Small Town News

Quincys new family guy

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Our Neighbor: Sergio Castillo

Sergio Castillo has a mission: to help make Quincy the best place it possibly can be for families to live together in harmony.

In his new job as a minister at Quincy Christian Reformed Church, Castillo is in a unique position to accomplish that goal.

One of his main focal points in his ministry work is going to be on improving family relations.

"I see a lot of divorce in the community, a lot of kids running away, girls getting pregnant at 1.3 or 14, husbands beating wives. There's many problems," he said. "I want to focus my time on these family issues and help the community with its spiritual needs and provide any kind of help I can. That's why I'm here, to spread the word of God to those who don't know."

Castillo plans on launching a grass-roots effort to help spread his message.

"I plan on doing a lot of counseling," he said. "That's always a good resource to get in touch with the people. I'll also be making some flyers and just letting the community know about our mission in the church and the resources that we have."

Castillo comes to Quincy from Sunny side, where he spent the last seven years training to become a minister.

He feels as if he'll be working from a position of strength and familiarity because Sun-nyside and Quincy have a lot of similarities.

"Sunnyside and Quincy have some of the same needs," Castillo said. "Most people are struggling with their families because they lack knowledge of the Bible. The Bible has the answers forthose types of ques7 tions. God is the one who decides the family, and He knows how to improve relationships with families."

Castillo has been in Quincy for about three weeks and so far likes what he sees.

"I ve heard this community is growing" he said. "Most of the people who are coming here are Hispanics. The town is more than half Hispanic, so this is a good chance for us to help those people."

Castillo was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1977 and moved to Toppenish in 1995. He graduated from high school and married his wife, Edna, in the late 1990s and became a Christian in 2000.

The next year, Castillo decided to pursue the ministry.

"In order to be a minister, the most important thing you have to have is the call from God," he said. "When I became a Christian, I felt right away, or over the next couple of years, that this is what I wanted to do."

Church pastor Tom De-Does thinks Castillo will be an asset for the ministry and community.

"He has a good track record of working with people in many different settings," DeDoes said. "He has a deep concern for families who are hurting and in need and he desires they find some real help. He especially desires they come to know God and His love for hurting people.

"I am also excited as Sergio can relate to people who speak his native language and a language I have struggled to try to grasp. Sergio wants to be part of our community and to connect with people who are looking for help."

At first, Castillo was worried about uprooting his family -- which also includes children Andrea, 11; Angelica, 8; and Sergio Jr., 4 -- from Sunny-side, but his concerns have been quickly extinguished.

"At the beginning I was a little scared. Everything would be new for them," he said, "but they've adapted very fast. They've very supportive."

Those are ideal words coming from a family man looking to help other families.



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© 2009 The Quincy Valley Post-Register Quincy, California. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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