His Mercy Reached Me, Jesus M. Reyes

I was raised in the Catholic church to such a point that I was an altar boy there.

However, during my childhood I lived with my grandmother without a positive influence of a father. My life as a teenager was wild. At the age of 18, I moved away from Puerto Rico, my native country, to live in New York. There I lived without restrictions, and I led a disorderly life. Eventually I was put into prison where I began to beseech God, promising that if He would take me out of there I would serve Him--and that's what happened.

I started to attend a denomination where I learned more about salvation.

I was 25 years old when I met a young woman who feared God. Later, after two years of engagement, I married her. We married in 1975. The Lord gave us a daughter and a son as a blessing. But Satan attacked me; I was weak so I fell again into sin, causing the separation of my marriage.

Although my family suffered because of me, my wife followed the Lord in a faithful way. The Lord rescued me again by His love and mercy. Because of the prayers of my mother in law and her guidance I reunited with my wife and my children in Santa Ana, California. It was in Santa Ana where my wife and I discovered the books written by Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. These spiritual books strengthened my wife in a big way and it helped me to have genuine experiences of the Lord. As a result of reading these books, I have seen how the Lord has changed my old manner of thinking. I also have learned to use my spirit to fellowship with God because of attending the meetings of the local church. I believe that the Lord introduced me to such books to satisfy me with His very person. Nothing or nobody could turn me away from the love of Christ. I give thanks for His name. Now I meet with the church in Orlando, Florida.