By Faith I See Told to Enoch Iglesias by Victor Vergara I was born into a very poor family in a little town north of Medellín, Colombia. Our poverty carved out a hard life for us. Our town has no adequate water supply, no electricity, no telephone. Our houses are made of mud pressed over bamboo poles, for we have no other building materials. When travelers pass by, they wonder how we stay alive. Everyone looks hungry. Even the dogs are only skin and bones. My village knows only hunger, hard work, sickness, and disease. When I was little, my parents let me play in the hills around our home. But when I was 11, I began to help the family work. We harvested sweet potatoes and plantains, a type of banana. I also herded cows. One year a sickness spread throughout our village. The sickness was so contagious that doctors wouldnt come to treat us. I became sick, but recovered. However, I noticed a change in my vision-everything looked yellow, then became blurry. Finally, I lost my sight completely. Sounds became my way of seeing. I listened to my uncles battery-powered television and learned that life wasnt so hard in other places. That reality made me even more miserable. I felt sorry for myself and hated my life of trouble and pain. Fortunately, my mother was a Seventh-day Adventist, and her faith was strong. As I gradually lost my vision, her faith became my strength. She taught me to trust God. At age 15, two years after I became blind, I was baptized. I enrolled in a school for blind students for six months, then returned to my regular school. Because of my blindness, it took me longer to finish my studies, but I kept at it. During the summer I worked as a literature evangelist. My cousin guided me from door to door, and I talked to the people about the hope they could find in Jesus. I chose to work in the poor neighborhoods, because I thought there would be many people who needed God and hope. They did want my books, and they were glad to know that they were helping me, too. When I was younger, I was angry and bitter because of my familys hunger and poverty. Then when I became blind I became even more angry and bitter, and wondered why all of these bad things were happening to me. Several doctors examined my eyes, and I have even had surgery; but they could not restore my eyesight. Now I see by faith. When I learned to trust God, I realized that He does not guarantee an easy life. But He does promise to walk with us during our earthly life, and if we are faithful, He will guarantee an eternal life. Several people have asked to study the Bible with me. They want to get to know Jesus and share His power just as I have. If it takes my blindness to win others to Jesus Christ, then I want to be a good example so that others may see Jesus through my faith. ((Victor Vergara was in his second year of studying theology at Colombia Adventist University in Medellín at the time of this writing)).
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 00:16:36 +0000
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