I grew up in a dysfunctional family, where my parents were alcoholics. There was violence, lots of arguing and abuse, because whenever my father got drunk, he beat my mother. Until the day he moved out and abandoned us. The pain of a broken family and financial problems marked my childhood.

At the age of 8, I began to practice witchcraft and became rebellious. At the age of 12, I started smoking and drinking. At 14, I started getting high off pills. And at 16, I started using harder drugs, such as cocaine and crack.

This was when I was introduced to the Dark movement. I liked to dress in black, wear rings and necklaces with nails, and use makeup that made me look pale. I listened to music that had vulgar and sadistic lyrics; wrote poetry that spoke of hatred, death and pain. Because I didn’t believe in anything, my life was empty and meaningless.

I was an aggressive and bipolar person. I tried to kill myself several times and almost died from an overdose. I got involved with someone, but he was physically and verbally abusive. On one occasion, we got into an argument and I tried to stab him in the neck with a broken glass bottle. We lived like this for years, until he raped me and I reported him to the police.

In the meantime, my father, who was an addict, was introduced to the work of the Universal Church. He was delivered and turned his life around. He prayed for our family and before long, after witnessing his conversion, my mother began going too. My family was restored. My parents invited me, during a whole year, to go with them to Church, but I resisted.

After suffering from the separation and abuse, I began sleeping around with men I didn’t even know, just so I could endure the loneliness and marks that were left by my previous relationship. One day, I went out with five men at once. At that moment, I understood that I had hit rock bottom and needed help. This was when I remembered my parents’ invitation and agreed to go with them to Church. It was the best decision of my life!

I surrendered my life completely and had an encounter with God. I was delivered from the drugs, the addictions, the bipolar disorder and the depression. My interior changed and my exterior reflected this change. Now, I am a happy and fulfilled woman. Someone believed in me, and now I strive to bring the same light of the Lord Jesus to other people who, like me, are lost in darkness.

Maribel – Mexico