Previous | Next 

The Bible saved my life

Ernesto Pinto

I was born in Honduras and was 16 years old when a friend shared the gospel with me and gave me a New Testament. That was the first Bible in my house. Some statistics will help you understand the dimensions of this miracle. There are 500 to 700 million Spanish people in the world; 60% of the children in Latin America live with mom only. We were five children in one family, with four different fathers. I was eight when I got my first job. Being the oldest meant I had to work and support my mom.

Working in a banana field, I learned responsibility, but also learned how to smoke and drink. That was the normal life of the men in the field. When I was 15 years old, I had already seen and tried a little bit of everything, including drugs. I was very resentful of my father because he had abandoned us when we were little.

At age 16, I came to the conclusion that life wasn’t worth living and decided to kill myself. The same day, a girl came to me, explained the gospel and gave me that precious New Testament. It literally saved my life. It taught me about the love of God, and how God had sent Jesus to die for my sins. The same week, I gave my life to the Lord Jesus Christ. From then on, I haven’t stopped preaching the Word of God.

The church became my family. New friends, people who really loved me, encouraged me to go back to high school and do something in life. God restored my concept of man, and told me how to be a husband and a father. I got to know my wife at church; we are celebrating our 18th anniversary and have two children. We are so grateful to God for the miracle of that New Testament.

Last month, I received a request from a person who is running for President of my country, Honduras; he wants me to help him place the Bible or a New Testament in each home in Honduras.

Ernesto Pinto is Spanish-language producer with Family Life Network, an international radio ministry operated by the Manitoba MB Conference. This article is adapted, with permission, from the September/October 2000 issue of The Canadian Gideon and is based on a testimony given at the Gideons’ Canadian convention in July.

Previous | Next 

Last modified November 16, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
Masthead and usage information.