A Voice In The Desert http://margaretbitsandpieces.blogspot.com
A Family & Prison Ministry/a 501(c)(3) Org (Charity)
A Family & Prison Ministry/a 501(c)(3) Org (Charity)
Call To Serve
Margaret
Alicea-Quintana was born in New York in May 1958 to Rev. Luis A. Alicea and his wife Lucy. Years later with 7 kids in tow, her parents moved
back to Puerto Rico where 
her father began to serve as pastor in a small
town's Evangelical church. When she was 11 years old, Margaret
accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior; at the age of 12 she was
baptized in the waters, and when she was 15 she started ministering to
the youth on the streets.
her father began to serve as pastor in a small
town's Evangelical church. When she was 11 years old, Margaret
accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior; at the age of 12 she was
baptized in the waters, and when she was 15 she started ministering to
the youth on the streets.
When
she was 14 years old, every Sunday after Bible School, her father would
take her to rural areas to teach Bible to children in those
neighborhoods. Her father played the guitar and Margaret taught Bible
stories to children in the ages of 7-12. They would do this in two
different rural neighborhoods, back to back, every Sunday for about two
years teaching an average of 20 kids per class in two houses. These
children were from non-Christian homes who did not attend any church.
Margaret
was introduced to prison ministry by her father who started visiting an
all-men, minimum-security prison in Puerto Rico where he went every
Wednesday night to teach the Word of God. These visits started when
Margaret was about nine years old and continued until she left home for
college. Later on, something happened to make her aware of the impact
of those Wednesday nights. Margaret was living in Chicago, IL due to a
job transferred in 1997more than 20 years after her last visit to the
prison with her father. She decided to visit a Hispanic church after
seeing a sign while driving through a neighborhood in Aurora, IL. The
pastor who greeted her at the door asked her where she was from and her
name and when she answered the pastor said, "I know your father". It
turned out this man had served time in a prison in Puerto Rico; the same
prison Margaret’s father visited for years. His words, "I came to
know the Lord through your father’s prison ministry." Once out of prison
he went to Bible school and became a pastor. Two years later, Rev.
Luis Alicea, - Margaret's father - preached at that church when he
visited her in Chicago.
For
the last two and a half years, Margaret has been working as a volunteer
at the Dawson State Prison in Dallas, TX in association with the "Hope
Literacy" program. Along with other prison ministries, she teaches
women inmates a Bible-based spiritual healing course, a "Boundaries"
class, does book shares (book club), and provides one-on-one counseling
to inmates. In partnership with Grapevine Fellowship, she also does a
Bible study every Thursday night attended by 50 + women prisoners. It
was on a Saturday morning while praying for these women that God told
her to open her house to women coming out of prison who are homeless.
After talking to her husband and her mentor, and visiting some of the
transitional houses in the Dallas area, A Voice in the Desert was formed so that under this ministry funding could be raised to build a house for this purpose.
Margaret
also teaches Bible classes for adults in her church, has given chats in
retreats, and is part of the counseling team from New Life Ministries
in TX. Margaret has participated in various mission trips to Guatemala,
Argentina, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic as well as visited China
twice on a more personal level but always sharing the Good News. God
has given Margaret a heart for local missions and abroad. She believes
each Christian is a missionary in his/her own territory whether that is
work, family, school, prison, hospital, or abroad.
Margaret
is an ordained Minister and has completed Bible studies at the Vision
School of Ministry in Dallas, TX. In addition, she has completed
studies in Psychology from the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico
and in Graphics Design from Virginia Northern Community College in
Alexandria, VA. She worked in this field for over 17 years. She was
working as an Account Executive when God called her to quit her job and
work full-time in prison ministry. Margaret is also a Certified
Counselor and helps families and individuals thru Bible-based
counseling. She is married to Samuel Quintana who supports her in the
ministry and has a daughter, Amarilys Henderson, serving as a missionary
along with her husband and their baby boy in Asia.
God is good!! Let HIS name be praised!!