- [Maria] My first husband beat me.
My second husband was hunted by drug dealers.
What hope did I have left?
- How many times have you been amazed at what God can do
with a broken heart?
We have a story today that you won't wanna miss.
Hi, I'm Cami Oetman and we're in Mexico.
This is AWR360.
(fast paced music)
- [Narrator] With a stunning historical past
and beautiful cities,
Mexican culture has deep proud roots,
but behind the smiles, many are suffering.
Maria lived a life of fear because of her husband.
- [Man] I'll beat you if I want to.
- [Narrator] She suffered beatings all the time
and to make matters worse,
her husband was a preacher.
- [Maria] Then I learned that he was having an affair
which led to him losing his job.
- [Narrator] She left him and her heart became bitter.
She left the church vowing never to return.
A few years later, she started to date another man
who treated her kindly and lovingly.
- We married and had two precious children.
- [Narrator] Sometime later her husband,
who was a police officer
found a huge shipment of drugs and promptly turned it in.
The drug dealers tracked him down to retrieve their product.
When the bribes failed, they threatened to kill him.
He refused because he knew how much pain
and suffering those drugs would cost the local community.
- A week later, my life came crashing down again.
As my husband opened his door,
many machine guns fired on our car.
Despite being hit, he dove back into the car
and covered his wife to protect her.
- [Maria] With his dying breath he asked me
to take care of her precious children.
(cries loudly)
- [Narrator] After such a tragic event,
she sank into deep despair.
She lost her will to live and to make matters worse,
she had also recently lost her mother.
She desperately wanted them both back.
Depression began to set in and in her despair,
she began to explore spiritualism,
trying to communicate with her mother and her husband
who had passed away.
But instead of feeling better, things got even worse.
- [Maria] Each day I considered killing myself.
- [Narrator] One day in her darkness, her phone lit up
with a message from her sister.
She had sent an AWR evangelistic sermon on her phone.
She decided that with nothing else to do, she would listen.
As she heard new things, she became interested
and wanted to learn more.
She continued to the next Bible sermon
which covered what happens when you die.
- [Maria] I became deeply convicted by this message.
- [Narrator] She got on her knees to pray to God.
She prayed for hours seeking his guidance.
She prayed until God's peace came into her troubled heart.
As she got up, she realized that the next day
was the Sabbath and she knew she had to return to church.
(slow paced music)
(speaks in foreign language)
- Every time I thought about church,
the devil always remind me that my husband,
a pastor, beat me.
And that thought always stopped me.
But after my prayer, the devil's words had no power.
- [Narrator] She faithfully attended every week
with her children,
and the messages gave her such peace that on many days
she would play the sermons nonstop all day long.
And then the Lord presented her with one last battle.
- My heart became troubled, as God impressed me
to forgive those I've hated for so long.
- [Narrator] As she struggled, tears came to her eyes.
These are the people who destroyed her life,
who caused her so much pain,
but then she gave it all to God.
She found the number of her ex-husband
and even reached out to the killers of her second husband.
(speaks in foreign language)
- I wrote to them saying, "I forgive you."
And then I asked if they wanted to hear
Adventist World Radio messages of hope.
- [Narrator] Some of the killers expressed amazement
and started listening.
And her former husband has returned to church.
- In my own strength, I had no power to overcome such grief.
It was thanks to God's love
and Adventist World Radio messages of hope and truth
that I am whole again,.
I praise God for keeping his eye on me.
- 2 Peter says, "The Lord is not slack
concerning his promise as some men count slackness;
but is long-suffering towards us,
not willing that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance."
There are many that still need to hear the message of hope.
Your friends and family may be suffering
and only with God working through you, can they be saved?
Why not use AWR cell phone evangelism
as a tool to reach them.
Check us out online for training videos and materials.
Remember, we are all called to be missionaries.
Will you answer the call from broadcast to baptism?
This is AWR360.
(upbeat music)