So my name is Wesley, I’m 35 years old and I live in Brazil. Since the moment I was born my family took me to church and I grew up learning about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit – but I didn’t know who they really were yet.
When I was 14 years old, I started to drift away from Jesus and began going to parties and found myself in environments where people were drinking heavily and taking of drugs. It wasn’t long until I joined them as well.
But in 2014, after several years away from Jesus, I sporadically decided to visit the church that I used to go to as a kid. For me these were just occasional visits, however for God, it was the return of a son that was lost. Often when I think about season in my life I remember the passage of the prodigal son and I think of those times when I would visit the church and Jesus would be just waiting for me at the door.
During this time in 2014 where I would occasionally go to church, combined with the pastor’s care and support, God began a transformation in my life. In the beginning of 2015 I went to a church retreat called ‘Encontro com Deus’ (Encounter with God) and for me that’s where I really encountered Jesus. I remember on the last day I was seeing all of my friends being touched by the Holly Spirit and nothing was happening with me, and that is when I said to God “I don’t want to leave the same way that I came here, I want to have an encounter with you too, so if there is something in my heart that needs to be broken, break it”. It was that night that I had a real encounter with Jesus. I like to compare that moment with the time Job said: “Before I knew you just by hearing about you, but now I see you with my own eyes.”
Since that day my walk with Jesus has been full of adventures and He has taken me to do and live things I never imagined. But of one thing I am sure, that all of those things I have done, I’ve done them with Him by my side.
Wesley is a passionate evangelist and an Advance Ambassador in Brazil.
