I enjoy having a large and warm family. My name is Johnson Lopez, and I am from Bogota, Colombia. I am 24 years old, and I was born on April 1st of 1982. My father, Luis Alfredo Lopez, is a farmer and raises cattle. My mother, Lilia Maria Martinez, is a homemaker and helps with the farm work. They live in Arauca, Colombia. I am the fourth of six children. My brother Nelson is the oldest. He is married and has two children. I have two older sisters, Marcella and Yorleny. Marcella is married and has two children. She teaches on an elementary school. Yorleny is single, and she is a nurse. She works at a hospital. My two younger sisters are Belsy and Lucy. Belsy is married but has no children. She lives with her husband in Valencia, Venezuela. Lucy is studying modern language in Tunja, Colombia. Everybody in my family likes to ride horses. About all that I remember of my childhood is that every Sunday we went from the farm to the town to attend Sunday Mass.

My academic experience has been positive and fulfilling. When I was twelve, I attended Alejandro Humboldt High School in Arauca. My pastor, Father Miguel Castillo, was my ethics teacher. He influenced me by his humility and hard work in the community. About all that I remember of high school is that I was a good soccer player and that I achieved the first levels in both 7th and 8th grades. During 1999 and 2000, I enjoyed several programs for vocation discernment with the Diocese of Arauca and the Community of the Missionaries of Saint Charles. After I finished high school in 2000, I felt God calling me to be a priest. I then attended Saint Charles Borromeo seminary in Bogota, which is run by a religious community of missionary priests from Italy. I was in this order from 2001 to 2005, and during that time studied philosophy and some subjects concerning the religious life. In 2006 I applied for and was accepted by the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois. They sent me to study English at Saint Gregory the Great Seminary, in Seward, Nebraska.

One of my goals is to follow God's call to the priesthood and work with English or Hispanic communities, according to the needs of the Diocese. God bless all people of good will who support young men and woman discerning vocations to the priestly or religious life.