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By Doris Torres, formerly from El Salvador
Mother and I were at our big city market shopping for our food. I held a big bag of bananas and mother was buying cheese. All of a sudden people began running in all directions. We ran with them, though we didn’t know why they were running.
Just a block away the government army and the guerrillas were exchanging gunfire. People everywhere were running for their lives. I remember my mother pushed me and said, “Just run,” and I ran as hard as I could. But I was running the wrong way—towards the guerrillas. I ended up on the street where they were. Fortunately the fighting had ceased. The soldiers were marching and waving flags by the time I got there. However, they knew that at any minute the fighting could resume and they could be shot at again.
I ran right into the guerrillas and into their flags. I still remember the flags enveloping me as I ran through them. When I realized I was with the wrong crowd, I started running away from them, but as I ran I encountered those who had been shot and were lying in the street. Most of the victims were guerrillas, but others were also civilians who got caught in the cross-fire. One wounded young man was still holding a flag and he was reaching out to me. I was but a child and I couldn’t do anything, so I just kept running.
I knew where the bus station was located so I ran there. Everyone at the station was hysterical, but I just stood there and waited. I knew if my mother was not killed, she would somehow get there. Finally, she did come for me.
The civil war began in my country, El Salvador, when I was about nine years of age. Before the outbreak of war, my parents, two sisters and I had lived a peaceful life. Both Father and Mother had left the rural life for the capital city to find better lives for themselves. They had met and married there. My father had a good job at a flour mill, was supporting his family and sending us three girls to school. Our family was religious. We attended church faithfully, took holy communion and kept all the religious holidays.
Our city began to change and things got worse and worse. Both the army and the guerrillas would go to homes, grab the young men and take them away for training in the forest. We somehow got used to seeing the two factions shooting at each other and people getting killed. It was horrible, but in time we felt nothing.
Once again my father made a decision for a better life. He emigrated to the United States and after a few years we joined him. Fortunately, we did not see the worst part of the civil war. We thank God for delivering us from all that we did see and experience before we left.
I arrived in the U.S.A. when I was 12 and started middle school in the 8th grade. I had loved school and was a disciplined student, so I always had the best grades. But I was overwhelmed that first day of school in America; everything was new! However, when I heard Spanish people speaking English, it encouraged me. I believed I, too, would learn the language someday, but it was so difficult. I worked at it extra hard and long. By the end of the semester I was the top student and the teacher’s helper.
At school I met a very friendly girl who invited me to church, but I didn’t go. Three years later, when I was in high school, I went with her to a Valentine’s day celebration. It was interesting to me; the young people were having so much fun. My friend continually asked me to go with her, so to stop her nagging, I decided to go again.
This time they were showing a Christian film. I don’t recall what the movie as about; I only remember it was very powerful. I was crying before the pastor gave an invitation to come to the altar to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. As soon as he began the invitation, I began to walk as though someone were taking me down to the altar. As I went forward, it seemed as though I was seeing a movie of my life. The presence of God was so powerful, I couldn’t even hear what people were saying.
A great conviction of sin came over me. I wept and wept for a long time. It seemed that no one was there but God and I. It was awesome and amazing to me. I had never experienced the presence of God in such a way. Someone led me in the sinner’s prayer, asking God to forgive me of my sin and to cleanse me in the blood of Jesus. I asked Him to come into my heart and life. I felt God’s love in such measure, it seemed that I could touch it. I knew I had found the truth.
I started going to that church and my life began to change. But it was difficult for me because my friends and family were not born-again. My father was angry and he would beat me for going to that church. He was not an abusive father; he was very zealous for his religion. Each time he beat me, I had such joy. It was like a sacrifice. His beatings did not stop my determination to go; they only made me stronger. I saw how easy the other young people had it, but I did not envy them. I could see they were not as passionate about the Lord as I was.
I met three other born-again Christians in the high school and the four of us started a Bible study group. We met during lunch break and then we would go and preach to the students. It was hard at the beginning but the Lord blessed us and people were getting saved. However, we encountered persecution, too, as the principal came against us. I thank the Lord for the work He did through us as new believers.
I challenged the young people in my church that we should go to the parks and street corners to preach the message of salvation. We had marvelous experiences of people giving their lives to Jesus right then and there.
I was so in love with Jesus that I wanted all my friends and everyone everywhere to know Him. I spoke to my pastor about the burden on my heart and he suggested I go to Bible school. I was attending college, but I quit and began to attend the Hispanic Foursquare Bible School. I was eager to learn everything I could about the Word of God.
Several months before graduation, I married William, a fellow-student at the Bible school and one of the young people who preached on the streets. We started two Bible study groups that our pastor required to prove our pastoral calling. The Lord blessed our efforts and a year later we inaugurated the church we founded. We served as senior pastors for eight years.
My husband and I had both received a call to serve overseas right after graduation from Bible school. After preparing ourselves for service through a number of study courses, we left our church two years ago and are ready to serve abroad. We want to go to those who do not know that Jesus is the only Savior of the world.
The Lord has blessed our marriage with a son and daughter that are a great joy to us. I also have had the joy of seeing my mother and one sister come to Christ. I thank the Lord for all the way He has led me and protected me so that I can love Him and give my life to tell others about Him.
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