Hi! I am George.  I was born in 1945 in Guadalajara, Mexico.  I am the youngest of my parents’ four children.  My eldest brother died when he was only one year old. My parents owned a food market, and later, a furniture store.

I have warm memories of my Dad.  When I was about 4 years old, I loved to watch my Dad when he fixed things and when he worked, cutting shoe patterns from leather with a special curved knife.  I remember he gave me a wood box with a broken lock, a screwdriver, and a knife with a curved blade to cut leather (which he grinded down to make dull before giving it to me).  I enjoyed trying to fix the box’s broken lock, which ended up in pieces. 

I loved my parents.  They were good to us and raised us as good Catholics to be responsible citizens with a strong sense of right and wrong.  They took us to Mass often where we partook of the Sacraments and recited the Apostles’ Creed.  Whenever my Dad disciplined me, he first explained why my actions were wrong; then he spanked me so I would not forget.  It worked! Whatever I did not understand in words, I easily understood by the spanking.  The pain reminded me to not fall into those behaviors again.  I loved my Dad for his loving discipline and had good feelings for him.

All this changed.  My parents divorced when I was 7 years old, and my sisters and I went to go live with different aunts.  I started working as a janitor at an aunt’s furniture store.  Whatever I earned went to another aunt where I lived to pay for my support. 

Seven years later, my older sister got visa papers for my Mom and I, and we emigrated from Mexico to the United States.  We lived with my older sister in Hollywood, California.  We would travel back to Mexico every now and then to visit family.  During one of those visits to Mexico, I met a young woman whom I wanted to marry.  I was able to work two jobs in Hollywood and by the age of 22, I saved enough money to buy a ring, and afford wedding expenses, a honeymoon, and a few items for our new household.  Upon returning from our honeymoon, my wife joined me in the U.S., two weeks later, as her emigration and visa papers were approved.  What a blessing this was to our new marriage!

I worked different jobs over the years.  I got a factory job supplying bottles and boxes for the packaging of vitamins and supplements, and later advanced to machine operator and simple maintenance. After my shift ended, I worked in a restaurant as a host and bar boy.  Eventually, I worked only at the restaurant for extended hours as host, bar boy, and then as head bartender.   By then, my family had grown to five children, and in order to support our family’s needs, I applied for a job at Southern California Gas Company.  Thanks to God, because of my mechanical inclination, I passed all their mechanical tests and was hired as a Field Service Representative, and advanced to an Appliance Service Representative.  I worked for a total of eleven years for So Cal Gas Co., then injuries prevented me from working anymore.

Following my parents’ example, I took my family to Mass as often as possible and tried to instill in them good ethics, good moral values, and to be good Catholics.  My kids were baptized and confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church and had their first holy communions and first confessions.  Like my Dad, I encouraged my children to follow after their own personal interests, however, asking each of them to wisely think and to make sure it was a good thing:  My oldest boy wanted to learn boxing and I gave him the same advice to pay attention and wisely see if that would work out for him.  Meanwhile, I helped him pursue boxing in whatever way I could. He heeded my advice and he later realized that he was not gifted enough to make a career out of it, and instead pursued a career in remodeling, repair, and maintenance. When my oldest daughter learned about Christianity and started to go to a Christian church and became a “born again” Christian, I was very supportive of her and encouraged her to deepen her spiritual life.  Eventually, four of my children became “born again” Christians!

My wife did not share my enthusiasm.  She was very unhappy with my daughter whenever she would share the Gospel and inconsistencies of Roman Catholicism with her siblings and me.  This was not the only matter which my wife and I disagreed on: we had several other disagreements.  One of my sons started using drugs and being irresponsible, and no matter what we tried, we could not convince him to stop.  With many internal conflicts, our marriage became broken and my wife and I could not agree on how to fix it.  We separated, sold our house, and lost most of our life savings.

My wife’s uncle from Guadalajara, Mexico invited me to go to a marriage seminar held by a Catholic priest in a villa beyond the outskirts of Guadalajara.  I was surprised that my wife had said “yes” already to go to this same marriage seminar; and so I accepted to go.  In my mind, I anticipated that we were going to be told what God expected of us and that we would obey and reconcile. 

At the seminar, there were prayers to “Hail Mary, Mother of God” and many testimonies of couples, but everything seemed to be based on feelings or personal mystical experiences.  The priest would play some romantic music and then give some religious preaching with practical, earthly wisdom.  A question kept popping up in my head: “Where is God, His Wisdom, the Bible, and His Instructions?” As I looked around at all these couples and seeing that they had reconciled in this worldly way, and were now at the conclusion giving their testimonies of falling in love again, I stood up and exclaimed, “I don’t know how but from now on I will follow God and be His, no matter what!”  At that moment, I felt the presence of God so close to me, I thought that He was in me!  At the end of the meeting, my wife’s uncle and aunt reasoned with my wife to reconcile, but she refused.  I was elated that I felt the nearness of God, but also felt disappointed that we were not able to reconcile.

We returned to the U.S.  When I got back home, I put my luggage down in the bedroom, then fell to my knees and wept over and confessed my sins to God.  I immediately felt God’s presence in me, and I felt like I was floating.  I was saved!

After being saved, I had a great interest in reading the Bible. As it was the first time I read the Bible, I asked “Lord, why am I reading it since I cannot understand it?” The Catholic Church had taught me that they alone could teach and interpret the Bible.  “God, who will teach me?”  God answered me very quickly with these Scriptures: “But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true” (1 John 2:27a, NLT); and “…the Lord giveth wisdom…he layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous” (Proverbs 2:6a, 7a KJV).  I read the Bible, asked the Lord for the interpretation, and He revealed to me the meaning.  Yes, God is truthful.

Thinking I was still a Roman Catholic, I had  more and more questions from the Bible which contradicted Roman Catholic teachings, such as the second commandment which prohibits the making and bowing down to statues, who “the priesthood” is, and Mary having sons and daughters, etc.  I put tabs on the Bible verses which I had questions about in order to show to my priest for an explanation.  To be quick, I told the priest that I had Bible questions and opened the Bible pointing at the first question.  He immediately closed my Bible and gently proceeded to tell me that this parish really did not go by the Bible, but conformed their teaching to the people’s culture and practices to better help and guide them. At that moment, I realized that God took me there to show and teach me that I was no longer a Roman Catholic.  For Jesus railed against the religious leaders of that day saying, “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.  For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men,…Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:6-9, selected, KJV).  

For 48 years of my life, I was faithful to the Roman Catholic religion, saw the Bible being held up and I heard it declared: “This is the Word of God.” And now, a respected priest tells me that they don’t truly follow it.  That hour, I left the Roman Catholic religion to never return.

I continue reading and studying the Bible and the Lord continues teaching me like He teaches His own. I have attended several places of congregation of Christians including Bible studies, and have followed God’s teachings to “prove all things and hold fast to what is good”.  By comparing common teachings against the truths of the Bible, I have been able to weed out the teachings which contradict the teachings of the Bible. I have left some Christian congregations when teaching errors were found to be heavy.  I am now congregating in one of many good places of congregation where the Holy Bible is proclaimed as The Authority, Inerrant and Infallible Word of God.

My marriage ended in divorce.  My arguments could never have saved the marriage.  What the Bible taught me was that I should serve the Lord first, then my wife, then my children.  This is the way for a happy marriage.  Now all that I can do is be a living testimony of Christ in me and pray for her salvation, hoping that one day she might come to the Lord for her salvation.