In a journey that started more than 30 years ago on his front porch in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Eligio Rodriguez found himself in Watertown, Wis., this summer in front of more than four hundred brothers in the faith.

Rodriguez attended the 2011 synod convention on behalf of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Church of Puerto Rico to represent his home church as WELS officially declared fellowship with it.

In a "thank-you" to the synod delegates and attendees, Rodriguez said, "I am filled with great joy because I have been looking forward with all of my heart to being before you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, at this memorable occasion, formally and officially requesting today and into the future what we have already been enjoying for more than 40 years, by the grace of God, namely, fellowship in preaching of the Word, in the sacraments, and in every future activity in which we might mutually agree to participate as one family, one church in Christ."

Rodriguez' Lutheran life started in the late 1970s. After being raised and married in the Catholic Church, he began to question if its teachings were right for him. Shortly after being married, he and his wife moved to a new town, at which point he decided it was time for a new beginning not only in a new home with a new wife but also in his faith life.

So, he says, he began to pray for God to guide him in the right direction in his faith. Though Catholicism was and is the predominant religion in Puerto Rico, a few scattered Lutheran-affiliated and Pentecostal churches were popping up. And Jehovah's Witnesses knock on Puerto Rican doors too. But, Rodriguez says, none of those churches were right for him.

One afternoon when he was sitting on his porch praying and thinking about the direction of his faith life, the answer literally walked up to him in the form of WELS Missionary Paul Hartman. Hartman asked if he could talk to Rodriguez about Jesus, and, of course, Rodriguez said yes. Rodriguez says from the time he heard the saving message of "by grace alone, by faith alone, by Scripture alone," he has been blessed, especially because this is not what he had been taught growing up Catholic.

From that time on Rodriguez became active in the Lutheran faith. While still serving on the police force, he has been taking seminary courses through the Latin American Traveling Theological Educators (LATTE) program; he will be graduating this December. He also already serves a small congregation. Besides enforcing the law as a member of the police force, he is now entering the ministry to share the gospel.

In addition to his work in the ministry and in law enforcement (from which he hopes to retire by the end of 2012), Rodriguez and his wife run a state-licensed elderly care facility out of their home. They have two children, Noemí and Natanael. As a hobby, Rodriguez raises goats.