Eric Velasquez, a deacon at Emory Baptist Church, has end-stage renal failure and needs a kidney. A church member recently came to the Rains County Leader office looking for a way to help him find one.
Velasquez moved to Emory in 1992 at age 23 to serve as a youth minister at the church. He came from Duncanville. Before that, he earlier worked with a church in Palestine and with First Baptist Church in Athens while attending Trinity Valley Community College.
Velasquez met his wife, Lisa, soon after arriving in Emory. The couple dated for five years before marrying. They will celebrate their 29th wedding anniversary on November 22.