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

Kimberly Faith: We’re in the truth and love podcast this time. And we were joking about how Mike, so correct, wanted to call them the last name Vigil vigilante. And but you’re not a vigilante, are you, John?

John Vigil: Not at all. Not at 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 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 the and your story. I just was so grateful that you agreed to come on the podcast. Thank you.

John Vigil: Thank you for having us.

Yes. Thank you.

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

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

Yes.

Kimberly Faith: That’s where are you from?

Maria Vigil: Originally, Charleston, South Carolina. Okay. Yes. I love Charleston.

Kimberly Faith: I know you don’t, but I know. 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 joining 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. Oh.

And because women weren’t doing pilot thing at the time, This was the ’78, ’79, around that time when Vietnam was really, you know, they were winding down from Vietnam. Right. And I had twenty twenty vision, but I had a stigmatism that prevented me from doing certain things. Okay. So I ended up being an engineer, which been very fruitful.

Yeah. And I want I mean, if I had a choice of MOSs or a job to do, I will continue being an engineer, 11.

Kimberly Faith: You for your service. Yeah. Thank you. You you were in how many years?

Maria Vigil: Thirty two years. Wow. Active duty.

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

Yeah. I

Maria Vigil: don’t think so. I I think it’s the the passion Yes. That we have.

Kimberly Faith: 100%.

Maria Vigil: Yeah. It’s all passion.

Kimberly Faith: I’m just

John Vigil: I’m trying

Kimberly Faith: to be a color commentator, but you know what, Joe? I’m I’m sorry. No. So I

Maria Vigil: But it’s all passion. Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: That’s right. Yeah. So, Joe, what about you?

John Vigil: Right out of high school, joined the army because I, at that time I knew I wasn’t smart enough to go to college. I mean, 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 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 it wasn’t.

I just grew into it a lot a lot better. But, like, right out of high school, I joined the army. And Why

Kimberly Faith: did you join the army?

John Vigil: Well, everybody in my family, they they joined the air force. So I was a little rebellious. You know, I’m gonna join the army. You know? Why are you gonna join the army?

Go on the air force. It’s better. I’m sure it was, but it just wasn’t gonna be my cup of tea, so to speak. So I

Kimberly Faith: thought Where would you grow up?

John Vigil: In Niagara Falls, New York. Okay. Yeah. I was born in California, but I grew up in Niagara Falls, New York. So Interesting.

Maria Vigil: Yeah. Niagara Falls. Yeah.

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

John Vigil: I hate my uncle Sam. United States Army. You you I mean, that’s that’s the obviously, the the common denominator with us. We met at our duty assignment in 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. And she wouldn’t was yeah. The sexiest chick I ever met in my life. And what she would really feel too. 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 you know, worked with my words. But you ended up Yeah. We were both cartographers.

We made maps at the

Kimberly Faith: So How cool.

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

Thank you. And so years. Yep. So that’s where that’s where we where we both earned our college degrees and everything. In Harvard?

No. Mine was well, I got two bachelor’s degree. 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?

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

Kimberly Faith: Okay.

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

Kimberly Faith: So you all were married in 1989.

John Vigil: Yes. And

Kimberly Faith: raised a family together.

Maria Vigil: Mhmm. Yes.

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

Maria Vigil: Oh, yeah. He did 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 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. Okay. So I spent a lot of time going. But my family, we always sat down and talk about Mhmm. What’s the purpose behind me going.

Kimberly Faith: Oh, right. Right.

Maria Vigil: And So you were military assignment? Yes. Every

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

Maria Vigil: I was. Okay. We had I had just gotten out. Matter of fact, my first day in school at the sergeant major academy was the day of 09:11.

John Vigil: Yeah.

Maria Vigil: I was getting ready and everybody in the room. I was staying with a nun at the time. I was 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 in in University of Louisville with a nun. And she, like, glommed onto our family. We loved her. She came for Christmas or anything.

Yeah. Anyway, that’s a really fun story.

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

Kimberly Faith: Yeah.

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

John Vigil: Which was in Atlanta at the time.

Maria Vigil: Which was in Atlanta at the time. The

Kimberly Faith: Iraq realignment. Yeah. Yeah.

Maria Vigil: Yeah. So we Was it before the Brock realignment? Yes.

John Vigil: Yes. We were there we were there for three years. Almost four. Yeah. So you were at Gillum though.

Maria Vigil: Right.

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

Kimberly Faith: And how many children do you have when in this in the world? Three.

John Vigil: At the time, three. Yeah. Three.

Kimberly Faith: So you were mister mommy and mister daddy?

John Vigil: Yeah. Yes. Wow. And and master sergeant all combined.

Maria Vigil: All combined. Yeah. Well, I went forward with my unit. We went there really for an exercise because, you know, they were ramping up Yeah. Saying they’re gonna go to war if, you know, things didn’t happen certain time.

But what happened, I was there doing our thing, and a missile came over our head. Oh, wow. I’ve seen all of that on the television. I’ve been out the White Plains and saw certain things. White Sands.

White Sands.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. I knew that.

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. Okay. We were getting ready to move forward.

Kimberly Faith: Alright. So you were in the initial you were in the initial part of the war then? Yes. In the Gulf War?

Maria Vigil: First of Not the not the Gulf War. The Iraqi. Yeah. Iraqi war. Yeah.

Sorry. Yes. Get

Kimberly Faith: I shouldn’t get in the fuse. I remember them,

Maria Vigil: but Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: I wasn’t

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

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

Maria Vigil: I’ve been deployed twice. K. Just twice. And

Kimberly Faith: Well, that’s enough.

Maria Vigil: Yeah. It it was enough. And

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

Maria Vigil: No. We planned it that way. And And

John Vigil: uncle Sam were.

Maria Vigil: Uncle Sam, we prayed. To be honest with you, it wasn’t a thing of man interfering. It was actually God’s plan.

John 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.

John Vigil: But that was in a task in Excel because while she was in Kuwait where I worked in the basement, I would 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.

John Vigil: And I called her and emailed and say, hey. Pick up the phone. Let me know your eyes. Finally got a response. Mhmm.

So because of this report that we got right at her camp, and it kinda made me a little nervous.

Kimberly Faith: But Well, I’m I’m glad that you that you brought God back into the conversation because I wanna pick up that thread. Alright. Most important thread in our life. Right? Yes.

Yeah. So I okay. You grew up, obviously, you know, miles apart. Did you grow up in Christian families, or did you become 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. Uh-huh. He had his own church, my grandma, But I was not saved. You know how the family goes to church? But It’s a cultural thing.

It’s a cultural thing. Absolutely. 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 found this? I was

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

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

Maria Vigil: Jesus?

Kimberly Faith: Yes. He

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

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

We’re on fire because he is our fire. Exactly.

John Vigil: Yeah. Amen.

Kimberly Faith: What about you, Joe?

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

However, she grew up as a Christian. I grew up in another denomination. And one Sunday, was getting ready to go 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 go to church with you.

Come on, go to church with me. I don’t want to go.

Maria Vigil: And where was this in Hawaii?

John Vigil: No. This was in Virginia. Yes. Right? In Virginia.

So and I’m I’m complaining, and I’m 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 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. This is a I’ve never heard anything spoken like this before.

Kimberly Faith: I don’t know yet.

John Vigil: And and I was like, wow. Because normally, was just dry. You know? And and you could say Maybe

Kimberly Faith: in a different language.

John Vigil: Yeah. And and you could set your watch by when you were walking out. Right. And so anyway, it was we were sitting in a balcony. Mhmm.

Right? So we were sitting in this balcony and I look over to her, she’s on my lip. I said, I’m going. And she said, where are you going? I said because by this point, he extended the invitation to salvation.

Okay. Okay? And you see people walking down, people are clapping, praise the Lord. And I saw Lino. 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. Gave it anymore. 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. Blah blah blah. 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?

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

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

John Vigil: It was the the tip well, you know, were you baptized before? And I said, yeah. As a baby, they said, that don’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 06:00 with water baptized. 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 Uh-huh. 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 been always been a Christian. I’m like, well, what do you mean by that? Mhmm.

I said, because, you know, I haven’t always been alive. Mhmm. And I was born at some point, and Jesus said, you must be born again.

John 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. Did you receive Jesus Christ as your born savior? Yeah.

You know? I’ll bet you remember when y’all said I do to each other. Yes. You know? It was probably a, you know, a relief for you.

You finally captured the butterfly.

John Vigil: Right? And Yeah. Little hesitation over her

Kimberly Faith: her part of it. No. No.

John Vigil: But that’s when I was born again. I knew I was born again. Yeah. And I knew there was some 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.

John Vigil: At that point.

Kimberly Faith: You may I mean, like, I said yes and standing in my seat. Mhmm. You know? I mean, not standing in my seat, but standing. I remember thinking when I was when I was I was hearing the word, and I’ve made several professions of faith as a younger child, and I was 23.

John Vigil: Mhmm.

Kimberly Faith: And I were thinking, what? I’ve been I’ve I’ve been trying to save myself. Mhmm. 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. I I it was my heart. That’s what I was like. I’m done.

I’m I surrender. You know? I need you to save me because I can’t save myself. Right. That sounds kinda like what you did.

John Vigil: It was. Yeah. Yeah. I I I believe that’s what it was. But if not for her, my wife, and I I thank god for her because and I’ll say it like this for all the men that’s listening because they know what I’m talking about.

My wife pestering me to go to church, and I went. And but I thank God for that. She said, hey. Come on. Let’s go.

And I’m like, alright. Let’s go. And that was 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 surfing together for quite a few years. Yes. We’ve been together and along with serving your country and raising your children. Now did you all retire around the same time?

John Vigil: Two years apart. Two or

Maria Vigil: three years apart. Almost three years. Almost three years apart. Alright. But I wanted to say something about what he said how he got there.

Mhmm. I thought I was dying Mhmm. 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 about I love about God. When it’s your turn, there’s a a fire that is like it just makes you wanna do what you have to do Right. 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 I said, Lord, I says, 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: Mhmm. 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. Right. I’m getting ready to we’re getting ready to go to a different country.

John 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 Nice. To do. Nice. And that’s when we both saw it.

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

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

Kimberly Faith: You had a common bond

John Vigil: in Christ. Had a

Maria Vigil: 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 less a lot less confusing than

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

Kimberly Faith: That’s great. Mhmm. So so how did we we we had an earlier conversation before today about your childhood and your upbringing. Mhmm. How how did now you I think, Joe, you told me you’re a Native American.

Right?

John Vigil: Yeah. Half. Yeah.

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

John Vigil: Mhmm.

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

John Vigil: It was it was difficult. Well, not 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. That’s right.

John Vigil: Which kind of fell in line with the denomination. Yeah. Right? Yeah. So that that made it a little bit easier.

But, anyway, going back to your initial question, like growing up, so 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 the native side. I didn’t know what a reservation was until we went up to Canada one year because, you know, my my mother didn’t grow up on a reservation. I think my grandfather did when he was younger, but not very long, and, he was the only one. So

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 we people today need to hear people who have grown up with the minority in the minority population or even, like, for myself being a woman woman professional. I remember crawling to the cracks in the in the glass ceiling and hearing people whose testimony is they’re victors, not victims. Mhmm. And I I I was so struck by how both of you, you know, growing up and you know, we kinda I mean, the sixties and the seventies were cultures still. 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.

Maria Vigil: Yes. Yes.

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

John 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 wanna be. You can be anything you wanna be. Just apply yourself. Just apply yourself and, you know, for things going forward like that. So it really wasn’t even in terms of the ethnicity at the time.

Was just like, just do the best you can.

Maria Vigil: Gotcha.

John Vigil: Just do the best you can.

Kimberly Faith: Poverty?

John Vigil: Is that Yeah. Well, I 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.

Working class. Yeah. That’s what

Kimberly Faith: we grew

John Vigil: up in. Yeah. So we couldn’t I couldn’t even say we were poor, really. Right.

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

John Vigil: Yeah. We we had food on the table. Yeah. Okay. I grew up in two blizzards, you know, and and we went outside to play in those blizzards, you know, the blizzard of seventy seven being one of them.

But my mother was she could choke $5 out of a penny somehow. Uh-huh. So, you know, with the other neighborhood wives and everything, they would get together periodically, trade coupons from the newspaper. Hey. I I got a 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 yeah. Yeah. Barter. Know? 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 and this was in New York. So we there was always something. I remember there was a case of toothpaste. You know? Well,

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

John 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 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 McClurdy on them because that’s what I named myself. Mhmm. And, I mean, talking about inspiring. Yes. You know, you just.

But what

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

Kimberly Faith: Okay.

Maria Vigil: My mother my father was a navy seaman. What years did he serve? My my father 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. Okay. About five. But my mother, you know, got the benefits, you know, the ID card for us. So Charleston have a naval hospital at that time when it was a naval base there.

Mhmm. So that was we lived pretty good. And we live 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: It’s 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. Mhmm.

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.

John Vigil: And

Maria Vigil: 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 kinda grew up that way. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Huge blessing.

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

John Vigil: 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 her heart would she was set out to do. 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 had 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. Mhmm. I love that. What a what a wise mother.

Maria Vigil: And she was very wise.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Yeah. That man, that’s just a great story. And doesn’t to me, that’s very it gives me goosebumps, actually. If your mother could teach this generation of all races and ethnicities that lesson Mhmm.

Our politicians wouldn’t have a job.

Maria Vigil: Exactly.

Kimberly Faith: You know what I’m saying? That’s true. Pretty much may not have a job either.

Maria Vigil: 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.

You know, don’t 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.

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

Kimberly Faith: That’s right. You know, it’s it’s so interesting that we all three come from different cultures, like my the hippie culture. But the in the hippie culture, one of the redeeming qualities was we didn’t know anything about racism. I mean, we just we’re all kinds of people, and and and and I didn’t even know that I was supposed to act differently with different people because they’re skin color because that’s how we grew up. Mhmm.

And and, really, you know, it wasn’t until I was much older or not. I’m not even, like, late elementary school that I realized that there was a problem. Mhmm. But, you know, it’s it’s such a it’s so refreshing to hear other people’s stories of just like, no. This was normal for us to view ourselves as, know, God’s creation.

Mhmm. Created in the image of God. Right. So thanks for sharing that. That’s really that’s wonderful.

And what so here, let’s fast forward. You’re you’re now actually retired from the military. Mhmm. And now you’re both doing mission work.

Maria Vigil: Yes. Yeah.

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

John Vigil: Oh. Well, many Yeah. You’ve been a lot a few more than I have. So

Maria Vigil: I’ve been out there at least five times. Okay. But God always seems to use Jill and I have been around the world on our own a couple times already. Mhmm. And he always use us to to do mission individually, you know, talking to somebody.

Yeah. We were in Ephesus this past summer.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Nice.

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

John Vigil: Mhmm. Literally.

Maria Vigil: We I was getting a

Kimberly Faith: lot of money to do that.

Maria Vigil: Yeah. But we did not realize it until we end up in Ephesus. Nice. And when we end up there, we’re Joe was hearing a lady talk about acts 19. And I says, acts 19.

And he says, so me, I said, I can 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. Right. It talked about the Romans, talked about everything else.

Kimberly Faith: Right.

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

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

Super

Maria Vigil: cool. So with that, we Mhmm. 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 Yes. 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. Wow.

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

Maria Vigil: We went to region meeting in. Well, believe it or not, and for me, I went to South America first, and there were cities that had the Catholic church there. Mhmm. But it was like a misunderstanding 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. Interesting.

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

John Vigil: Right.

Kimberly Faith: Of misrepresenting God for who he is. Yes. And don’t wanna break you off your story, but just this this week, something happened. And I 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 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.

John Vigil: Mhmm.

Kimberly Faith: Mhmm. Which is no different than distorting I mean, we distort God’s image. We distort his image.

Maria Vigil: Exactly. And

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

John Vigil: Mhmm. Yep. You know? Yep.

Kimberly Faith: And pulling tricks out of the bag. And I’m not speaking about any particular religion. I’m just saying they’re that’s that’s the way that they operate. Yes. But we as Christians feel like 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. Mhmm. And I was just reading about what the the Jewish people feel about Christians, what we feel about them, and also who are we? You know, we’re kingdom builders.

John Vigil: Yeah.

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

Kimberly Faith: Yes.

Maria Vigil: We my family and I have gone through some changes lately in our family. And because but it’s 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 Right. Kind of thing.

It is all about God. Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: And it’s all the time.

Maria Vigil: All the time. Yeah. It is not when you feel like it. Right. It’s in season, out of season.

Right. 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 and and so, you know, you just ask people, how are you? Mhmm.

And I don’t think they expect that. And then

John Vigil: you you

Kimberly Faith: show them the love of God. And so, you know Mhmm. That God has a plan for you. Yes. And I’m sorry you’re going through something right now.

Mhmm. And that plants a seed that may lead to their salvation. Exactly. Don’t know until you just step out there.

John Vigil: And just being just kind 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, 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 I real if 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 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.

So he did. Yeah.

Maria Vigil: He did. Yeah.

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

Maria Vigil: All the time.

Kimberly Faith: And and if we can’t if the fruit of the spirit isn’t flowing out of us Mhmm. And the truth of God’s word being accompanied and supporting that. Yes. 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 not that you’re supposed to do it every time. That’s not always that door isn’t always open.

Mhmm. But if you plant those seeds of kindness, you’re gonna be the person they come back to when they’re in trouble.

Maria Vigil: Right. Exactly. And

Kimberly Faith: that’s kinda what you’re talking about, you know, Maria, being the the missionary Mhmm. All the time.

Maria Vigil: Yeah. All the time. It’s not a part time thing. Right. I just like I said, I just came back from somewhere, and I it was it was rewarding as in it was fruitful.

It helped the kingdom of God. There was we went to schools. We met with young people.

John Vigil: Yes.

Maria Vigil: And it was 50,000 people that we that we met with. Wow. And over 42,000 of them gave their life to Christ.

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

Maria Vigil: And this was in The Philippines.

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

Maria Vigil: I was there. Oh gosh. I was there. I said because of the what we were having festivals that night.

Kimberly Faith: Uh-huh.

Maria Vigil: And because we were having festival and people were coming to God. Yeah. The Jesus the it was like it was something special the night of the earthquake. I I felt something different, but it was something special. It’s like the the kingdom of hell was is fading Interesting.

Where the spirit of God was rising.

Kimberly Faith: Amen. That’s right. Well, I guess if you had vessels fly over your head, earthquake’s not a 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?

So

Kimberly Faith: She doesn’t know we are from California.

Maria Vigil: I said, you’re from California. And we’re just laughing and enjoy we laugh together on that. And I said, you know what? I said, Satan knows that he is unnoticed. Uh-huh.

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 I feel like God is on the move in so many Christians right now in our in our entire world.

Maria Vigil: Mhmm.

Kimberly Faith: You know? It’s time for a culture shift away from selfishness and into selflessness. Yes. And that’s such a great Joe, I’m curious. What about your last mission trip?

John Vigil: Mine was in Cambodia last I mean, how many people do you know went to Cambodia? I know that. And and and that’s why when I saw it on the list, my wife called me from where she was on the last year. She said, where do you wanna go? They got I said, what do they got?

And she went down the list, like three or four more places to go to, and she said Cambodia, instead of going to Cambodia. Wow. I mean, without hesitation. So I went to Cambodia, and and I’ll 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 gonna happen. Well, I was just I felt like I was a mess a little bit. Yeah. And I was like, how am I gonna serve? How am I gonna be effective in doing what it is that she wanted me to do?

And I just I I just really didn’t wanna go up until and I told her about two weeks. I said, I don’t think I should go. I I can’t 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. Mean, they they could have been my children Wow. Like in their maybe late twenties, early thirties. But like my wife was saying, there’s 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 right.

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

Kimberly Faith: Mhmm. And it’s controlled.

Maria Vigil: Yeah. It’s controlled.

John Vigil: Yeah. Very controlled. Are no cell towers, and the satellites just not passing over that part of the the the earth either. Mhmm. I like what you

Kimberly Faith: said there, Joe, because I think that God wants us to understand that we are weak Mhmm. So that he can be strong. Yeah. And I think you’re I love that you’ve expressed that you’re hesitant about even going. You started doubting.

Yeah. Because I think we’re all there a lot. Mhmm. 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 if I can do this podcast. And and he’s like, yeah. There you go again, thinking that you’re in charge. And and here we are.

John Vigil: But it we but it was it was it I was ministered too. Mhmm. 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 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? Yeah. Service to the Lord is is service to the Lord.

John Vigil: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: It’s not it’s not it when it’s coming from him, it’s like we’re we’re drinking from the well that never runs dry. Mhmm. So we have plenty to give away. Yes. You know, we aren’t we worn out.

We are I don’t feel worn out right now. I was worn out two hours ago. Yeah. But we’re doing God’s thing here.

John Vigil: Well, I mean I mean, this is a Gandhi quote that, you know, he said that if you wanna 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.

Maria Vigil: Right. Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Right. And

John Vigil: he who he

Kimberly Faith: who loses his life will find his And

John Vigil: so therefore, we have that that model that 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 to 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, it’s it’s so it 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 and have are personifying what it looks like when regular people say, yes, Lord.

Mhmm. 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. Mhmm. Yeah. But you have found such meaning in your life in serving the Lord.

John 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 this momentum that’s created because I know I’ve I I would ask guys to do things like, hey.

Do you wanna 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 wanna do

Kimberly Faith: it. Right.

John Vigil: Because I know if I come back to you next week, did you pray about it? You’re either gonna say no, which 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. Yeah. 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.

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

Kimberly Faith: It’s so

John Vigil: ironic that you We have to.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. That you’re saying that. I was just having a conversation with a young lady yesterday who’s in the special forces. Mhmm. She’s a helicopter pilot.

She’s in her training. Mhmm. And she goes, I just never feel comfortable. And I said, don’t you think that’s intentional?

John Vigil: Mhmm. Mhmm.

Kimberly Faith: Your 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. Mhmm. And I knew what she meant Mhmm. Because it’s hard think it’s hard for people who are like, she’s very bright, very capable.

John Vigil: Mhmm.

Kimberly Faith: But I think as Christians, we should not be we’re not here to be comfortable.

John Vigil: Right.

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

John Vigil: There’s and, honey, there’s, like, another characteristic. So when I was in Cambodia, I mean, it it was like I was prepared up to this point. Yeah. I’m gonna share it. And I was up to this point, I I just we just had lunch with the governor of that province with his chief 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 I feel like I feel like I’m an 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. Yeah. We can only speak on behalf of what our 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. Yes. You know, not our opinion.

John Vigil: Mhmm.

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. Right. 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 even if you’re in the immature, you’re on milk, Mhmm. You still should rely on God’s word Amen. And who God is. Yeah. Always believe that the the youth or the person who is on milk is on the most fire.

Kimberly Faith: Mhmm.

Maria Vigil: But that shouldn’t be.

Kimberly Faith: That shouldn’t be. Right.

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

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

Maria Vigil: Exactly. It’s

Kimberly Faith: it’s the only addiction that hurts you, but it 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. And I love that. 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 wanna talk to. Mhmm. That hurts my heart. Mhmm.

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

Why would I ever have any problem talking about my savior? Mhmm. Exactly. Right. Because when you’re in love with God, it flows out of every part of your being.

John Vigil: It does. You know?

Maria Vigil: And 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 it’s so funny you say that because God created every person in in his image, and we talk about what it means to be human. Mhmm. And and, you know, if if we could if we as a collective culture could understand the same God that created you created me Mhmm.

Then we would we would have respect because of the of the image that we bear. Yes. God’s image. And that that’s what that’s why I like this that podcast called truth and love because you gotta have both. You know?

Maria Vigil: And what I love in understanding the kingdom, God did not bring a religion.

Kimberly Faith: Mhmm.

Maria Vigil: 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 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. Yep.

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

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

Maria Vigil: Exactly. And I mean, we we and

Kimberly Faith: we know that Jesus is gonna come and and there’s gonna be a new heaven and new earth Mhmm. Untainted by sin. Right. But, man, we can sure get close. Yeah.

Yeah. And I and I and, you know, it’s isn’t it a great joy to know that we get to represent God? And I and it kind of as we wrap up, I I just wanna I just wanna ask, you know, isn’t it in 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.

John Vigil: Praise god.

Kimberly Faith: And that is such a good. 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?

John 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 gonna provide impact and value to others, to the listeners, and they’re gonna carry it forth as well in the name of Jesus.

Kimberly Faith: Well, we have to it again.

Maria Vigil: And I I love it being here with you because you are an an agent of change for for the kingdom of God. I hope so. And we all need that.

John Vigil: 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 not sure about our Lord and savior, he is Jesus is Lord.

Kimberly Faith: That’s right. And everyone’s gonna bow

Maria Vigil: before him. Everybody’s gonna bow before him. So

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. Yes. 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. Thank you. Thank you.

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