Ruben Perez-Schulz

I have moved around a lot with my family. None of that was ever planned. Every day I ask myself, "What does the Lord want me to do today?" and then I try to listen and do what God wants of me.

Let me start my story with my father. He was the eldest son of a wealthy wine producer in Chile and his life ahead seemed clear. But then at age 19 he found out about the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was convicted that is what he wanted in his life and told his father. That was the end of his wealth and heritage, and the start of a life of faith and commitment! He went to the Adventist university in Chile and studied to be a pastor, traveling to Argentina for his last year of studies. It was a good match. While in Argentina he met my mother, whose Adventist roots go back to the beginning of Adventism in Argentina. She was young when my father wanted to marry her, only 18, but eventually her family gave permission and the two married and returned to my dad’s home country of Chile.

Their lives were ones of service and mission—in Chile and later in Canada. As for me, I was the second of four sons and we all were given such wonderful modeling by our parents that each of us has committed to working for the Seventh-day Adventist Church also. My eldest brother is assistant to the president at the General Conference. Then there is me. My next brother is a teacher of history and social sciences. My youngest brother is currently the provost at the Adventist university in Argentina.

As for me, I was the only son who was born in my mother’s home country of Argentina, although I lived most of my life in Chile. I attended the state university in Temuco, Chile, and seven days after graduating I married my lovely wife, Carolina (she too, by the way, was the daughter of a pastor). By this time my father was in Canada and so my wife and I traveled to Calgary, Alberta and I studied in the University of Lethbridge for my MEd. My two daughters were both born in Calgary.

After eight years in Canada I was invited to return to Chile and teach and also become an administrator in the K–12 Adventist school system. Our schools there are large and I was asked to be the vice principal of the Los Angeles Adventist Academy, an institution with around 1,500 students. After five years I became the principal of that same school and then after another five years moved to be the principal of the premiere academic Adventist academy in Chile, with 1,100 students, Concepcion Adventist Academy. I was only there for one year when in 2006 Andrews University invited me to come here as assistant professor of Spanish. I have been here ever since, taking on the additional responsibilities of assistant dean of the College of Arts & Sciences in 2014.

I have moved around a lot with my family. None of that was ever planned. Every day I ask myself, “What does the Lord want me to do today?” and then I try to listen and do what God wants of me. We can’t know when, where or how God wants us to serve, but if we leave the doors open to his leading, he will lead us to the right place at the right time. I have seen so much leading in the lives of my grandparents, parents and other family members. I believe God has led me too and that gives me confidence that he will continue to do so: me, Carolina, and my two daughters, Cristina and Daniela.

When my dad told his father that he was not going to work in the wine business at age 19, he could never have known what was going to happen to him after that. Neither could my mother at age 18 know what the future would be when she married my father. But look where God led them, and how he has led me and my three brothers.

I have had so many opportunities and each has provided a path to greater service! That is what excites me when I get up each day! That joy is what I want each of my students to discover also.