Biola student José Villalpando makes a great first impression: he’s clean shaven, distinctly Hispanic, and remarkably articulate. With a firm handshake, he never hesitates to greet someone new. His calm and peaceful demeanor gives evidence to the inner working of God’s grace in his life. And even though he grins behind round glasses and crooked teeth, you would hardly expect him to be homeless.

For the past two years, Villalpando has lived on downtown L.A.’s Skid Row among alcoholics, drug addicts and the mentally ill. Through a government-funded program at the Weingart Hotel, he was given short-term housing and encouraged to re-enroll at Biola University where he dropped out in the early 1970s just a year shy of a bachelor’s degree in education. Villalpando applied for several loans and grants to pay for tuition and was accepted for the fall 2007 semester.

“I put on my application that if God wanted me here then there’s no power that could prevent me from coming to Biola … He is providing. He is opening doors; I see that God is at work, and He is redeeming whatever I have destroyed,” Villalpando said.

His daily commute lasted anywhere from two hours to two hours and 45 minutes by bus and train each way. Without access to a computer, he would have to journey to Biola, Monday through Saturday, not only to attend classes and chapel but also to check his email and finish homework on the library computers.

Originally finding himself unemployed in his hometown in Arizona, Villalpando ventured to Los Angeles with no money and nothing more than a backpack with the bare essentials, but knowing that God had called him there to emulate Jesus Christ 24/7. For the last two years, Skid Row was Villalpando’s battlefield. His own unfortunate circumstances, however, never hindered his warrior-like faith.

Villalpando befriended Henry, an aggressive alcoholic. Henry’s father, a pastor who physically abused his wife, caused Henry to curse all Christians. But Villalpando knew that God had carefully placed him in Henry’s life to show real Christianity. Villalpando discussed the Bible with Henry and watched over Henry when he drank until he lost consciousness.

Villalpando also helped another friend, Oliver, a former millionaire-turned-handicap and alcoholic. Oliver often fell out of his wheelchair in his sleep, but Villalpando, who was sensitive to sound, always got up immediately to pick up his friend and place him back in his wheelchair. Just recently, Oliver became a Christian, and Villalpando continues to encourage him that God can help him overcome his chemical dependency.

Just a few weeks into the school semester, Villalpando contracted a contagious staph infection and had to withdraw from classes. Soon after, the Weingart removed Villalpando from their program without allowing him to retrieve his belongings. He had nowhere else to go but the corner of 6th Street and St. Julian where Henry and Oliver slept. However, he never lost faith in the Lord’s plan for him.

“I knew it was just a season. I’ve walked with Jesus for 28 years and I know He has prepared me for anything,” Villalpando said.

A few weeks later, junior James Kim went down to Skid Row to hand out sandwiches and minister to the homeless. Although Kim has a heart for the homeless and often visits Skid Row, this time he went in place of his mentor, senior Simon Baik, who took some of the youth from his church to serve the homeless every month. That morning Kim spotted Villalpando reading a copy of the L.A. Times.

“I went to go try evangelizing to him, but it ended up [with] him convicting me,” Kim said.

Discovering that Villalpando himself was a Biola student, Kim and his friends prayed for him and promised to find some way to help him.

“It moved me to see that he cared for me as we should as Christians. It touched me to see another Biola student have that kind of compassion and conviction,” Villalpando said.

Kim contacted Richard J. Leyda, chairman of the Christian education department, and Leyda promised to contact Villalpando through email. Kim also shared Villalpando’s story with the Biola Asian Student Association and asked for their prayers. But Kim also wanted to give him a place to stay.

Kim told Baik about his meeting with Villalpando and showed him a picture. Baik was shocked. He remembered playing soccer with Villalpando just a year ago. Apparently, Villalpando had visited the Biola campus that day for an admissions interview and unexpectedly ran into Baik on the soccer field. Even though Villalpando had been wearing a suit, he didn’t hesitate to roll up his dress pants and play a few games.

“Last year I used to practice playing soccer on the field by myself,” Baik said. “And then this guy, José, just came up to me and said, ‘Hey do you want me to play with you? I can play goal keeper for you.’”

Remembering the incident, Baik agreed to take Villalpando into his apartment, and Kim informed Villalpando through email that someone he had played soccer with at Biola offered to take him in. Villalpando, formerly recruited as one of Biola’s star soccer players, kept trying to remember a teammate named Baik. But when Baik and Kim came to pick up Villalpando that Saturday on the street corner of 6th and St. Julian, the Skid Row resident was incredulous.

“I don’t even have the words to describe the fact that God would use those 20 minutes where I played with Simon to move him to where he felt compelled to have me as a roommate,” Villalpando said.

Since then, Baik has bought Villalpando brand new clothes and has even sacrificed his own bed for him. Olympic Presbyterian Church, which Villalpando now attends with Baik every Sunday, has openly welcomed Villalpando and has offered to support him financially. The Biola Asian Student Association is also making monthly donations to help their brothers in Christ — Baik, his roommates, and now, Villalpando — buy enough groceries each week.

“The Asian community has reached out to me beyond any expectation. I’ve never imagined something like that. It’s the last group I would have imagined to have done that for me. But God has His way of doing things,” Villalpando said.

Though first impressions can be deceiving, it is Villalpando’s pure faith and gracious attitude that leaves the lasting impression. His constant knowledge of the Lord’s faithfulness and providence despite any situation marks a spiritual maturity that few believers have attained. And only by the Lord’s grace and wisdom has Villalpando been able to say, “God is my inheritance … I don’t see myself as a poor man.”