John lives in Cercado de Lima, Peru. He currently rents a room, as his entire family resides in Iquitos, a city in the Amazon region of the country. He is the youngest of nine siblings. 

From an early age, John faced great challenges: at the age of one, he suffered an accident that left him deaf and with some physical limitations. At the age of twelve, he entered a school where he learned sign language, which transformed his way of communicating and strengthened his confidence. Despite obstacles, such as the lack of interpreters during his studies, he managed to finish high school, which was one of the most important victories of his life. 

John was introduced to Young Life by a sign language interpreter. She invited him to a camp, where he not only shared with other young people like himself, but also had a personal encounter with Jesus. It was the first time someone spoke to him clearly about God in his own language. Since then, he began to walk in faith and is currently a leader in the Capernaum ministry, where he accompanies deaf youth and college students. 

John is taking his first steps in college. He is studying Performing Arts at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú in Lima. He is the first in his family to have access to higher education, which fills him with pride and motivates him to be an example for other deaf youth. At Young Life, he hopes to continue to grow as a leader and create accessible spaces for more teens with disabilities to encounter Jesus and realize their full potential.