Who We Are

How We Started

My wife and I began working for Jesus back in 2005, when we asked Him to send us out into His harvest field (Matthew 9:37-38). Since then, we haven't had a dull moment.  I had spent four years in the US Navy as an officer, but resigned in favor of raising a family. Afterward I found a job, which laid me off four years later causing us to move to California. I went back to school in Los Angeles to update my skills as a graphic artist in order to find work. It was there where our service to Jesus took an amazing turn.

While in L.A., we attended a local church that seemed to be a good fit for us. We got involved by leading a youth group that participated in the church's first "Reformation Day" service (Oct. 31). The material we used to influence our planning was based on chapter seven of the book The Great Controversy which was titled "Luther's Separation from Rome." It created an interest with some of the church members to further study the book.

The Problem

We began a study group for The Great Controversy where we discussed one chapter a week. The interest grew as well as the attendance, but  we encountered a problem. Most of the people were not reading the book. When I asked why they were not reading it, they responded with several excuses that ranged from: "it's too hard to read" to "I don't have time." After several weeks of this I decided to make it easier for them to understand. I sent links to audio books of The Great Controversy and made simple study guides so that they would have something to follow. It seemed to help, however, that was when the real trouble began.

We learned that the pastor did not support The Great Controversy, other writings of Ellen G. White, or the fundamental beliefs of the church which he denounced from the pulpit. After struggling with the pastor for weeks, he shut down the study group and convinced the church board to disfellowship me.

The Solution

After some time away from the church and its politics, we attended another church that reinstated me. There, I suggested to the pastor to cover The Great Controversy in a study group. He agreed and it turned out to be a great blessing to that church.

 Even though the experience in L.A. shook me up and opened my eyes to the poor condition of the church (Hosea 4:6), I knew how important the message of The Great Controversy really was. All of this solidified our mission to make it easy. (2 Timothy 2:15). We also developed a card game that makes it even easier to learn and share with others.

Thank you for visiting our website,

Mario and Simone Rivera