Dennis Alejo

I grew up in a nation where food was always a challenge. Sometimes we could eat twice a day, and sometimes we couldn’t eat at all.
My mom died when I was 8 years old, and my dad left us with my one younger brother and two older sisters to find a job on another island so that he could support us. My second oldest sister quit high school to find work so that I could go to school.
My first pair of shoes was in 6th grade. Before that, I would wear broken flip-flops or go to school barefoot. My grandma would even cut pencils into three pieces so that my two cousins and I could have something to write with.
I always failed my grades, unlike my older sisters who received awards at school. I felt useless and hopeless, so whenever I hung out with friends, we would drink coconut wine called “tuba” and I became addicted.
Later on in my life, my friends and sisters told me about Jesus. I also remember our old neighbor who would sometimes bring us “poorage,” which is rice with plenty of water and tiny pieces of chicken. She would always mention that God is love.
I surrendered my life to God and he changed it. He took away my alcoholism and showed me that there is hope in him. I became a pastor for years and joined the missionary movement called Youth With A Mission (YWAM). That’s how I met my beautiful wife, Emily.
Today, my wife and I, along with our friends, are feeding 3,500 kids a month. We give them school supplies and share the hope of Jesus in their lives. I look at these kids as if they were me when I was younger. Our non-profit organization, Kingdom Legacy Ministries, is still growing and expanding.
I also run a business called Instant Web Tools, a web development company, and ten percent of the profits go directly to help kids.