2009 Second Chance Award: Edgar Perez
Pastor Hector Cedillo (left) and Rich Vasquez (right), the 2008 2nd Chance Award
Recipient, present the 2009 2nd Chance Award to Edgar Perez (center).
We are so proud to award our 2009 "2nd Chance Award" to Edgar Perez, a man who continues to overcome huge obstacles in his life.
Two years ago while traveling to visit his father in Guatamala, Edgar took a cab after departing the plane. The cab driver drove Edgar to a remote place, and told him to have his family give him $20,000 by midnight, or he would kill him. When midnight came and Edgar did not have the money, the driver shot him 5 times, 3 times to the head, and left him for dead. The rest can only be described as a true miracle, as God intervened and spared Edgar's life.
Now, Edgar is a changed man spiritually, and uses every opportunity to share his story of God's mercy and grace, with anyone who asks about his physical scars. Edgar lives his life with one eye, part of his mouth missing, and abdominal scars, none of which dull his enthusiasm for what God has done in his life. He is a living testimony! For this, in honor of Monty, Susan, Lendon and Jake, we make him the 2009 "2nd Chance Award" recipient.
2008 Second Chance Award: Rich Vasquez
Rich and Sylvia Vasquez (left) led a community service project at a local
community center with their church small group in April 2007.
The Monty Price Foundation is proud to announce the recipient of the 2008 Second Chance Award. Rich Vasquez, a North Coast Church attendee, has been battling brain fungus lesions since July of 2007. And through his ups and downs over the past year, his story of courage and strength is so powerful, it has to be shared.
“I’ve always been a tough guy― a Marine. You know the kind. You build yourself up to be invincible― never showing pain, never showing emotion, never crying,” Rich says. “But everything has changed.”
Rich admits that while he’s always been such a tough person physically, this ordeal is mentally the hardest thing he has ever faced.
“There’s no way to prepare for it until it happens to you. I know I’m going through this for a reason, and I’ve learned some big lessons. Hopefully it’s over, but if not, I’ll keep on battling!”
This year has also changed how he views God, and challenged him to ask himself some tough questions.
“You have to look at yourself and say, ‘Who am I? Who am I really? What have I built myself up to be?’ At some points during this ordeal, I’ve felt like I didn’t know who I was,” he says.
“I had read the book of Job about a month before I began to have symptoms, and it was extremely powerful. Job never asked God why bad things were happening to him. So I say, ‘Who am I to ask God why? Who am I to question?’ I just listen. God has blessed my family financially, and he’s shown us His will. It truly is his timing, not mine. I’ve learned patience, and I know God hears me. I have so many people praying for me, and I know prayer is powerful.”
This experience has also changed how he sees prayer, and having a lot of alone time in the hospital gave Rich time to talk to God.
“Every day I ask God to heal me,” he says. “When you’re in this situation, you know how to pray and just ask for His help. It’s just you and God, talking things through.”
But Rich already feels a newfound purpose for his life― one spent helping others through their own battles. “The Lord has already helped me heal so much since my last surgery. And I feel like God is calling me to help others learn how to fight through things mentally.”
“I’ve had tough guys come up to me with tears in their eyes and say that I’m teaching them how to be a real man― how to fall and rebuild yourself. I want my story to be bigger than just saying, ‘I’m a Christian man.’”
I think it already is.
Please join us in praying for Rich’s complete healing as he continues his battle against this disease. He was given the Second Chance Award because of the way he has handled the second chance God has given him. Early on there were times that it didn't look like Rich would make it. He did, and this is his story.