12,967 Reasons

With an Irish name, Spanish last names, and now with a new Chinese name; I can’t say that I belong just to one nook of this Planet.

My name is Kevin and I was born in México.

The pride of my land runs fervently in my veins and I’m not just saying that, because I like to think that my country is where God overflowed His immense creativity, for all that my culture entails. But today is not the day for talking of the great Tenochtitlan; instead today is for expressing the feeling about my encounter with the old continent, Asia.

It was because of an immense grace and opportunity that I am here, 12,967 kilometers from home. A childhood dream come true, to know the old continent called “Asia”. To be more specific, living with a purpose on the Island of Formosa.

After three months living here, everything is upside-down. Like some cartoons talk about in a satirical form. Really, everything is different in a relative way, but very exciting at the same time. But nevertheless I’ve noticed that in the spiritual scope, people live under a “fear” regime. Their lives are based on making offerings to their gods because of the fear. Not by love and gratefulness.

This has broken many paradigms in my head with regard to how every human being doesn’t know that love (God) is the answer of everything, and also it is the question.
But what I have found truly beautiful here are people’s hearts. Despite their differences in belief and culture they are always disposed to help each other, to push themselves to succeed, and to transcend. I need to admit that this is something I envy and desire in my country.

Despite the difficulties of the language barrier that complicates the communication and despite my less-than-excellent English, I’ve found an amazing ease to know new people and build relationships, in unexpected ways and almost any place. But that’s not new for me, because I know that is a part of a grace with people that God has given me as a gift. What is new for me is the wit that I need to achieve for helping them to know Him in a suitable way, setting aside the spiritual shock, my earthling’s imperfections and human deficiencies; being that this is the principal objective.

The struggles day-by-day are difficult in the moment of missing everything, and when I talk of missing things, it’s real. The journey and the adventure continue, eight months left of anecdotes to count, lives to reach and places to conquer, connected every time with the eternal fountain.

Sometimes the time passes very slowly, sometimes very quickly, but it always passes avidly in the effort to move further.

I am twenty-four years old; I’m a marketer and publicist of profession, a singer and an artist from the heart (by passion). I do not know how long I will be breathing and I am not worried to know. What keeps me awake is the question, can I achieve the best expression of my existence in this Earth, to inspire others, to arrive at the end of my days knowing that I gave it all passionately and happy to get a smile from my Creator… or maybe two or three.

Now I’m here, with 12,967 reasons for being grateful, or maybe more. For being happy to be here at last achieving a long-awaited desire:

 “I will take You where they don’t sing to You, where they don’t listen to You, where they don’t see You, where they don’t feel You, where the crying is, where the shadows are… My Lord.” 

~K. Valencia

Kevin Abraham Valencia López is a  Marketer and Publisher from Monterrey, México. His passion is music and he plays the bass and sings in “Mas por Amor”, a Worship Band. His goal is make a change in the social consciousness for a better world, with God’s love as the flag. Now, he is teaching English in Taiwan for one year, living the dream in Asia.