Remembering Roduel Perez
Posted on May 10, 2021
“To live is Christ, and to die is gain.” —Philippians 1:21
We are thankful for the 75+ international faculty members who teach in our program around the world. These faculty members are the unsung heroes of our ministry—they are true servant leaders and life-changers. Today, we honor the extraordinary life of one of our Guatemalan faculty members, Roduel Perez.
Born on January 1, 1948, Roduel Perez spent his life serving his Savior. Though you’ve probably never heard of his hometown of San Antonio Aguas Calientes, it has great significance in the history of Christian missions. When Cameron Townsend, the founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators, visited this town as a young missionary in the early 1900’s, a man confronted him with the question: “If your God is so smart, why doesn’t he speak my language [Kaqchikel]?” This question prompted Townsend to launch the modern Bible translation movement, beginning with Kaqchikel.
Roduel Perez followed in the footsteps of his grandparents, who were language checkers for Townsend’s first Bible translation into Kaqchikel. He served as a Bible translator and literacy trainer with Wycliffe for a number of years. During this time, God captivated his heart with the physical and spiritual needs of the remote jungle region of Ixcán. He and his wife began regularly making the hard trek there to evangelize, and many people began turning to Christ.
Roduel then began to see the need for solid pastors to continue teaching the Word, so he began meeting with local pastors and started a small seminary in Ixcán to help them understand how to teach the Bible. He began partnering and teaching with Global Action in 2017 to provide pastors with the biblical training they needed.
God called Roduel Perez home to glory on April 10, 2021. Roduel dedicated his life to strengthening the church and leading people to the God he loved. God used him to turn his piece of the world upside down with the Gospel. With his passion for the truth of God’s word, his love for our Savior Jesus Christ, and his ability to speak multiple languages, Roduel was able to minister to hundreds of people across different cultures. His was a life well lived.
It is an honor to celebrate Roduel Perez and his quiet service of the Kingdom. Faculty members like him make our mission possible. Thank you, Roduel, for your service and example. You are home!
Please join us in praying for Roduel’s wife Hilda, their four children, and all those who were so deeply touched by his life. May God fill their hearts with comfort, and may Roduel’s powerful legacy live on through all those he trained.
