My wife and I were not in good standing and I wanted to kill myself over that. I took my gun and I was going to commit suicide. Meanwhile, my wife and my mother were looking all over South Padre Island for me. My mother found me behind one of my Island stores in the dark. It must have been 1 or 2 in the morning. I was holding a gun to my head, crying like a baby. She told me to give her the gun. I didn’t want to kill myself in front of my mother. She said things would look better in the morning. I went home with my mother and spent the night at her house.
The next day I went to help my mother during her lunch break. She was running one of our booths at an indoor flea market. While she was having lunch, a man came up to me and started talking to me. He then began sharing the gospel with me. I thought oh no a “Jesus freak”. I thought maybe if I listen to him, he’ll buy something from me. He then gave me a tract, a pamphlet explaining what it takes to get to heaven. After a while what he told me began to make sense and that night I was born again. My wife saw the change in me and a week later, she was born again. Our eldest daughter also became born again during that same period.
Then the next day I went to work and called all my co-workers to a meeting and shared the whole truth about the gospel. Some received and some didn’t. That was the beginning of a life of ministry, starting with teaching Sunday school in the church we attended at that time. I started teaching Vacation Bible School during the summer, both in Spanish and English.
Some came, to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We then met a dear friend Brother Bear, who has since gone to be with the Lord. He was a faithful follower of Jesus who had a heart for the gangs of our area. He opened up opportunities for me to go into several public high schools and share the gospel. We also ministered every Wednesday to a youth group comprised of many different churches as well as youth that didn’t attend church. Many lives were changed by sharing the gospel with them. One of them even became a missionary to China.
As time went by, I was ordained as a pastor 16 years ago, I am now a bi-vocational pastor which means I am a businessman and a pastor. I have been blessed to be a shepherd of a loving congregation, teaching and equipping them to be ready to share the gospel and explain why they have hope in the times to come. My wife and I always rely on the Word of God, which says:
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
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