not heard the name of Jesus not one time.

Kimberly Faith:  Wow. Like, what’s one of the countries you went to?

Maria Vigil: Well, believe it or not, and for me, I went to South America first, and there were cities that had the Catholic church there. But it was like a misunderstanding of who Jesus was.

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Maria Vigil: And because they didn’t understand that Jesus sat at the right hand of the father and not Mary.

Kimberly Faith:  Interesting. Yeah. That’s isn’t it crazy how we I mean, we’re all guilty of this. It’s not by denomination. It’s just we’re all guilty 

Maria Vigil: Yes.

Joe Vigil: Right.

Kimberly Faith: Of misrepresenting God for who he is. 

Maria Vigil: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: And I don’t want to break you off your story, but just this week, something happened. And I was recognizing in my own life that I had dethroned God by, it was a problem I was having with another individual, which is part of my law practice. You know, we have problems with people. And I was starting to dethrone God in my mind. Instead of having the mind of Christ, I was still operating in the carnal mind. And I was like, God, I have just distorted your image in the way I’m handling this situation.  Which is no different than distorting I mean, we distort God’s image. We distort his image.

Maria Vigil: Exactly.

Kimberly Faith: And we don’t think with the mind of Christ because, you know, a lot of religions are all about control and money.

Joe Vigil: Yep. 

Kimberly Faith: You know? 

Joe Vigil: Yep.

Kimberly Faith: And pulling tricks out of the bag. And I’m not speaking about any particular religion. I’m just saying that’s the way that they operate. 

Maria Vigil: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: But we as Christians feel a lot like that too sometimes.

Maria Vigil: I love, you know, I was just reading something in the back of my, I like the Spirit Full Bible. And I was just reading about what the Jewish people feel about Christians, what we feel about them, and also who are we? You know, we’re kingdom builders.

Joe Vigil: Yeah.

Maria Vigil: And that’s how I see it. Going out on mission work is kingdom building.

Kimberly Faith: Yes.

Maria Vigil: My family and I have gone through some changes lately in our family. But even in what we have gone through in our family, we realize and know that in order to continue the things of God, we have to follow through. Going on missions is not, how can you say? It is not as something that you do for recognition or to be a part of a group, you know

Kimberly Faith:  Right.

Maria Vigil:  Kind of thing. It is all about God. 

Kimberly Faith: Yeah.  And it’s all the time.

Maria Vigil: All the time. It is not when you feel like it. 

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Maria Vigil:  It’s in season, out of season. It is not about how you feel.

Kimberly Faith: I love that you say that because, like, I mean, today I was getting some cancer cells removed from my arm, you know, and I’m talking to the lady and she just seems sad. And I was like, and I’m the one who’s getting cut on. You know? And  so, you know, you just ask people, how are you?  And I don’t think they expect that. And then you show them the love of God. And so, you know that God has a plan for you. 

Maria Vigil: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: And I’m sorry you’re going through something right now. And that plants a seed that may lead to their salvation. You don’t know until you just step out there.

Joe Vigil: And just being just kind of to that point of when, so we get our blood work done at the VA, obviously being veterans and everything. When I get my blood work done, I joke around with the nurses a little bit and say, Oh yeah, hey, don’t drop any because I don’t want to come back. Don’t drop any blood. And so and then when they’re done, I’m like, you know, I appreciate what you guys do for us as veterans. I know you guys put up with a lot of stuff, but if you guys weren’t here, you health practitioners and everything, I mean, who would take care of us as veterans? So I always give kudos to the VA workers when they do their stuff. It’s and they’re like, oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Even when I did my Joe the recruiter video after I came out from my colonoscopy.

Maria Vigil:  He did. 

Joe Vigil: Yeah.

Maria Vigil: He did. 

Joe Vigil: Yeah.

Kimberly Faith:Well, you know, you talk about health care providers and, you know, just all the different venues that God puts us in because we’re missionaries to all these venues.

Maria Vigil: All the time.

Kimberly Faith: And if we can’t, if the fruit of the spirit isn’t flowing out of us and the truth of God’s word being accompanied and supporting that.

Maria Vigil:  Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: Where if all you’re doing is being kind, but you don’t really tell somebody the gospel, well, that is not being kind because, not that it is not that you’re supposed to do it every time. That’s not always, that door isn’t always open.  But if you plant those seeds of kindness, you’re going to be the person they come back to when they’re in trouble.

Joe Vigil: Right. 

Maria Vigil: Exactly.

Kimberly Faith: And that’s kind of what you’re talking about, you know, Maria, being the missionary all the time.

Maria Vigil: All the time. It’s not a part time thing.

Kimberly Faith:  Right. 

Maria Vigil: I just like I said, I just came back from somewhere, and it was rewarding as in it was fruitful. It helped the kingdom of God. We went to schools. We met with young people.

Joe Vigil: Yes.

Maria Vigil: And it was 50,000 people that we met with. 

Kimberly Faith: Wow. 

Maria Vigil: And over 42,000 of them gave their life to Christ.

Kimberly Faith: Wow. Wow. That’s amazing. And that was in South America.

Maria Vigil: And this was in The Philippines.

Kimberly Faith: In The Philippines. Was that during the earthquake?

Maria Vigil: I was there. 

Kimberly Faith: Oh gosh. 

Maria Vigil: I was there. I said because of the, what we were having, festivals that night. And because we were having a festival and people were coming to God. 

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. 

Maria Vigil: It was like, it was something special the night of the earthquake. I felt something different, but it was something special. Like the kingdom of hell was fading.

Kimberly Faith:  Interesting.

Maria Vigil: Where the spirit of God was rising.

Kimberly Faith: Well, I guess if you had missiles fly over your head, earthquake’s not a big deal,right?

Maria Vigil: Right. I mean and it felt that way. It felt that way because it all had to do with uplifting the kingdom of God. And I loved it, and I was laughing. My roommate, she was from California.

And she said, oh my god. I’m feeling a little dizzy. I said, we’re in an earthquake. And she said, oh, that’s what it is, you know?

Kimberly Faith: She doesn’t know being from California.

Maria Vigil: I said, you’re from California. And we’re just laughing and enjoying ourselves. We laugh together about that. And I said, you know what? I said, Satan knows that he is unnoticed. And I said, because the people of God are here.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. On the move.

Maria Vigil: On the move.

Kimberly Faith: I mean, I feel like God is on the move in so many Christians right now in our entire world, you know? It’s time for a culture shift away from selfishness and into selflessness. 

Maria Vigil: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: And that’s so great, Joe, I’m curious. What about your last mission trip?

Joe Vigil: Mine was in Cambodia last year. I mean, how many people do you know went to Cambodia?  And that’s why when I saw it on the list, my wife called me from where she was last year. She said, where do you want to go? I said, what do they have? And she went down the list, like three or four more places to go to, and she said Cambodia, I said I’m going to Cambodia. 

Kimberly Faith: Wow.

Joe Vigil: I mean, without hesitation. So I went to Cambodia, and I’ll tell you this. The weeks leading up to me going to Cambodia, I didn’t want to go. And it’s not because I was afraid of what’s going to happen. Well, I just felt like I was a mess a little bit. 

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. 

Joe Vigil: And I was like, how am I going to serve? How am I going to be effective in doing what it is that she wanted me to do? And I just really didn’t want to go up until and I told her about two weeks. I said, I don’t think I should go. I can’t go. She said, no. No, buddy. You’re going. I’m like, alright. You know? So I went, and I was on a great team. So I think it was me and one other guy.

We were the only two newbies on the team. I had great leadership, and they were younger than us or young a lot younger than me. I mean, they could have been my children .

Kimberly Faith: Wow.

Joe Vigil: Like in their maybe late twenties, early thirties. But like my wife was saying, there’s still, like, maybe 3,000,000,000 people left on the planet that have not have not heard the name of Jesus Christ, that have not heard the gospel.

Kimberly Faith: That’s mindblowing.

Joe Vigil: And we take it for granted, like, oh, well, everybody’s got the Internet. Everybody’s got cell phones. And in some countries, obviously, the Internet is restricted. 

Kimberly Faith: Right. And it’s controlled.

Maria Vigil: Yeah. It’s very controlled.

John Vigil: Or there are no cell towers, and the satellites just are not passing over that part of the earth either.

Kimberly Faith:  I like what you said there, Joe, because I think that God wants us to understand that we are weak, so that he can be strong. 

Joe Vigil: Yeah. 

Kimberly Faith: And I think you’re, I love that you’ve expressed that you’re hesitant about even going. You started doubting.

Joe Vigil: Yeah.

Kimberly Faith:  Because I think we’re all there a lot. You know, there’s like, even this afternoon, I was you know, my arm was hurting. I was like, I was tired. I was like, Lord, I don’t know if I can do this podcast. And he’s like, yeah. There you go again, thinking that you’re in charge. And here we are. But here we are.

Joe Vigil: But I was ministered to. You know? Because the expectation obviously is, you know, you hit the ground, you’re running, you’re doing what you’re supposed to do. But even though I was participating in what they call the nets, like these drama skits when we go to the schools and villages, I felt like even though I was participating in those things, I felt like I was being ministered to.

Kimberly Faith: Isn’t that what service does though? 

Joe Vigil: Yeah. 

Kimberly Faith: Service to the Lord is service to the Lord.

Joe Vigil: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: When it’s coming from him, it’s like we’re drinking from the well that never runs dry. So we have plenty to give away. 

Maria Vigil: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: You know, we aren’t worn out. I don’t feel worn out right now. I was worn out two hours ago. 

Joe Vigil: Yeah. 

Kimberly Faith: But we’re doing God’s thing here.

Joe Vigil: Well, I mean, this is a Gandhi quote that, you know, he said that if you want to find yourself, lose yourself in the service to others, but then we equate that to what Jesus said. I came to minister, not to be ministered to.

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Maria Vigil: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Right. And he who loses his life will find his life.

Joe Vigil: So therefore, we have that model that we’re supposed to emulate those characteristics, you know, in season, out of season, regardless of when it is, and we have to do those things. We’ve also done some work here in The States where we support another outreach ministry in Clarksville, Tennessee. Once or twice a year, we try to make a trip out there with donations and everything. This lady is phenomenal the way she helps folks out, and she’s got an awesome testimony about it. And, we’ve actually had some support, from another ministry, from service members that have, like, just donated things, and we just haul it out there.

Kimberly Faith: Well, you know, I love to hear the stories of people that are what we would really call ordinary people. I mean, we’re not like you know, I’m not a rocket scientist. You know? I don’t have, you know, an IQ of, like, you know, people that are really smart. But you guys are personifying what it looks like when regular people say, yes, Lord. And a lot of people think about their retirement from the military being a time to kick up your heels and do things that are just more entertainment based. 

Joe Vigil: Yeah. 

Kimberly Faith: But you have found such meaning in your life in serving the Lord.

Joe Vigil: Well, I mean, part of the prayer has also been like, okay, Lord. What’s next? What’s next? What’s next? So there’s also this momentum that’s created because I know I would ask guys to do things like, hey. Do you want to participate in this or participate in that? Oh, let me pray about it. And that’s one of the things that drives me nuts. Okay. Just tell me you don’t want to do it.

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Joe Vigil: Because I know if I come back to you next week, did you pray about it? You’re either going to say no, which I’m expecting you to say. No. Didn’t pray about it. Forgot all about it. Okay? Or no. I haven’t gotten an answer yet. 

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. 

Joe Vigil: It’s very seldom that, you know, if I get somebody to say, yeah. I’ll do it. Yeah. I’ll do it. You know? But, you’re familiar with John Maxwell, right? So John Maxwell wrote this book, the 15 invaluable laws of growth, and he’s got this law of the rubber band in there, and we’d covered this a couple of days ago with a couple of friends of ours. And the law of the rubber band indicates that there’s this tension between where you are and where you could be, but the purpose of the rubber band is to make it stretch.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah.

Joe Vigil: We have to stretch as born again believers in Christ. And when we start to stretch and expand, we get uncomfortable. And we don’t want to get out of that comfort zone. So yeah we have to.

Kimberly Faith: It’s so ironic that you’re saying that. I was just having a conversation with a young lady yesterday who’s in the special forces. She’s a helicopter pilot. She’s in her training. And she goes, I just never feel comfortable. And I said, don’t you think that’s intentional? War is not comfortable.You should be pushing the outer limits of your comfort zone in your training so that you’re ready for the warfare. And I knew what she meant because it’s hard for people who are like, she’s very bright, very capable. But I think as Christians, we’re not here to be comfortable.

Joe Vigil: Right.

Kimberly Faith: We’re here to be warriors. There’s spiritual warfare.

Joe Vigil: There’s like another characteristic. So when I was in Cambodia, I mean, it was like I was prepared up to this point. Yeah. I’m going to share it. And I was up to this point, we just had lunch with the governor of that province with I think chief of staff and his chief of police for that province, right? And I text her back. I said, oh my god. I feel like I’m truly an ambassador for Christ. And that’s what was like because we only speak on behalf of our heavenly government.

We don’t have an opinion. 

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. 

Joe Vigil: We can only speak on behalf of what our heavenly constitution says, and that’s the Bible.

Kimberly Faith: And if we are if we’re representing God, then I should be using his word to represent him. 

Joe Vigil: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: You know, not our opinion.

Maria Vigil: And that’s what I love about, I mean, we did it, we all do it when we’re in the military. When you go to a different country, you’re not supposed to disrespect the country you are from. 

Kimberly Faith: Right. 

Maria Vigil: So that’s with God’s word. When you represent him, you don’t come off in a negative way. You don’t let people, even if you’re immature, you’re on milk, you still should rely on God’s word

Kimberly Faith:  Amen. 

Maria Vigil: And who God is. 

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. 

Maria Vigil: We always believe that the youth or the person who is on milk is on the most fire. But that shouldn’t be.

Kimberly Faith: That shouldn’t be. 

Maria Vigil: It should be the mature person, the person who is just knowing, oh, God. You’re there. Understand a little bit more than what I understood today. 

Kimberly Faith:  Yeah. I like to call that being addicted to God’s presence.

Maria Vigil: Exactly. 

Kimberly Faith: It’s the only addiction that hurts you, but it sets you on fire.

Maria Vigil: It sets you on fire.

Kimberly Faith: And that’s proof that you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind when he is your fire.

Maria Vigil: Exactly. 

Kimberly Faith: And I love that. 

Maria Vigil: And because you love God so much, it is easy for you to walk in his steps.

Kimberly Faith: Absolutely.

Maria Vigil: It’s easy for you to talk to his people.

Kimberly Faith: And talk about him.

Maria Vigil: And talk about him. What bothers me is when you are a person that you’re set up in a position to talk to God’s people, but you pick and choose who you want to talk to. That hurts my heart. 

Kimberly Faith: Well, you know, hurts God’s heart. And I always use this example because it’s easy for most grandparents to understand. I have no problem telling each complete stranger about my grandbaby.  Why would I ever have any problem talking about my savior? 

Maria Vigil: Exactly.

Joe Vigil:  Right. 

Kimberly Faith: Because when you’re in love with God, it flows out of every part of your being.

Joe Vigil: It does.

Maria Vigil: And because a person is not saved, that person still belongs to God. They came, they came out the same breath you came out of. God already wrote the story.

Kimberly Faith: Right. Yeah. I mean, it’s so funny you say that because God created every person in his image, and we talk about what it means to be human.  And, you know, if we could, if we as a collective culture could understand the same God that created you created me, then we would have respect because of the image that we bear. 

Maria Vigil: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: God’s image. And that’s why I like this podcast called Truth in Love because you have to have both. You know?

Maria Vigil: And what I love in understanding the kingdom, God did not bring a religion. He brought his kingdom to the earth. That’s why we say thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. He wanted an extension. He wanted a culture. We were down in the Falkland Islands, and we realized how deep the British culture  is there, when they came from England and brought it down to that island. The Falkland Island looks exactly like if you were in London somewhere.

Kimberly Faith: Oh, that’s interesting. 

Maria Vigil: Because that’s what God’s purpose is, to bring his kingdom from heaven to earth. Heaven should look just like, excuse me. Earth should look just like heaven.

Kimberly Faith: Well, that’s a really good example. And I think the closer that we get to God, the more we do.

Maria Vigil: Exactly. 

Kimberly Faith: And I mean, we know that Jesus is going to come and there’s going to be a new heaven and new earth untainted by sin.

Maria Vigil:  Right. 

Kimberly Faith: But, man, we can sure get close. 

Joe Vigil: Yeah.

Kimberly Faith:  And you know, isn’t it a great joy to know that we get to represent God? And kind of as we wrap up, I just want to, I just want to ask, you know, isn’t it, in my mind, what I see when I look at both of you is I see representatives of Jesus. I see the heart of Jesus.

Joe Vigil: Praise God.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. That’s a great, that’s why I was like, well, please come on our podcast. I want some Jesus rockers. Well, any last words before we hang it up?

Joe Vigil: Yeah. Well, I mean, thank you for having us. I mean, it’s been a joy. It’s been an experience, and, we wish you the very best in your podcast, other future podcasts coming up. And we know it’s going to provide impact and value to others, to the listeners, and they’re going to carry it forth as well in the name of Jesus.

Kimberly Faith: Well, we have to do it again.

Maria Vigil: And I love being here with you because you are an agent of change for the kingdom of God. 

Kimberly Faith: I hope so. 

Maria Vigil: And we all need that.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah.

Maria Vigil: Because we always need each other to uplift each other. And I think the podcast also for the people who are listening that are not sure about our Lord and savior, Jesus is Lord.

Kimberly Faith: That’s right. And everyone’s going to bow before him.

Maria Vigil:  Everybody’s going to bow before him. 

Kimberly Faith: Might as well start now.

Maria Vigil: Might as well start now. Thank you so much.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Well, thank you for coming. And if anybody’s listening to this podcast and does not know Jesus Christ as our lord and savior, he’s calling you. 

Joe Vigil: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: He’s calling you. He wants to know you. He died so you could be reconciled to his father. And so Amen. Obviously, if you do not know Jesus Christ as your lord and savior, you know, you have questions about that, go to our website, gofaithstrong.com. We have how to be saved right on the website. We have testimonies of people who have been saved. And, we want you to know Jesus because he is the one, the one that will carry you into the eternity that is going to be greater than you could ever ask for or imagine. So thank you all. 

Joe Vigil: Thank you. 

Maria Vigil: Thank you.

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