Every member of the Body of Christ has a testimony. Some were born into families that believed the Message and paved the way for their children to believe. Others heard a testimony from a friend, or found a Message book laying in a garbage can or on the street corner. Each of us can look into our past and see that God always had a plan for us, and every step we made was ordained of the Lord. Even our mistakes and those fiery trials that we all suffer are more precious than gold to us, because they are testing and building our faith in none other than Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

Something seems to burn within us as we read the testimonies of others, knowing that a Bride is being called and these testimonies represent more stars that have been added to His crown. The following “star” was sent in by Brother Juan Viramontes, VGR distributor in Mexico. He met Brother Federico in La Piloto, Mexico, and Brother Federico was kind enough to share his testimony with us.

My parents used to live at a small ranch called Santa Martha, at Durango. When I was born, I born with a trouble in my tongue, it was pasted to my mouth, so I couldn’t speak well. When I was five years old, I told my parents, “What can I do? What am I useful for? I can’t speak good. You don’t understand me when I talk to you.” So I went to the backyard and I let myself fall down, trying to hit my head against a rock. You can still feel the scar on my head. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t die.

When I had to go to school, the teacher didn’t want me there. They didn’t understand my speaking, nobody could. It was so depressing to me. I couldn’t stay at the school, the teacher told me, “It is better that you go to work in the fields, abandon school. Look, the school wasn’t made for you.” He expelled me from the school. I never learned how to read, and neither how to write.

Sometime later, my father told my sister and me to go to the store for some groceries. We went, and while we were there, my sister was asking for the stuff our father asked us to get. I started to walk over the railroad, and after some minutes, I didn’t know where I was. Suddenly I heard a strange noise. It was the train. It was running behind me, so I began to run as fast as I could. The train applied the brakes, but they couldn’t stop. It was so close to me, the train driver went to the front of the train and told me, “Hey kid, jump off the railroad! Look, there is a place where you can jump!” So I jumped, and the train passed by. I was resigned and convinced that I wasn’t good for anything, even too bad to die.

After some years, somebody gave me a book called Conduct, Order, and Doctrine of the Church, but I didn’t know how to read. I asked God, “If it is Your will to me to read this book, teach me how to read.” God answered the prayer I said. I took the C.O.D. book, and then tried to read. I recognized some words, but I didn’t know how to place them together. It took me so much time to finish reading the C.O.D. book, but during the process, God never let me alone. Now I know how to read and even to write, and to talk. God not only kept me alive, he healed my tongue, and taught me how to read. Praise be to God!

God bless you for reading my life story. It is just a little bit of all the things God had made for me. Now I want to serve Him with all my heart.