I come from a humble family. My father was absent, which led me to experiment with drugs at the age of 13. To get attention and popularity, I did the wrong things to seek approval. I began smoking cigarettes and drinking, then I tried marijuana. Then I moved on to riskier things, like selling drugs and robbing people.

I would go to a party or bar every day. There would always be plenty of crack and cocaine. I lost count of how many times someone tried to kill me. I also tried to kill other people; I saw and did a lot of wrong things.

My life was sad and empty; no one imagined that all I wanted was to find happiness. My family was destroyed and I was living in misery, because the dirty money I made was poorly spent on luxuries and vanities. I had several women but was always under the influence of drugs. My life seemed impossible to change.

Rock bottom came after my own friends tried to kill me because of money and power. We were having fun when a fight broke out and everyone that was with me started to hit me with bottles, rocks, sticks and stab me with knives. I was really drunk, but I remember hearing them say, “Now we’re going to have to kill him!”

A girl found me two days later when she came across one of my shoes, thought it was nice, and decided to look for the other one. Thank God, because when she found it, she also found a young man in the bushes, covered in blood, with flies and dogs on top of his body! This is how she found me. The coroner was called, but I was still alive.

I was taken to ICU, where I remained in a coma for three days, plus eleven days in an induced coma. I underwent three facial reconstruction surgeries, received 48 stitches and spent three months undergoing physiotherapy to recover movement. Only then was I discharged from the hospital.

After all this, I received an invitation to know more about the work of the Universal Church, and to participate in the Youth Group. Everything began to change in my life. I turned away from all the bad things, was delivered, quit all my bad habits and started to work.

I gave my life to Jesus, was baptized in water, sought and received the Holy Spirit. Today, with my life transformed and traumas of the past overcome, I am conquering and realizing my dreams through faith. I am an assistant and candidate for the Altar. My life is completely different than it was before. My family also changed after seeing my transformation.
Someone believed in me, and now I believe in you!

Luiz Henrique