Birthday: June 26
Hometown: Pancas, ES, Brazil
Prayer Request: Family back in Brazil (protection, health and salvation of those who are not). Church back in Brazil (gratitude for their support and care for my life). Discipline to study during my time of school, Adjustment into the culture, Direction about how to serve God (in church, community and future ministry). That I can be available to whatever God wants for me.
Personal Testimony:
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33b
I was raised in a pretty much Christian family even though my father was not a Christian at all, my mother raised me and my siblings in the church. My whole life was based on going to church and working in it. I can tell about a period when I was not going to church because my father got involved in a Christian-indigene cult. Once it happened during my 6 through 9 years I do not consider that as something that brought me out of the God’s way. I was just a child and my interest on that was the friends I had their and the nice places they got to play. My family, all older than me, struggled with that and we still having the inherence of that once my brother is still member of that cult. As for me, even if I was just a child and didn’t had a direct influence of that for do not understand it by that time, I can tell that God was also merciful for taking me out of that on time when my parents separated.
Once separated from my father, my mom, my sister and myself went back to our old church. As I was telling I just kept in the same way, going to church and being always involved in something.
When I was 17, I start to struggle with different issues that I relate to my parents separation. One of them where a kind of Identity crisis where I had a lot of question about myself, didn’t want to be with people and didn’t know if I was really saved. “Am I going to church because I love Jesus or because my mom taught this way?”
I had never “experienced” the world out and I thought about try it and so I could conclude if I loved Jesus and that would not be for me or if I would love the world and leave the church and screw up my entire life.
I confess I tried, but it was not for me. I could not even go “far” into it. No sex, no really stupid things. It just didn’t found interest in those things. And that and a help a missionary friend brought to me that I loved God and I could not live without it.
Ok, but maybe this was just a moral spirit telling me that I was not suppose to do wrong things and nothing to do with God or love for Him. But once again I had the conviction that it was the Holy Spirit action in me that lead me to do not lost my life in bad things but keep the love and pursuing for the Lord.
After all this, I just decided to reestablish my life in the church, once to try to live the world life I disclaimed all functions I had in my church. It was a tough way to walk because the people took a while to trust in me again and know that I was serious about the things and compromise I wanted to have.
Today, I know that part of the miracles that God operated in my life for my salvation is those related to keep out of the world. Not that I’m a saint, but I know that in many things God created in me a willing to do not sin against him. It can sound like I’m bragging myself but it is just to say that I was not the murderer that God brought to his kingdom or the really bad life guy that God showed his love, but I was the guy that God was and is still doing miracles to keep out of the world when I have to say no to so many things that are temptations to me.
I just hope with this daily learning over the constant fights to keep on God’s track I will be able to show people that the life this way is worthy and to another that they can be victorious in their struggles with sin and temptations.
God is still not done with me, but I’m here aware that as Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 – NIV).
