Carmen López Morales
Moved by compassion, Rafael offered the Lewis family a house he owned across the street and trained Lewis and his eldest son in literature evangelism.
Not long after, Rafael left for Venezuela to continue selling Adventist books. Unfortunately, his work was met with hostility. A local Catholic priest warned him to stop, but Rafael persisted. Tragically, a group of thugs ambushed and killed him. News of Rafael’s death in 1922 devastated the López family and plunged them into financial hardship. Two years later, Rafael’s widow, Esperanza, realized she could no longer support her six children. Desperate, she sent her eldest daughter, 15-year-old Carmen, to live with relatives in New York City, hoping she might earn money and eventually prepare a new home for the family.
Though Carmen struggled to make much money, she managed to rent a small apartment in Manhattan and later brought her mother and siblings to join her. However, the López family found life in New York difficult, and without the close-knit Adventist community they had known, they slowly drifted away from the faith for which Rafael had given his life.
Meanwhile, Sebastian Lewis learned of his friend Rafael’s tragic death and the López family’s move to New York. Determined to help, he relocated to the city and searched for them. When he finally found their home, he knocked on the door, greeting Esperanza with a big smile and broken Spanish: “Hermana Esperanza, it’s me, Sebastian Lewis.”
When he discovered they had stopped attending church, Sebastian urged, “Hermana, you must come back to the Lord, for your husband’s sake and for God’s sake. We must raise up a church here, a church for Puerto Ricans.”
Moved by his words, the López family began hosting weekly prayer meetings in their home. Carmen, often busy with work, usually excused herself. But one evening, returning home while the meeting was still in progress, she overheard her name being lifted up in prayer. Deeply touched, she felt her need for Christ.
Sometime later, Lewis encountered Carmen on the subway as she returned home from work. Looking her in the eye, he said, “Carmelita, I’ve thought about this for a long time. I believe you should be our new Bible worker.”
Though Carmen felt unqualified, she sensed God’s call. She enrolled in a Bible doctrine course through the Home Study Institute, and at the age of 19 became the first Hispanic Bible worker for the Greater New York Conference. Through her efforts, many Hispanics in Harlem, the Bronx and Brooklyn joined the church. Her work was instrumental in founding the first Hispanic church in New York City.1
Denis Kaiser is an associate professor of church history at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University.
