Staff: Jose Solis
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Name: Jose Solis
Title: Maple Community Development Associate
Email: josesolis@solidarityrising.org
When I was little, I was a free spirited kid who loved to meet new people and be friends with everyone. I didn’t like to fight or argue, or conflicts of any kind for that matter. When I was in 3rd grade I moved from Topaz Elementary to Richmam Elementary. I didn’t know the innocence that I had as a kid would only last for a couple of years, then it would vanish like a short breeze of wind. In school, I realized that I couldn’t be this free spirited happy kid because it was like a sign of weakness and I would get beat up by others who were just angry and were looking for someone to get their anger out on. Between Jr. High and High School, I became like the others. I was a very angry teenager who seemed ticked off all the time and I liked to get in fights with others to get the anger out. During my senior year of High School I met Tommy Nixon who invited a couple of youth from my church, Lifeline Ministries, to a retreat (The Oaks) — including myself.
It was during that retreat when I first experienced God and a bit of freedom from this pain, anger and frustration I had inside. While I was at the retreat I realized that God had always been pursuing and chasing after me but I was too caught up in my anger, pain and frustration to notice. I remember talking to Tommy one on one during that retreat and I told him exactly how I felt inside. I remember telling him something like, “I’m tired of feeling and being angry all the time…I don’t want to be angry anymore or hold all this pain I have inside…” although he really didn’t know me at the time he was willing to hear me out and he understood where I was coming from. After that conversation he prayed for me and I felt a lot more relieved and free. As the years went by Tommy became like a friend and mentor who I could turn to for advice and direction, part of the reason for that was because he kept things real. A couple of months after the retreat I realized that Tommy would always have my back and help me out.
The final turning point in my walk with Christ was in December 2010 when I faced the greatest struggle of my personal life and in my walk with Christ (so far). It was during this struggle that I learned to always fall back and run into God’s arms for comfort, mercy, and grace. Little did I know that overcoming this struggle would allow me to find and be reunited with Christ once more increasing my faith greatly! Looking back at all these years from Senior year in High School to where I am and stand now, I realize how much God has done for me and how He has blessed me.
Two years ago, at the end of my Senior year in High School I didn’t even know if I was going to graduate and going to college wasn’t even on my mind. Now I’m getting ready for my second semester in college and I have my High School Diploma right in front of my bed to remind me that struggles in life happen and they are inevitable but we must continue to move forward and persevere without letting them hinder us from our goals or dreams because there is no struggle in life that we can’t overcome. All along, God has not only helped me graduate from High School and go to College despite the obstacles and struggles but has allowed me to grow as an individual through these obstacles an struggles — to serve as an example and to use my life as a testimony for the kids and youth at Solidarity’s Maple program, Glimpse. God did all this for a greater purpose and I feel that the greater purpose is what God is calling and leading me to do which is to be an example for both the kids and youth in the Maple neighborhood.
Ultimately, I think God is leading me to be like an older brother to the kids who were like me when I was young, many of these kids and youth wish they had someone to look up to, trust, and come for advice and guidance. Someone that uplifts and reminds them that they don’t need to pretend to be someone they are not because God specifically made them with unique characteristics, personalities, gifts and talents in order to use each one of them and their uniqueness to change and inspire the life of others. The youth need someone to look up to but not just anyone, they need leaders, brothers, and sisters who are willing to stand up and stand their ground against the enemy to uplift, motivate, encourage, and point them to God….to serve as an example of how to stand against adversity, pain and struggles… this is what God is leading me to do and I place my faith in God’s hands not only accepting the challenge and calling, but acknowledging that along the way others will rise up to stand for a greater cause as well.
What’s your favorite TV show? Woody Woodpecker, Dragon Ball Z, and Looney Tunes
What type of movie best describes Solidarity? Both Fat Albert, and Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Fat Albert because from my perspective Solidarity is just a family in Christ that is made up of a bunch of believers and friends who care, back up, and help out each other. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air because we’re like a family but each one of us at Solidarity is uniquely and distinctly different from one another but we still care for one another and can go up to each other for advice and direction.
If Solidarity were a mode of transportation, what type would it be & why? A 60′ Low rider Impala, preferably with a Metallic Midnight Purple paint job.
Describe Solidarity in one word: Unity
