Interview & transcription by Rachel Murfitt, Compassion Youth Mentoring Coordinator.
Here at Compassion Youth Mentoring, each one of the dozens of volunteers who have given their time to serve with us over the past ten years has a unique story. It is our desire that the relationships formed here would extend beyond weekly gatherings and blossom into meaningful, lasting connections. Such is the story of Tina and Paul Mirati, longtime friends of Compassion Connect.
Ten years ago, while Tina was mentoring teen girls at the Design Studio*, she and Paul formed a close friendship with a family whose daughters attended weekly. Though the Miratis have since moved to Arizona, that bond is stronger today than ever. Isaiah Howard, the “little brother” of the family who often wished he could tag along when his sisters went to the Design Studio, is now 18 and has been living with Tina and Paul in Buckeye for the last 18 months. The three of them recently shared with us the story of their friendship, as well as catching us up on what God has been doing in their lives since Isaiah’s move.
How did each of you get involved with Compassion Connect and the Design Studio?
Tina & Paul Mirati with Isaiah
Tina: It was 2010, at the beginning of the bridal shop. Paul and I had just got married and a friend suggested I donate my wedding dress to the Adorned in Grace bridal shop. I went in and everybody was getting ready for the grand opening, so I asked, “How can I help?” I started making bridal veils to help with reaching the financial goal of finding a place to mentor girls. It was at this point I really felt like God put it on my heart that I was going to be a mentor. I didn’t know anything about that and I was a little nervous and hesitant, but it was such a blessing to be able to mentor. I mean, so much has come out of it… so much [gestures to Isaiah].
Paul: I was just there in the background helping Tina, trying to help support her as much as possible with what God was trying to do through this mentorship program and Compassion Connect. I did use some of my technical abilities to help out with events like Dress for Freedom and things like that, but mostly just helping support Tina.
Tina & young Isaiah
Isaiah: I always wanted to go to Design Studio stuff. I’d been there a few times in the past and it was pretty cool. My sisters were super involved in that. It seemed like every time they went there, they were able to take a break and have fun; they always came back happy and stuff. Then I was like, “Okay, well, I want to meet the people that are taking my sisters there.” So I met Tina and Paul… and I mean, our bond wasn’t as strong as it is now, because I was just a little brother at that time.
Tina: As we started getting to know Isaiah’s dad Anthony, we asked if Isaiah could go to church with us. And then all the kids went to church with us – as many as we could fit in the car. That’s kind of how we all grew closer.
Isaiah: I was seeing them at least twice a week on Wednesday and Sunday.
Paul: And every once in a while we’d have the kids over for little parties or get-togethers.
Tina: One time we baked cookies for Christmas.
Isaiah: And the Superbowl and stuff!
Related: How My Close Call With Trafficking Inspired Me To Mentor Youth
Isaiah, would you share a bit about your decision to move to Arizona how that came about?
Isaiah: Basically, I was having a lot of family issues and having a hard time coping. I got a call from Tina and Paul, who were unaware of how I was feeling; I let them know and they kind of opened up my mind to the opportunities that I could have if I really tried and trusted in God. They said, “We can bring you down here and care for you, but the main part is trusting God and seeing what he has in store for you.” It was a hard decision, but at the same time, knowing them and knowing our past relationship – with them taking me to church and helping me make the decision to get baptized when I was younger -, I considered it and thought, “Yeah, that sounds good.” I had to leave everyone behind, but now I really don’t regret it at all.
Paul and Tina, what laid it on your hearts to call Isaiah and invite him to live with you?
Tina: Well, we were at a point where we had filled out foster paperwork and had planned to have foster kids; but we put it on hold because I felt God telling me to wait. We felt ready for kids, yet something wasn’t right. So on our last day visiting Portland, with a couple of hours left with our rental car, we were right by Isaiah’s house, and I said, “Let’s stop by really fast.” And Paul said, “What? No, we can’t stop by unannounced!” And I said, “Yes, we can!”
So we stopped by, but Isaiah and Anthony weren’t there. They gave me Isaiah’s number, but he didn’t answer, so I thought, “Well, that didn’t happen.”
Then the next morning back at home, I was unpacking and washing dishes, and I remember God saying, “This is the time – get ready for kids.”
And I thought, “What? God, you’re giving me mixed signals. We’re ready. We’re not ready. What are we doing?” I was shocked by what I heard. I told Paul, “God says we’re ready.” Though I didn’t know what that meant, I felt so strongly that I actually started crying; I just knew something was going to happen. Then I happened to notice on Facebook that Anthony was at the hospital. I messaged him, “Hey, we were just there yesterday, we stopped by your house! Where’s Isaiah? I didn’t get to see him.” Anthony then called me and that opened the door for him to tell us more. I told him, “You know, we’re always here.”
And he said, “I know, I told Isaiah to reach out to his godparents.”
So I talked to Isaiah and asked him, “What do you mean when you say you want to come here? What does that look like to you?” And I’ll never forget this: he said, “I want to graduate. I want to be somebody. And I want to go back to church.”
And I heard God say, “We can work with that.”
“He said, ‘I want to graduate. I want to be somebody. And I want to go back to church.’ And I heard God say, ‘We can work with that.’”
So I said, “Okay, let’s do it.” We were ready. It was the craziest thing. We didn’t know what to expect. We just knew we were ready.
Isaiah, can you describe your faith growing up, what it’s meant to you and how it’s changed over time?
Isaiah: My mom and dad always believed, so I was around that since birth. Living with my dad and my stepmom, we went to church probably once or twice a month – but it was still something. Growing up, I was always going from parent to parent, from friend’s house to friend’s house. I didn’t really have that sense of strong friends or loved ones, you know? There was always family tension growing up.
Isaiah’s family
But then when I started going to church with Tina and Paul, I met people that showed that they really cared. I knew they cared personally, but they also cared because of God – that different type of caring, where they really try to dive deep into how you’re feeling and stuff like that. I didn’t really know how much God played a part in actual life, but being in the church (meeting people and learning about God) gave me a sense of home and love. Still, my eyes weren’t really opened about certain things that I know now until I moved down here. I’m more mature now and I see what’s going around in the world now, from an adult point of view. So when I started really reading the Bible and learning [God’s] character traits, it changed my outlook on the world and people and their actions. So I could say that [my faith] did change over time.
And you’re serving now – did that change anything?
Isaiah: Most definitely – I didn’t know how much Tina and Paul were serving when I was a kid. They were doing more than I could ever think of, and I didn’t even know. I now understand that serving plays a big role. Not just people serving you, but you serving other people.
What has this time of living together taught you about yourselves? How has God stretched and helped you grow?
Tina: Patience? [laughs] Oh, so many things!
Paul: For me, I think it’s helped me develop and realize that I can actually be a good leader. I feel like I’m a lot more mature now than I was when Tina and I first got married, and that God gave me this chance to lead – to impart some knowledge or wisdom and have that chance to leave a legacy, in a way. So it’s been a blessing having him here because well, he’s awesome, but also just the ability to build that relationship like a father-figure slash son-figure. It’s been really cool.
Tina: Slash gamer-friend.
Paul: Yeah, we chill, too. But just the opportunity to do that has been a true blessing in my life.
Tina: Honestly, I feel like [sighs]… I don’t want to start crying. But I feel even closer to God than I did before. I feel like He’s given me… Isaiah has so much love. And even though some days I get super frustrated and impatient, I know that at the end of the day, even when I share my frustration with him, he’ll say, “This is where I was at and this is why and these are my struggles.” And I think, “Ugh, okay. I’m not giving in, BUT….”
At the same time, it’s a lesson for me, too, because I can be a little vague and want things done my way; but remembering God’s love – constantly hearing Him and Him telling me to be patient and to be kind and to love unconditionally – it’s really been awesome. And then to give that to Isaiah, and let him receive it. I mean, we’re so open with our relationship. I feel like we could talk about anything. Sometimes I’m like, do I need to know this? [Laughs] And Isaiah knows the ‘Tina’ looks.
Isaiah: Right, right.
Isaiah: For me, it’s what Tina said, but it’s also just having them here as family. There’s a lot of things that my parents didn’t teach me. There’s a lot of things my parents didn’t know… I can’t really judge them. I’ve learned that there are problems that my parents had, problems that people in my life had that they’ve never figured out. But coming here and hearing [Tina and Paul’s] wisdom, and the way they talk to me, it was very different. I felt comfortable telling them anything. And the way they [responded] was different from anybody else. So when I think about it, they changed me for the better; the way I look at the world now, and the things I didn’t know that I know now – it’s super crazy.
Isaiah: Me and Tina have serious talks, and Tina always says that she’s not a talker, but then she starts talking to me and she sounds like a preacher. She really opens my mind a lot. Living with them, they’ve taught me how to actually live in a stable home, and about communication – making sure that everybody’s on the same page. Something I lacked in my last home was communication and solid love; so I knew what not to do when I have a family. Now I know what to do. I have a family and role models. It’s crazy.
Paul: We’re not perfect by any means, obviously, but we’ve learned to treat each other with respect and grace.
Tina: I’ve apologized to Isaiah for some of my behavior.
Isaiah: We’re so much alike.
Tina: Well, with our compassion, our serving heart for others, and our willingness to give everything. I have to teach him boundaries and make sure that we have that because we can’t just give and give and give, especially if we need to be fed. And to be aware of that, and to make sure that our walk is really strong with God because otherwise, we’re not in the right place to serve.
How has living with Paul & Tina affected your relationship with your family?
Isaiah: So, my relationship with them: they’re always concerned about me. With me being here and them seeing the progress of God fixing and growing me as a godly man – seeing that keeps them at ease now when it comes to worrying about me. That kind of [influences] the way they treat me and talk to me now. And then the way they see God… man, they came and visited and they got baptized, and that was really emotional for me.
But I think seeing me give up everything for God’s sake kind of says something. For me to do that, they’ve seen that it is possible and that there is hope. They went to church with us and our pastor – it was funny because he normally never does this -, but in this sermon, he was pushing for baptism and the new life that comes along with that. I mean, they didn’t give me any [warning] – I go to the bathroom, come back outside, and hear, “Oh, your parents are getting baptized.”
Tina: His mom and her daughter, his dad, his older sister – they all got baptized! And he was the one who baptized them!
Isaiah: Yeah, I baptized my dad.
“His mom and her daughter, his dad, his older sister – they all got baptized! And he was the one who baptized them!”
Isaiah baptized his dad, Anthony.
Could you tell me a highlight from your time living together?
Tina: His graduation party. It was perfect timing for his parents and sisters to come visit. We had invited some people – but you know when you put the Facebook invitation out, you never know who’s going to come; maybe people will come and go or whatever. We had so many people here – it was like the whole community! People just stood and tried to fit inside the house and out back. We had so many pastors here, too.
Isaiah: Oh, my gosh. When I tell you everyone that I wanted to be there was there – everybody that I wanted to be there was there. Even my brothers were there.
Tina: That’s a testimony to who Isaiah is and who he’s become: everybody just loves him. And I talked to his mom and dad, and they couldn’t even say how they felt; they were so blown away with all the people that were supporting him. That was my highlight.
Paul: I think a highlight for me has been seeing him become a leader for the younger generation. There was a junior high camp and Isaiah was there as a coach for the kids. Seeing pictures of Isaiah praying over these kids, talking to the kids about what God means to him and what Jesus has done for his life, and leading them into some understanding about who God is. There’s a picture of Isaiah praying over some kids – that was really special.
Isaiah: Yeah, super fun.
Can you tell me a bit about some of your work with youth?
Tina: We started a youth group here at the house. Isaiah was bringing so many kids here. I asked, “What would you think if we started a youth group?”
He’s such a natural leader, and he draws so many kids in that I said, “I think this is supposed to be part of your story.” So he’s doing that. The three of us have our own things we’re supposed to do. And we have somebody else that’s leading the Bible study. And our whole mission is just building disciples so that we can do outreach. Our goal is to somehow fit Adorned in Grace and what I’ve learned with mentoring and do that in downtown Buckeye because there’s such a huge need down there. We feel like we’ve all been getting these kids ready for outreach and everybody’s ready. So we’re excited to see what will come from it!
Isaiah leads youthgroup.
Isaiah, having recently graduated, what are your hopes for the future? What do you feel passionate about?
Isaiah: My hope for the future is that I can just keep on learning how to be independent as a man and how to be stable and have clear sight for my goals so I’m not all over the place. What I’m really passionate about is first, serving, and second, trying to keep a clear mind for God’s will. Because if I’m going to be independent and I don’t have a clear mind, or I’m not trying to listen to what God is trying to show me, I’m not going to be able to carry out God’s will at all. So I’m really passionate about knowing what God has in store for me and others that are going to come into my life.
Isaiah & His family at graduation.
“What I’m really passionate about is first, serving, and second, trying to keep a clear mind for God’s will.”
How can we pray for you?
Paul: I would say pray for the youth that are in our groups and trying to become disciples. They’re facing a lot of pressures these days. The world can be pretty messed up and scary. [Pray] that God will help them to know that the Holy Spirit is with them. If they have Jesus, they have a protector; pray that they tap into that and ask for the protection that can be provided by the Spirit.
Isaiah: [Pray] mainly for this group and the children that I serve. As I start learning more about the world, I get anxious for the younger kids who I know are going to face the same exact thing. So pray that God protects them and just keeps their minds right.
See more of Isaiah’s story here.
You, too, could become a youth mentor. Get involved.
*Our Design Studio model has recently rebranded to become Compassion Youth Mentoring! Although the name has changed, our goal of uniting and equipping volunteers from local churches to share God’s love, build self worth, and teach life skills to the brave and resilient youth facing challenges in life which are often exploited by sexual predators has not! To learn more, visit us here.
