A Sinner in the World, Gabriel García

I came to the United States when I was fifteen years old. I was lost in the world. When I say the world, I mean the world with all its pleasures: dancing, drinking, drugs, and many other things. After two years I was invited to a Christian meeting. There, I experienced the redemption Christ accomplished for me on the cross. I called on His name, confessing that I needed Him. He came into me and, although I cannot explain how it happened, He changed me. From that day, I stopped smoking and drinking liquor and what seemed most impossible--I went away from drugs.

Then, since I had experienced God and He had become a reality to me, I began to seek after Him. So I began to meet with a Christian group, seeking after God, and studying His Word. However, as time went on, I began to be dissatisfied with this group and many other groups I came to know because I wanted to practice the truths revealed in the Bible more than they were.

I had also a longing for the reality of being one with other believers in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12). Therefore, I began to pray that God would bring me to a higher experience, one full of reality.

Thank God, He heard me! After a little while, I had the chance to read a book by Watchman Nee entitled Further Talks on the Church Life. By reading this book, I saw that the universal church is composed of all the believers in the world, including those of the past centuries. Moreover, I could see that the church is built up practically through the local churches in their cities (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). I concluded that this is something I should practice.

After that, I continued to read more books by Watchman Nee, as well as those written by his close co-worker Witness Lee. From the writings of these two brothers, I learned to exercise my spirit, and to walk according to the Spirit, where the Lord dwells (Galatians 5:25; 2 Timothy 4:22). Their ministry has brought me to experience God as life. This is why I love this ministry, and I thank the Lord for raising up these two of His servants for the building up of the church, His bride which is God's eternal desire (Revelation 21:2).