60 - Encouraged to keep going forward...
Hey friends,
If you are following me on social media then you probably saw that Ileana’s 60th birthday fell on the day of her photo session. I was honored to have her trust me with capturing these images for her. We had our own little celebration; you can check a little behind the scenes here!
I hope you enjoy reading about Ileana as much as I enjoyed meeting her.
Ileana was born in Puerto Rico where she was an active member of the United Methodist Church. There she received a B.A. in Communications from the University of Puerto Rico and worked as a press officer for the President of the Senate.
In 1991, she arrived in Virginia with her 3 daughters and obtained a Master of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary. She was appointed as Associate Pastor at Culmore UMC where she founded GRACE Ministries, a community outreach program that now serves 1,500 people a month and empowers them to become leaders in their communities.
She is a trained, experienced church planter who’s started a new Spanish-language church in Arlington. Illeana is an advocate for the Latino community, she was recognized by President George Bush who invited her to a Christmas reception at the White House on December 12th, 2001 as part of the faith-based initiative.
Ileana is a Latina Pastor and her expertise in cultural relationships empowered her to serve at many levels in the United Methodist Church. She inspires others to focus on welcoming the different cultures and offer them a positive experience of worship at the church. This is why she became the first Latina Director of Hispanic/Latino Ministries for the Virginia Conference until she was appointed as the first Latina serving an Anglo church at Wesley Chapel UMC in the village of Chuckatuck in Suffolk. There she inspired the Pastors Association to invite the neighboring African American churches to their joint worship services for the first time. She also led an effort to renovate the facilities of the church to offer a welcoming atmosphere to visitors.
When she joined Lower United Methodist Church in 2015, she empowered the congregation to grow spiritually and reach out into the community. This included the creation of a Contemporary worship service for the community, strengthening the children and youth programs, and greater emphasis on music during worship. During her time there, she became the President of the Ministerial Association casting a vision of unity and intentionally reaching out to pastors of all denominations and races, organizing multiple worship services for 10 to 15 churches together.
In July of this year, she started a new adventure as Pastor of Benn’s UMC where she was warmly welcomed by a loving and caring congregation. Among many new and caring friends, she obeys the call that has defined her life: to praise God, reach to others in love and serve the world in Jesus’ name.
I asked Ileana what was something that happened in her life that had a significant impact in her life. She said, “At the age of 30 I was living in a very oppressive situation and felt defeated by life. No matter how much I tried, too many things were against me. My mother helped me join her in Virginia and put my 3 daughters in an American school so they could learn the language. Once here, I learned to trust myself and fight for my dreams. I searched for a job for 6 months but even with my education and experience as a journalist, no one wanted to hire me because of the language. I persevered learning English, applying to jobs, and knocking on every door until I was offered my first job. I remember walking a distance to the bus stop, taking 2 buses, and walking again to be at my part-time job at 8:30 am, just to repeat everything in the afternoon to go home. When the snow came, I started dancing at the bus stop so as not to feel so cold. It was my perseverance that impressed my co-workers who began to give me rides back home at the end of the shift until I was able to get a car. Looking back, I recognize that all these experiences make me stronger and wiser. I am proud of myself for taking every opportunity to grow and excel as a professional and as a human being.”
When I asked if her values have changed she said, “My core values were instilled in me since I was very young: love others, treat people with respect, share my blessings with others, take care of my family by honoring my parents, and blessing my children. I also value learning as much as I can, remembering what is important, listening to others with empathy, and reaching out in love. As I get older, I have learned to be courageous and resist when bullies who try to bring me down, to stand for myself when faced with rejection, and keep on pushing in the presence of discrimination. I keep on shining no matter what. I have learned to respect myself and find time for healing, restoration, and renewal of my soul. I strive to live a balanced and healthy life that will keep me strong so I can be strong for others.”
Her family and friends describe her as a very passionate person, she’s passionate about life, about sharing love, and empowering others around her. She shares joy, brings peace, and teaches how to love others.
One of her dreams and goals for the future is to be able to travel and visit places she has only read about. She said, “Traveling is a life-changing experience, even when we don’t realize it at first. I have been to South Korea, Mexico, and Israel and every trip has been a spiritual journey that has allowed me to grow spiritually and use my learnings to improve my effectiveness as a professional.”
A myth she’d like to bust is that being a woman over 40 is considered a very old woman, without a future. She said to me, “Thanks to the efforts and achievements of many women who believed in themselves and kept accomplishing important things, doors have opened for many of us. Women over 40 that believe in themselves and follow their dreams have accomplished incredible things. One of the many things I admire about women over 40 is that their accomplishments always benefit the whole community. They don’t work just for themselves but for the benefit of their family, and their communities. That’s why they are so effective!
A piece of advice she has for the younger generation is to “Trust in yourself!” “This is hard because as a Latino woman people did not expect me to excel. Whenever I did something great people would try to find the negative on it, or diminish the value of what was accomplished. My father never expected me to go to college because I was a woman, so I applied in secret to the University of Puerto Rico, took the entrance exams, and was accepted with a full scholarship to study Communications from where I graduated with a Magna Cum Laude. Whenever I trusted myself and followed my heart, I achieved my goals.”
Thank you Ileana for your leadership, encouragement, and all the love you pour over everyone you meet.
Much love,
Tamara