Hi friends! On today’s episode of Draw Near to Me, we will finish what we will be sharing about Raul’s faith journey. For those who prefer to read, today’s content is also posted below. For those of you who would like to continue to follow Raul and receive updates on his mission work, please find him on Instagram @missionsbyrt. It has been a privilege to hear part of Raul’s story and the redemption that God has brought in his life. Thank you again Raul for being willing to share part of your life with us so that we may get a better view of our Father in heaven. Once again Jeff, my husband, will help today with the voice for Raul’s story. If you enjoy this post, please share it with others using the share button below. With that, let’s dive into Raul’s story. Enjoy!
When the doctor approached me, I was not sure what to expect. Thankfully, he invited me to come into the hospital and took me to the recovery room. When I arrived the medical team was removing my mom’s intubation tube. The doctor asked me who brought her to the hospital. I explained everything that happened. He said that she may not have been alive if I had not stepped in. My mom was finally awake at that point, and she said, “Well Raul, I never saw you. I always saw an angel.” I started laughing with joy. That whole experience was my encounter with God.
After that day in the hospital, I started getting involved in the church community and ministry. I joined Crossroad Bible Church, located in Panama City. My mom had already been going there for a couple of years. It was a missionary church that taught people how to be with Jesus. The church placed those who felt called in a program to be sent as a missionary.
I began helping in their kids and youth ministry and was eventually given a position as a youth leader. We started doing mission trips to different parts of Panama. I went to the comarcas, which were indigenous regions, and worked with the tribes there. Those mission trips really changed my life. They gave me another perspective and helped me decide to become a full-time missionary.
A pivotal step in my relationship with God came in 2017, after I became Christian. My mentor told me, “Hey Raul, you need to forgive your father. If you really want to know Jesus, if you really want to know your heavenly Father, then you need to forgive your biological father.”
It was true. It seemed like I had something big in front of me, almost like a big cape, that prevented me from fully seeing my heavenly father as a good father. That was what my mentor, someone who was so important in my life, helped me to understand. My vision of God was being blocked.
I believe we need to be around people that help us understand the things we can’t see. It could be a friend, a brother in Christ, or somebody else close to us. We need to open our heart and our world view. We don’t need to expose our life to social media, Instagram, Tik Tok, or things of that nature. No, no, no. We need to allow our life to be exposed and vulnerable with someone who wants to help us. That can lead to a good change in our life forever.
Knowing this, when my mentor encouraged me to forgive my dad, it began a whole new process in me. My heart and my thoughts were scrambled. I thought about it a lot and wasn’t sure where to start. Eventually my mentor suggested that I write a letter to my father.
One week I wrote a letter, and then put it in the trash. The next week I wrote another one, and then put it in the trash as well. I kept going through that cycle for a while. Finally, one Wednesday I took courage. I decided to write a letter to send to my father via Facebook Messenger. It was the best way to reach him since the mail system in Venezuela was terrible. He may never have received an actual letter.
Since I only saw my father when my mom sent me to visit him, he had not been present for much of my life. Many of those missed moments created wounds. In the letter I wrote things like, “Father, I forgive you for not being present in my life. I forgive you for never teaching me how to ride a bike. I forgive you for not teaching me how to treat a woman in a good way. I forgive you for not teaching me how to drive.”
I sent the message by Messenger and expected to hear an answer from him right away. Days went by. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday all came and went. It was about one week before I received a message from him. What he wrote was healing to my heart. He said, “Son, I forgive you for all the things you told me. Please forgive me for not being present in your life for all those things. I really want to reestablish our relationship.” When I received this message, I felt like a new person.
Now I talk to my father every day. We love each other again. He is in my life and is so glad for the things that are happening, including my relationship with my fiancé. Last year he came to Panama to visit me. It was the first time we had seen each other in 11 years. We spent one week talking, laughing, and loving each other. He heard my testimony and we cried together. We hugged and forgave again.
I explained to my dad what my life was like now. Even though he’s not a Christian guy, he’s proud of the work I am doing. He’s proud that I am taking the gospel to the ends of the world, to the deep areas in the jungle. I pray every day that my father will have his own encounter with Jesus, like me.
I want to finish what I share by encouraging others. If you have a bad relationship with your mother, with your father, with your friends, or with the people you love, the best thing you could do is forgive. If we go to the Bible we see our Father, our heavenly Father, is a God who loves to forgive us.
The process of forgiving my biological father allowed me to deepen my relationship with God, Jesus, and the Bible. God sent His son to pay our sins and give us the opportunity to forgive each other. Jesus taught us how to forgive each other. Through forgiveness I was able to see our Heavenly Father more clearly. He is a God who will forgive me. It is one of his characteristics. He has many, but this one is a really strong aspect for me. I could see His forgiveness in my life.
God worked in me to help me become a resilient guy, to become a forgiving guy. With Him, I see life with different glasses. Before I used to see everything as black and white. My life was about work and money and that was it. I lived without purpose. Now I see through more colorful glasses.
Knowing God, I now have a purpose. I travel far to tell people that this real God exists. He is the God who saves us. The God who will take us from the bottom of the deep sea, grab us out, and helps us live a better life. A life where He wants to share His love with us, and a life where He wants to share His love to others through us. It is the best life.
Raul, thank you once again for sharing your story with us. If you enjoyed this post, please consider sharing it with others by hitting the share button. If you are not already a subscriber, consider doing a free or paid subscription so you don’t miss any content and to support my work. Thank you!
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