Victor was raised Catholic, but he never opened the Bible and read it himself.
Later in life, when he finally opened a Bible, Victor found himself with a long list of questions.
As time went on, his list of questions continued to grow. He tried other religions, drugs and alcohol in his search for meaning and fulfillment, but nothing stuck.
At age twenty-two, he got married and started a family, raising three daughters with his wife.
“Though I thought I was happy, I wasn’t,” he told us. “I felt like something was missing. I cheated and strayed. Even though I cheated on [my wife], she still prayed for me. I didn’t want to know anything about God, the Bible or church. I was lost! I was a lousy husband and an adulterer, one garbage of a man.”
After twenty-nine years of marriage, his wife’s health started failing, and she passed away in 2014.
“After the burial, I came across some of her prayer journals,” Victor wrote. And as he sat in the garage and began to read them, his eyes welled with tears. “Why? Because in her prayer journals, she prayed for me. She knew the infidelities, and yet she loved me so much that she forgave me and prayed for God to forgive me and save me.”
Victor continued, “I dropped to my knees hard on the concrete floor and cried out to God to forgive me. I cried and cried so much that snot came out all over me. I went to the front yard under the sky full of stars and asked God to forgive me. I gave myself to God that night and asked God to change me and change my life. The craziest thing happened that night: God heard me and answered.”
But God’s answer came in the most unexpected way. Not long after giving his life to Christ, Victor faced allegations for past actions, which landed him in prison. “God was putting me in the desert as he did to Moses—not to destroy me but to restore me,” he wrote. “When I thought my life was falling apart, it was actually falling into place.”
Victor’s journey to restoration hasn’t been easy. At the diagnostic center where he first stayed, his cell had no air conditioning, and rats would crawl on his bunk at night. While in prison, he has lost both of his parents, he has faced rejection from his daughters and he has been watching his second wife battle cancer and COVID-19.
Yet, even under these circumstances, Victor claims a peace that he cannot explain because he decided to surrender his life to Christ. Victor continues to turn to Scripture, reflecting on Philippians 4:13, which says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
“It is Christ who gives me the strength to continue even though the pain is deep in my heart,” he wrote. “I surrender it all to God! And I wish to thank everyone at Crossroads . . . Taking this Bible study through Crossroads is truly helping me and my faith grow stronger.”
Victor is currently studying his fourth course, All Work Is God’s Work, and he hopes to become a mentor himself once he is released and has completed his studies.
“I knew about Jesus, but I never truly knew Him until I began this Bible study,” Victor said. “This has also helped me to stay in the Word of God, especially during this time in my life. . . . During these trials and storms which I am going through, Crossroads Prison Ministries is helping me stay in the Word of God and giving me strength. Your prayers mean so much to me. I cannot thank you enough for all you have done and continue to do for me.”
After a year of devastating loss, loneliness and lockdowns, men and women are in desperate need of the peace that only Jesus can offer. Through the Christ-centered relationships they build with Crossroads mentors, students are given the opportunity to know true peace. Consider signing up to become a mentor or donating to support the work of Crossroads today.