2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 — A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST

TESTIMONIALS

These are true stories of people who were lost and found salvation, restoration, and new life through the power of Jesus Christ and the work of this ministry.

TESTIMONY

"I spent years devastated by drugs. Today I walk free because Christ found me on the streets."

FROM APPEARANCES TO TRUE HAPPINESS

Miguel Morales’s Testimony

In search of happiness, I ended up getting involved in drug trafficking.

I would see some of my relatives and all the luxuries they had: cars, clothes, money…and it all caught my attention. I came from a poor neighborhood, surrounded by poverty, and eventually I got tired of living that way. I wanted luxuries, I wanted a different life, but I didn’t know the price I would ultimately have to pay.

I lived a lie: a life full of appearances and fake happiness.

I had money, but when night came and I found myself alone in a hotel, I would start crying. On the outside, it seemed like I had everything, but inside I carried an emptiness that nothing could fill.

I also carried a hatred and resentment inside me that I couldn’t explain. That led me to turn to alcohol and drugs, until I reached the point where my own life no longer mattered to me.

But one day, someone told me about Jesus Christ.

Over time, I realized that the life I was living was not the right path. Little by little, the emptiness inside me began to fill with love. All the hatred, resentment, and wounds I carried were healed by Jesus Christ.

Christ healed me, restored me, and transformed my life.

To everyone who finds themselves where I once was, I want to say this: drugs, alcohol, and drug trafficking destroyed my life, and they can destroy yours too if you continue down that road.

Today I can say that I am truly happy. It’s not a happiness that’s just words or appearances; it’s a happiness that comes from the heart.

I’m happy in Christ!

Come to Him. In Jesus Christ, you can find the peace, love, restoration, and true happiness that this world can never give you.



“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”Matthew 11:28

Miguel Morales

TESTIMONY

"I came to the recovery home with nothing. I AM full of faith, purpose, and a new family in Christ."

From loneliness and alcoholism to a new life in Christ

ELICEO HERNADEZ'S TESTIMONY

Before I ever tried beer and wine, I was a kind and quiet person. When I came to this country, I started working in the fields, harvesting different crops, but over time I began to feel very lonely.

That loneliness was one of the reasons I turned to alcohol. Little by little, I became an irresponsible person. I stopped sending money to my family in Mexico, and before I knew it, alcohol had become part of my life.

I started drinking in an attempt to fill the emptiness and loneliness inside me, ignoring the serious consequences that would follow. My alcoholism landed me in the hospital several times. The truth was, I was already tired of living that way.

I couldn’t share what I was feeling with my friends because I thought that if I told them I wasn’t happy, that I was tired of living this way, and that I needed help, they would laugh at me.

This is a reality in many environments: instead of encouraging you to change for your own well-being and that of your family, some people invite you to keep living the same way, reject you, or mock you when you try to turn your life around.

But I decided I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I sought help and, thank God, I found it.

I was welcomed with open arms, despite the condition I was in when I arrived: broken by alcoholism, without God and without hope.

Today my life is different. Instead of spending my money on my own destruction, I can support my family. They no longer live with the worry of getting a call saying something bad had happened to me or that I had died because of alcohol.

I thank God for sending His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for sinners, of whom I consider myself the foremost.

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.”

1 Timothy 1:15

Eliseo Hernández

TESTIMONY

"I thought there was no way out. Christ showed me there’s always an open door for anyone who wants to change."

FROM GANGS AND ADDICTION TO A NEW LIFE IN CHRIST

Moses quesada

For 23 years, I lived in active addiction. I was also a member of a gang within the prison system. From a very young age, I was exposed to a party lifestyle, drugs, and violence.

I come from a large family. When I was a child, I saw two of my uncles go in and out of prison. At the time, because I was immature, I came to think that lifestyle was admirable. I looked up to them and wanted to grow up to be like them.

Violence was part of my life from my earliest years. My mother also struggled with drug addiction. I remember that when I heard her arguing with someone, I would run and hide. Many times I wanted to cry, but I was so afraid that I learned to keep the pain inside.

I grew up with a lot of fear and insecurity. My father was never around, and I had no father figure to look up to. My mother did her best to be both mother and father to me, but I grew up rebellious, doing whatever I wanted and looking for acceptance in all the wrong places.

At 12 years old, I began getting involved with gangs. Much of my family was connected to that lifestyle, and rather than discouraging me, some encouraged me to follow that path.

It was also during that time that I discovered methamphetamine. I started by snorting it and later smoked it. While other teenagers my age were at school, playing sports, or enjoying a normal youth, my teenage years were marked by drugs, gang violence, and destructive relationships.

I had children when I was very young, but my relationships were deeply affected by drugs and the lifestyle I was living. I faced a domestic violence case involving the mother of my children and ended up in prison.

After some time, I was released, but when I got out, I was depressed and alone. I missed my family and tried to fill that void by retreating once again to drugs and the streets.

I went back to jail for violating my probation. For about a year and a half, I repeatedly went in and out of prison.

My life was falling apart

.

When I was using drugs, I could go several days without sleeping. I reached the point where smoking methamphetamine was no longer enough for me, and I started injecting it directly into my veins.

Today I can look back and recognize that God was with me even in the darkest moments of my life. I could easily have died from an overdose or been murdered in the streets because of my involvement in gangs.

In that environment, we often heard that a gang member’s fate was to die in the streets or spend the rest of his life in prison. I knew those consequences, but I had reached a point where I no longer cared what might happen to me

.

After getting out of prison, I thought:

“I’m not going to sleep. I’ll sleep when I get back to jail.”

I went in and out of different recovery programs. Deep down, I wanted to change my life, but for a long time that desire was only a thought. I never turned it into a real decision.

Until something began to change.

The last time I was in jail, I felt that God was working on my heart. I began to reflect on my life and realized I was playing Russian roulette with my future.

I knew that if I kept going down that path, my end was getting closer and closer.

At that time, I didn’t know much about the Word of God, but I understood that I needed a real change.

Eventually, I arrived at a rehab home in Winton, California, and that’s where a new chapter of my life began.

I came looking for help, but found so much more.

I found Jesus Christ.

Before, I could never stay in one place for very long, but there was something different about that church. I could feel the presence of God. I found fellowship and people who showed me a love I wasn’t used to receiving.

The brothers and sisters welcomed me with open arms.

For much of my life, I believed that if someone hugged me or did something nice for me, it was because they expected something in return. I always distrusted people's intentions.

But God began to change the way I thought.

Over time, I came to understand something much greater:

God was giving me my life back.

And not just the life I had lost, but a new and true life.

Today, I no longer need drugs or alcohol to feel good. My children are back in my life, and I can see God restoring parts of my life that seemed completely destroyed for years.

Many of the good things happening today aren’t due to my own strength alone. I know God is moving the pieces and guiding my path.

Now I want God to be the one who directs my life.

Every day I try to seek Him and grow closer to Him.

If someone reading my story is trapped in drugs, alcohol, gangs, fear, pain, or despair, I want to tell them something:

No matter how far you’ve gone, there is still hope.

Do everything in your power to draw closer to God. Seek help. Let others reach out to you, and make the decision to change.

For years, I lived thinking there was no way out, but Jesus Christ showed me there was.

The enemy came to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus Christ came to give us life, and life in abundance.

Today I can look back on my past and recognize where God brought me from.

I used to be lost in drugs, violence, gangs, and prison. Today, I’m living proof that God still restores lives.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

John 10:10

Moses Quesada

TESTIMONY

Why I Got Involved in Drugs

Ismael Garcia

My experience with drugs and alcohol began when I was 11 years old, and it was very bad. I tried cocaine and alcohol without my parents knowing. Sadly, without realizing it, my friends became a source of influence. When I was using drugs, they invited me to try them, and over time I realized that drugs had destroyed me. I lost my family and found myself alone on the streets. Trying to fill the emptiness and pain inside me, I turned to drug addiction.

Many times, those of us who live this lifestyle keep deeply personal things to ourselves and don’t share them with anyone. For years, we carry a silence inside that we share with no one because if we open up to our friends, they ignore us or laugh at how we feel. That’s why we have to keep up appearances, pretending to be someone we’re not.

The time came when I grew tired of the life I was living and set my pride aside. I sought help at some rehab homes in the city of Winton, CA. There, they guided me to learn about Jesus Christ, and I decided to give my life to Him. He forgave me, transformed me, and now I am a new creation of God. Now I can say

sincerely that I am happy in Christ Jesus.

The emptiness I had without Jesus, He filled, and now I have an identity in Christ Jesus. Remember, all is not lost—there is hope! Come to Jesus and you will find peace. If Jesus Christ did it for me, when I used to walk the streets talking to myself and couldn’t escape that miserable life, I want you to know that God can do it for anyone, no matter their circumstances.

All they need is to want to make that change in their life.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;

the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new

Ismael García

YOUR STORY COULD BE NEXT

No matter how far you’ve fallen, complete restoration is possible in Christ. Take the first step today and let God write a new chapter in your life.