In June 2022, Rogelio Quintero, then a medical student from Guadalajara, Mexico, embarked on a journey to serve in Israel. What began as a volunteer opportunity with MAGEN DAVID ADOM, Israel’s emergency services system, soon became a deeply spiritual and personal awakening.

“About a year before I went to Israel, God spoke to me,” Rogelio explained. “He spoke to me through friends and religious leaders, and somehow the doors opened for me. Never in my life had I thought about learning Hebrew and going to Israel and serving with MAGEN DAVID ADOM. It was 100% God saying: ‘Go to Israel.’”

Rogelio applied in spring 2022 to serve as a volunteer paramedic with MAGEN DAVID ADOM. At the time, he was in the middle of medical school at the University of Guadalajara.

Rogelio was accepted and served with MAGEN DAVID ADOM in June and July 2022. After completing a rigorous week-long training course, he chose to volunteer in Jerusalem, working alongside paramedics on ambulance shifts Sunday through Thursday.

He served tirelessly, responding to medical emergencies, assisting the injured, and witnessing firsthand the dedication of MAGEN DAVID ADOM’s paramedics and EMTs. In this high-pressure environment, Rogelio learned a lesson just as valuable as the technical lessons involved in emergency medical care.

“They put all of their humanity into treating patients,” he explained. “They do not let personal feelings guide the way they care for patients, but they apply the same compassion and professionalism no matter who it is. That is what I took from Israel, and it has been life-changing.”

After his shifts, Rogelio often visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a sacred site for Christians located in the Old City of Jerusalem. One day, Rogelio lingered for a long time at the church. He knew he was far from God. And as it turned out, someone else knew too — someone he had never met before.

After the church closed, Rogelio sat down on the steps of the church, and a mysterious man, dressed in white with long hair and a walking stick, approached him. Without introduction, the man spoke to him in fluent Spanish, asking, “Why are you so distant from God?”

“He didn’t ask my name; he didn’t ask what language I spoke,” Rogelio said. “He didn’t know me at all. But he asked me that question, and it was true — I was very distant in my relationship with God. My habits and my lifestyle were not in God’s path.”

Then the man in white asked a second question: “Why have you come to Israel?” and Rogelio responded that God had told him to come.

And then he said something else to Rogelio, “Yes, you have a mission in Israel, and you must come again.”

The 20-minute conversation inspired Rogelio. Who was this man? How did he know his struggles? Was he merely a passerby, or was this a divine intervention? One of the Israeli guards at the church snapped a photo of Rogelio with the man in the white tunic, giving Rogelio a chance to capture the moment — a memory he treasures as a turning point in his life.

Returning to Mexico, Rogelio found himself in a battle between faith and temptation. The world around him often contradicted the spiritual clarity he had found in Israel. Yet, through persistence and prayer, he reaffirmed his commitment to God in 2023, dedicating his life not only to medicine but also to a deeper purpose: serving through faith.

Rogelio completed his medical degree this year and is planning to return to Israel this summer to help save lives.

Though much remains uncertain, one thing is clear — his time in Israel was not just about volunteering; it was about discovering a calling greater than himself.

“Now I tell God, ‘I’m following your way; I’m your soldier,’” he said. “I will live my life to serve you, not the world. I will never be separated from God again.”

For Rogelio, his time serving with MAGEN DAVID ADOM in Israel was more than an experience; it was a catalyst for transformation. It was where he learned to serve, to heal, and most importantly, to listen — to the patients he treated, to the lessons of compassion, and to the voice that once told him, “Go to Israel.”