Knowledge tome


As I drove down Rolling Road to pick up my mom from work, I noticed a red Mitsubishi Galant behind me. Reaching a signal, I spotted a tall, dark-skinned man, with a medium build from the rear view mirror. He had a rather chubby face and an attractive smile. Next to him sat a shorter man, with a rather thin build, smiling back at his much older friend. They were conversing and laughing time and again while listening to the radio. I was struck. These two people reminded me of how a very close friend and I interacted with each other.

Patrick Urgino was the mission volunteer that was assigned to my church group's area. My older brother had known him for many years, even before immigrating to the United States, but I did not meet him until he moved to Virginia from California. When I first met him, I was very intimidated. He was a six-foot-three man in his middle twenties with a deep, bass voice and an army haircut. Through the years, Pat and I became closer through regularly spending the night at the house and serving as my chauffer. He and I would drive to retreats hours away, as far as New Jersey, and it was through these long drives that I learned so much about everything.

He was like a tome of knowledge, of random information, and of advice. He was my mentor. From teaching me how to drive in the parking lot of Anthony Lane Elementary School to giving me advice on relationships in one of our long, late night drives home from Maryland, he was there for me as a guide. He had gone through many trials in life, made a lot of mistakes, achieved many goals, and he cared for me so much that he shared that with me. He hoped that through his example, I would not have to go through all of the pain and suffering he felt.

One of such examples was when he spoke at a retreat that I attended. Pat's reputation in my church group is impeccable; he is known all over the country as a saint. When he spoke, he proved this assumption to be false. He told us about how he fell into temptation, how he let everybody, including himself, down, and how much he hated himself for doing so. Realizing his mistake, he conveyed his enormous amount of guilt, telling us that at that moment of failure, he wanted to commit suicide. The turnaround was this; he spoke of how he recovered from this failure. No matter how greatly he failed everyone, he was able to pull through and come out a stronger man, resulting in my church group calling him Superman.

This really helped me with the mindset that I previously had. Ever since I was born, I was always the smart kid in the family. I always had to succeed. I can remember nights when I could not complete a project, or when the lessons became too hard for me, I would start crying, seeing myself as a failure. From Pat's example, I know that all that was wrong. I am human, though some may see me as some character with super powers. I am capable of making mistakes, and committing them is not the end of the world. No matter how many times I fail myself, my family, everyone else, I can bounce right back and move on with life, learning from that mistake.

Pat is in California now, finishing his degree in computer graphics. I miss him a lot, though I know that his teachings remain where they belong _ in my heart.


Lloyd Guerra
YFC-Maryland/Virginia





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