Joél Galarza thought he was going to die and did the only thing he knew to do... pray | 52 Stories

I was 16 years old and I got robbed at gunpoint at a store. That day I literally thought I was done. Literally one of the guys had the pistol right next to my head and it was just such a scary moment. I was just praying at that moment, like I just knew to go into prayer.  My mom, you know, at that moment was a single parent and I was just  thinking 'oh my gosh what’s gonna happen to her when she finds out that, you know, I was murdered'.

Joél and his family have been with 11|28 since before it had a name back in 2018 when it was just a dream. Joél is super generous with his time, often helping behind the scenes during the week with our mobile church carts, setting up or tearing down on Sunday mornings, or running the lyrics presentation. He loves singing and offers up his voice too.