Stacy Long
AFA Journal staff writer
January 2017 – Twins Ruthy and Ricardo Pena would not have been born had their mother followed her doctor’s advice. Years before their birth, in the ninth month of her first pregnancy, their mother fell suddenly and violently ill. Not only was her firstborn son pronounced dead at the moment of birth, but she was given a death sentence as well.
“Left to die alone in that hospital room,” Ruthy shared, “Mom remembered something from her childhood in the Dominican Republic – If you pray to God with all of your heart, He will hear you. So with the little strength left in her body, she thrust herself to her knees on the floor and prayed what would be the simplest but most powerful prayer of her entire life: ‘My God if you hear me, I promise to serve you for the rest of my life.’
“Her healing was instantaneous,” Ruthy told AFA Journal. “She gathered her belongings and walked out of that room. But the enemy tries to steal the evidence of what God does.”
She was told that she should not have more children, because they would have disabilities. “Well, God had the last word!” Ruthy exclaimed. She and Ricardo are the youngest of four siblings. As twins they believe God worked out His faithfulness in a special way with their lives.
“I almost didn’t make it because the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck,” she said. “And then with losing her first son but us being twins – it’s like God had always promised her four kids, and He was faithful to her.”
“She could have allowed fear to be her total story,” Ruthy added. “Instead she trusted and believed. If she had opted to believe the report of the enemy or allowed fear to deter her, I know I wouldn’t be here.”
The evolution of faith
That mother’s faith is their origin story, and it sets the tone for the duo’s soulful worship music.
“Our mother’s story is what kept us on an unwavering path to know God’s love for us and His faithfulness,” Ruthy said. Furthermore, their mom’s example showed them a lifestyle of knowing God not just on a surface level, but also on an intimate level.
Ruthy said, “Her testimony is something we carry with us.” She and Ricardo consider their music a natural extension of that exposure to faith in God and the way they grew up.
“We grew up hungry with humble beginnings in the Bronx, New York,” she said. “Our house was always filled with music, and we began singing at our local church at the tender age of four. My mom recalls us singing even before we could walk or talk.”
While the duo is working on releasing their first CD, their ambition is centered not on fame or bright lights, but on displaying the God they know.
“We just love to freely worship and allow those around us to freely enter into the flow of God’s presence with our music,” Ruthy said. “Our themes focus on different ways of expressing God’s love: His love toward us, our love toward Him, and our love toward one another. “
Take the faith of a God-trusting mother, add the power of a life-giving God and the musical gifts of God-loving twins, and a ministry is born. “We just want our music to impact the hearts of many and draw them closer to Him,” concluded Ruthy. 
Ruthy and Ricardo’s single, “God is Love,” released in both English and Spanish, can be purchased in digital format online. Upcoming tour dates are listed at ruthyandricardo.com.
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