Encounter Quarterly: Fall 2003
The Way Home
A Story of an Ecuadorian Prodigal
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Victor Carrera |
Victor was tired. Tired of drugs.
Tired of girls. Tired of parties. For seven years
they had been all that he cared about. But by age 24
he was tired of them all. Mainly he was tired of
life.
Victor began sinking deeper into a
reckless and self-destructive lifestyle when he was
just 17 years old. That same year he left home and
moved to the United States to attend school at the
University of Illinois. His newfound freedom fed his
growing appetite for indulgence.
Uncertain of what he wanted to do
with his life, he abandoned his studies and returned
to Ecuador.
As she saw her son’s life begin to spin wildly out
of control Victor’s mother Elsa, grew increasingly
concerned and tried to find help for him.
“She sent me to various doctors at
different clinics and institutions,” says Victor. “I
was in one institution for six months with doctors
that could help me, but nothing worked because I
didn’t want help.”
Not knowing what else to do, Elsa
began to seek God’s help. Around this time, a friend
told her of a small bible study group meeting at the
El Batán Church. “Our group prays together. You
should stop by some time and join us.”
Accepting her friend’s invitation,
she joined the small group and soon began attending
church services. There she learned what it meant to
have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Trusting in Him, she began to pray that the rest of
her family would as well. For the next five years
she prayed ceaselessly for her son Victor and for
other members of her family that they would come to
know the Lord.
The first fruits of her prayers came
soon thereafter when Victor’s younger sister put her
faith in Jesus Christ, was baptized and joined the
church. Victor’s father and then his other sister
followed. But still Victor resisted.
His parents encouraged him to come
to church with them and each time they saw him they
tried to give him a Bible. But Victor remained
unmoved.
One day Victor was alone in his
apartment. He couldn’t bear his life anymore. All
the things that defined his life – drugs, women,
parties – all of them failed to satisfy. He didn’t
want to live.
Amidst such thoughts of despair,
Victor heard on the radio of a painter holding an
exhibition. Intrigued, he decided to go watch. The
painter was a Christian artist who painted biblical
scenes. As he painted he would interpret the scenes
for his audience.
|
The Carrera Family.
Victor (far right) with father Victor
Hugo, mother Elsa, and sisters María
Isabel and María Elena. |
“As I watched I thought, ‘Wow, this
painter is really amazing.’ Afterward I met with
him. He asked me for my name and then he said, ‘I
have a gift for you.’
“We went to his office and there he
shared with me the gift of salvation through Jesus.
He prayed with me and I felt then that I was holy
and the burden that I was carrying was gone. I felt
so fresh and so light. He told me to find a Bible
and to study it and learn from it.
“I went to see my parents and I
said, “OK, I want a Bible because I want to learn
about Jesus.”
Today Victor’s life is radically
different from the one he knew before. Where once
there was emptiness and uncertainty, now there is
meaning and purpose.
“I’m learning a lot about Jesus
because now I have a reason for being here. I want
to serve the Lord. I know that it is not easy and I
know that it is a long process until my last day.
But I have found the way. The way is Jesus.
“I’m really excited now and looking
for places to go, places to study, places to learn
more about Jesus. I’m just trying to serve the Lord
because my life changed so radically. I really thank
the Lord for that every day. The Word tells us to
sing a new song and that is what I am doing.
“Since I received Jesus into my
heart everything is great. I know that I chose the
Lord Jesus and nothing else because He is the
truth.
Now as a family, the Carrera’s are
praying that other family members will come to know
the Lord as well.
“My mom has 20 brothers and sisters
and my dad has 10,” says Victor. “Every Sunday there
are 6 or 7 members of my mom’s family coming to the
El Batán Church. They are changing too. They know
that they need a relationship with Jesus. It is a
growing process to know God’s will and He is doing
what nobody else can.”
Certainly He did in Victor’s life!
Update on Victor Carrera (Fall 2003)
The Lord continues to work
powerfully in Victor's life. He is receiving
increasing opportunities to share his testimony with
others. God is using his testimony to reach others
still caught in similar lifestyles as Victor was
once trapped in. A local drug and alcohol rehab
clinic has asked Victor to come speak regularly. On
his first visit to the clinic, Victor encountered a
friend from his former life who was there as a
patient. At first his friend thought Victor was
there as a patient too. Victor responded, "No, man.
I'm the speaker." He went on to share with the
patients at the clinic how Christ delivered him from
his previous spiritual bondage to drugs.
After two years of prayer, Victor
has felt led by the Lord to launch a ministry known
as Kingdom Ministries. Victor's hope for the
ministry is that many young people in Quito and
abroad who might never visit a church would be
engaged by the gospel through his evangelistic
efforts and the outreach of Kingdom Ministries.
He is partially funding the outreach
through the sales of t-shirts and Christian related
products. The Christian-themed apparel, bumper
stickers and similar products are designed by Victor
and are an extension of the ministry's outreach. The
clothing and products are designed to provoke
questions and interest from others, hopefully
providing opportunities for those wearing or
displaying the products to share about their faith
in Jesus Christ.
A newly launched
website
seeks to provide testimonies relevant to young
people along with forums for discussion and
devotional materials geared toward a younger
generation.
EQ Fall 2003
Issue Main Page
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