Alessandra |
Taking an honest look at oneself and
one’s decisions is never an easy task, but the rewards of finding personal
value and self-worth offers a life changing transformation.
Until I
was eleven years old I lived with my grandmother; my childhood was full of love
and affection, but when I went back to live with my parents, I spent most of my
time alone or with my brother. Everything about my life was different,
especially my new found freedom and I started to make new friends. Before long
I was given my first beer to drink and by the age of 12, I was addicted to
alcohol.
Every
day I started my day with a vodka and coke for breakfast. I started smoking and
began to lie to my parents. I used to leave the house pretending to go to
school, but instead, I went to the park to hang out with my friends. I was
introduced to marijuana and cocaine and started enjoying the effect they had on
me.
My
parents’ marriage was in crisis and the fights at home were constant. My mother became more involved with evil
spirits and suffered from depression, and my father had many women and children
outside the marriage. As I became more addicted to alcohol and drugs, partying
was inevitable. I used to go to the slums for the “Funk Parties” where I was
the youngest person in my group of drug dealer friends. I became very disturbed and began to see evil
spirits and talk to them.
My
mother didn’t approve of my bad behaviour so when I turned 15 I left home to live
with my boyfriend whom I had been dating from the age of 12. I considered myself an adult! When he was
high on drugs he would beat me seriously.
I was beaten up almost every night and had to be careful what I said to
him, because if he didn’t like it, he would beat me again. I became his “property” and couldn’t go out
without telling him or have other friends. I was ashamed to tell my parents
about it as they were already disappointed with me.
The void
inside me was so great that I tried to commit suicide three times; I no longer
had a desire to live. When I turned 16, I discovered a mole on my body which
was diagnosed as a stage five melanoma (skin cancer). It was removed
immediately at the Institute of Cancer. This health scare was a turning point
in my life.
My grandmother,
who was already an assistant at the church, evangelised to me and for the first
time I took notice of someone speaking to me and her words kept going round in
my mind. I was not afraid to die, since I thought death would be the solution
to all my problems, but deep down I was asking if this was the life for me and questioning
whether God was alive.
Because
of my granny’s insistence I went to the Universal Church in Abolicao for the
first time on a Friday when there was a night vigil. I felt extremely
uncomfortable in that place. I felt worst during the powerful prayer, but when
I went home afterwards I was feeling very light. I began making my chains of
prayers and was healed from the cancer. I joined the youth group and was
baptised. Then I had a personal encounter with God and received the Holy
Spirit. I was trained as an assistant and the void which I had carried for so
long, was filled.
I met my
husband in the youth group and we were both assistants in the same church. When we married, he was an auxiliary pastor
and a year later we came to South Africa. At the beginning of our marriage we
had many conflicts, but we always managed to work them out. My husband was
always calmer and more understanding than I was.
I’ve
always had a passion for souls who are suffering, as I will never forget where
God took me from and how He transformed my life. In South Africa I began a new
journey of challenges and I began to evaluate the roots of my actions. I had
always been an insecure person who was dependent on the opinions of others. I
felt inferior always thinking others were better than me.
As I had
learned to ignore my emotions and present a “tough” exterior so that nobody
would know how vulnerable I was, I did not know how I would begin sharing my
inner turmoil with my mentor. How would I begin to explain that I was not as
strong as I thought or that I pretended to be tough so that nobody could hurt me?
It was not easy at all! It took some time to realised that if I wanted to
continue doing what I loved, which is saving souls, that I needed to change so
that I could make a difference in someone else’s life. I had to allow God to
work in me so that He could work through me.
Having
made the decision, I didn’t waste any time. I swallowed my pride, took down my
guard and allowed God to get to work on me. I began looking at my roots, and in
the process discovered many things about me that I didn’t know. I discovered
new qualities in me but most importantly of all – I left my cocoon. Today I am
not afraid to be myself. I know my value, not only before God but also the
value I have in God’s work. My journey doesn’t end here because I will continue
working to overcome challenges and to save souls for eternity.
Alessandra Barreto
South Africa
13 comments:
Great testimony Mrs Ales
What a total transformation thanks for sharing
Thank you Mrs Ale for sharing your testimony as many young women are going through similar situations and don't know where to turn to for help.
Strong testimony Mrs Ale
Wow ,Mrs Alexandra God really showed Himself in your life and today you can really say to the young ones who are going through the same difficulties in their lives that Jesus is the way.
Thank you for sharing a very strong testimony.
May God bless you much more.
kisses.
Thats is very strong!
May God bless you more and more,every day of your live
kisses.
Thank you Mrs Ale for sharing your testimony and this I believe it blesses many ladies who do not value themselves because of situations they're facing today.Yes Jesus is the answer to all problems!
thank you Mrs for this powerful testimony. very inspiring. kisses
Great testimony indeed Mrs Alessandra. May Gid bless you all the more.
Great testimony Ale, and I believe that your testimony will help may. It is really a total transformation.
Thank you very much for sharing your testimony with us. Beijos!
Thank you for sharing your testimony with us mrs. Alessandra. It really motivates me that for God to use me as He has purposed, I have to be myself and be willing to learn the ways of God.
Thank you :-)
What a powerful testimony. thank u for sharing Mrs Ale.
THANK YOU MRS ALESSANDRA.YOUR TESTIMONY REALLY INSPIRED ME.
Indeed where the hand of God is involved, it does not just fix someone but do a total transformation.
The results becomes evident and one feels the need to spread the perfume.
Thank you for sharing Mrs Ale. May God use you more.
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