Testimony

My name is Manuel and I was born in Villaforman, Trabada (Lugo, Galicia, Spain), in a catholic home on February the 19th of 1936. My parents travelled as pilgrims to Cuba and my sister was born there.

They came back to Spain to visit my family. It was the time of the Republic. My father was involved in political affairs and was eventually used to be major in Trabada, but for a short time.

When the civil war started, local authorities (Falange and Guardia Civil) chased him, so that he had to hide for three years in the forest and friend houses. Once the war concluded, he delivered himself to the authorities; he didn’t do anything wrong, but was imprisoned for three months; a catholic priest of my family spoke to the authorities on his behalf and set him free. Once in freedom, he was frequently disturbed by the Guardia Civil.

I was born in moments of great crisis in my family. I was only 6 months old when Civil War started and faith was lacking at home because of the bad state of the catholic church; they talked in the name of God while but were involved in politics and did terrible things. I grow up consumed by doubts regarding the existence of God.

In the year 1949, when I was 12 years old, my parents, decided leaving the countryside and moving to the city of A Coruna to avoid being disturbed by the Guardia Civil. I was angry for having to leave behind my friends and move to a place where I did not know anybody. We lived at the street ‘Varela Silvare’, and in that building there was a boy who said to me ‘I am going to introduce you all my friends telling them that you are my cousin. By doing this, they will respect you more’ and it happened.

Once in A Coruna with my new friends, I went to the Catholic Church of "San Nicolas" and decided to be part of a movement called ‘Catholic Action’. However, after one year, I left it. I felt frustrated.

In the meanwhile, we moved to another building. God was in the business. A woman was looking for my family asking at our former home address, and she succeeded finding us. She was ‘sister Josefa’ the wife of the protestant Pastor ‘Lamas’. She did not meet us personally, but our families were neighbours in the province of Lugo in the past.

She invited us to attend the meetings and my parents went to the church in the street "Independencia no.13, 1st". I did not want to go. Doubts filled me. Moreover, I had the influence of teachers at school which said that Protestants were heretics

Picture with my sister in the time of my conversion in the year 1949.

Sister Josefa continued visiting my family. She told us that in the month of February they had open a church in the street "San Jose no.16" and invited me to go to the Sunday School where ‘there were some other children like me and the Bible was explained'. I told her I would go (just to get rid of her), but in my heart said ‘I will not go to that place’. Next Sunday, I walked by a crossroad in the place where the church was and looked in that direction to investigate whether she was waiting for me. My family didn’t go to the meetings but she was very patient and kept visiting and talking to us with love.

In one of her visits, she told us about a crusade that would take place in the month of May with an American missionary who worked in Cuba; Hugo Heter. My mother was interested, wondering whether that missionary knew any person of my family still living in Cuba. The crusade started and the whole family was there. I was forced to attend the church meeting and was real angry, but this changed once inside the church. The love that the brothers and sisters showed me and the explanation of the Bible influenced my heart. It was not what I thought, but something different to anything I had seen before.

When the missionary made a calling to accept the Lord, my parents and sister stepped forward. I was still doubtful. However, before the crusade finished, I accepted Jesus. After that, peace came upon us; peace with God and political authorities as well, that never disturbed us any more. On August the 15th of 1950, my parents and sister were baptized. I was baptized later, on September the 3rd of 1950 and took place at "Paraiso Grande" beach. Three years later, the Holly Spirit baptized me.

Those were difficult times of opposition by the Catholic Church and many times people threw us stones in the door of the church. I can remember once when someone spitted at me and it felt all over my head. Walking in the street, they shouted at us "Protestants, Cheers to Mary the virgin!" People treated us like sectarians, but in the midst of all circumstances, God was manifested with power, saving souls and the number of believers was increasing.

Another important part of my life I will never forget is the military service (which was mandatory in Spain by that time). It was very difficult for a believer. If you wanted to be faithful to the Lord, you were exposed to be arrested and, thereof, your time of permanence in the army increased.

Soldiers were forced to attend catholic meetings and kneel down before the symbols of the Lord’s Supper while swearing fidelity to the Spanish flag in public demonstration. It was mandatory, as well satisfying all military celebrations like those where we had to surrender our weapons before idols.

It was by that time when Christians had to be an example and give testimony of their faith in Christ by not kneeling down. In my case, the Lord saved me of that as I spoke to the captain and could hardly convince him to release me from those obligations.

Once aware about that my decision of not kneeling down was firm, he allowed me to be move aside when the meeting started and join the others in the moment of public demonstration. (The act of surrounding weapons to idols is not performed any more in Spain today).

During the period of military instruction, some of my bosses and friends gathered in groups around me to make questions concerning the Bible and protestant religion. It was a precious time for me to talk about the love of God.

When I finished the military service, I gave to one of my bosses a New Testament. When he took it, he started weeping and said me: ‘this reminds me when I went to the ‘Sunday’s School’ in my childhood in Ribeira’.

In the year 1954, I knew my girlfriend, which is my wife today, Amelia.

In the following days, she had a very serious accident; she felt into a dry well 11 meters height. Those were moments of big tribulation, and she was close to death, but the church prayed and the Lord healed her.

On October the 7th of 1961 we got married. The Lord has given us 4 sons, and we still pray trusting in the promise the Lord did to us that, one day, all of them will be saved, since presently only one attends church regularly.

In the year 1970 starts another important phase of our life as we take responsibility of becoming Pastors of the Church in A Coruna. The place where we were grew up and we had spiritually born. We consider that church as our home.

We want to transmit through this testimony that if we became Pastors it was because God wanted it, and not because we wished it. As Christians, we lived close to leadership and knew that many problems would have to be faced. But the Lord commanded us to do it. If the Lord calls you, you have to obey and we answered that call and said like the Apostle Paul ‘Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!’

In more than 34 years, not everything has been easy, but we can testify today that God is alive and we can feel his protection.

We can see Lord's promises fulfilled one by one. He, who started the good work, will carry it over to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. We glorify the Lord for the fruits of his harvest.

<< Those who sow in tears, will reap with songs of joy. He, who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with song of joy, carrying sheaves with him >> (Psalm 126:5-6)

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