Friday, January 29, 2010

How could God love a person such as I?


My name is Victor Angel.  I am 60 years old and this is my testimony.  As a young boy in school I was asked, “Who are your parents?”  I responded, “I don’t know who they are. I live with my grandma.”  Yet, in reality, my “grandma” was a lady who had adopted me when I had been abandoned.  When I was 10 years old, I met my real mother by coincidence.  I felt hatred and bitterness in my heart because I remembered every Christmas and every birthday, without a gift or a hug.

Eventually I married and had two children; however, we had many problems and fought almost every day.  One day I found my wife in bed with my cousin.  I lost control, grabbed a machete, and started hitting him until I killed him.  I fled the house with my small children and brought them to my aunt’s home.  I asked her to take care of them and ran away.

I arrived in the large coastal city of Guayaquil (Ecuador), without money, without a bed to sleep in, without anything.  As I was wandering the streets, a stranger offered me work—to rob cars, houses or whatever I could find.  By age 25 I was serving an 8-year prison sentence.  While in prison, I got addicted to drugs; however, I also learned the trade of carpentry.  Because of my job, I was able to leave prison four years early.

Once free, I arrived in Quito and began to traffic drugs from Colombia.  I earned a lot of money quickly, but I still felt empty.  Once again, I was caught and sentenced for a year in prison.  When I got out of prison, I began to live a life of hell.  I found myself looking for food in the garbage like an animal.  I had hit rock bottom.  Eventually, some people helped me get into a rehab center.  While I was there, they showed the Jesus Film.

As soon as I saw the film, I wanted a new life of forgiveness, healing, peace and joy.  This was the beginning of a radical change, a complete transformation in my life.  I couldn’t believe that a holy God could love me after all the things I had done.  Today, I have a family, food, a place to sleep, and love in my heart.  People in my home and in my church love me.  But more than that, I’m convinced that the King of Kings loves me most of all.  God is so good!