“For her, the only thing that would fix everything was divorce.”

Michael Rivera and his wife, Elizabet, grew up in church together and married when they were still teenagers. Michael joined the U.S. military and became a commissioned officer in the Air Force. They’d been together eleven years, when in 2013, Michael was sent on a six-month deployment 10 time zones away and had an affair.

“I thought nobody’s gonna find out,” Michael recalls. “This is just while I'm here and after I leave, it's, it's over with, you know, and I can go back to being me and having a normal life.”

However, when he got home, things didn’t go back to normal.

“I had asked God for forgiveness many times,” says Michael. “And I knew that he had forgiven me, but I still felt that I was surrounded by a wall.”

Elizabet noticed a change in him. “Something was different, and I didn't know what it was. When I asked him, he was very evasive.”

Three months later, Michael was away for explosives training when Elizabet discovered messages revealing the affair. She called Michael to confront him.

He remembers that conversation. “The house of glass that I was living in shattered. I know what I did is wrong, but I want to still keep my wife; I want to keep my marriage. I still loved her, that never changed. I told her that I was sorry. I asked her to forgive me, but from that, it just went to arguing.”

“He took responsibility for his actions,” Elizabet recalls. “But I told him, you know, this is the end. This is a deal breaker. I was very angry, very upset, so I requested an appointment with a divorce lawyer.”
The divorce attorney recommended couples therapy, yet they continued to fight constantly. so, Elizabet left for Puerto Rico to stay with her parents.
“I was hurt, I was bitter, I was angry. I thought that was the best decision for both of us. I didn't want the baby to witness our constant fights.”

Michael was “I didn't want to continue to hurt her. So, whatever she wanted, I was fine with--whatever would make her feel better.”

Elizabet returned four months later. though they continued therapy, things didn’t change.
“I was determined to have the therapy, but I was determined to end the marriage,” she declares.

For nearly a year, they continued to struggle. Michael devoted himself to prayer and sought God constantly. Then he read a passage that changed his life.

‘“I came across the 32nd Psalm, which helped me understand that part of the process had to be confession. I knew that the perception that I had of, of not telling people everything because I will let them down, I knew that that had to pretty much go out the window. I had to change. I had to be a different person. I went to people that I trusted, and I told 'em, ‘Hey, this is what I'm going through,’ and I fully confessed to them. Becoming an open book was such a difficult thing for me, but it, it was truly what transformed me. I didn't care what people would think about me at this point. I was genuinely doing whatever I could to truly restore our marriage.”’

However, Elizabet still couldn’t get past her hurt and disappointment.

‘“This experience changed me. The love I'd had for him was blinded by my anger. I didn't feel, proud of him anymore. I remember him telling me, ‘Elizabet, I love you. Please forgive me.’ And he was all crying. And I was cold.”’

Michael was ready to give up. “I was thinking at that point, I'm gonna end the marriage because I just can't live. I mean, I can't take what I did back.”

Soon after, Elizabet had a vision.

“‘I saw bright light, and then I saw Jesus standing in front of my bed, and his shape was like living water. I grabbed his hand, and I remember telling him, ‘I love you.’ What I meant by that is, I love you, but I know I don't love him. And I remember Jesus telling me, “If you love him, then you love me.’”

 The next day, their pastor requested that Elizabet, who was on the worship team at church, perform a new song that Sunday about seeing Christ in others. Elizabet remembers it clearly.
‘“This song was a confirmation of the vision that I had. The lyrics of this song showed me that I had to start looking at Michael through God’s eyes. That completely changed me. It broke me inside. And I remember at one point, God ministering in my heart and telling me, ‘You don't have to trust Michael, but you can trust me.’ I began to pray for Michael. I began to see him with mercy and even with empathy. God began to open my heart again toward Michael, and I started loving him again, but loving him in a realistic way.’”

Elizabet wrote a letter telling Michael she wanted to try to make their marriage work. It was the answer he had been praying for, and with God’s help, they began to repair the damage.
“Forgiveness for me was not a one-time thing, it was a process,” says Elizabet. “It was a decision that I had to make constantly. My weakness was my anger, and I needed forgiveness too. So different kinds of weaknesses, but we need the same mercy.”

The following year, they renewed their vows, moved into a new home and had their second child. Their love –and their family—continued to grow.

“We have far exceeded everything and anything that we had before,” says Michael. “It is totally a new marriage. I'm not boastful about anything I did in my past. But I want people to understand that there is a God that wants to restore us. He wants to restore our life.”

Elizabet agrees.

“Jesus can make everything new. If you surrender completely to him-- you surrender your sorrow, your pride, your ego to him--He will do the work, and He will do the miracle in your life.”
 

CREDITS

Story lead courtesy of Delafé testimonies, building the world’s largest archive of Jesus testimonies: https://www.missiondelafe.org

6-year-old Alya was raised as a Muslim in Indonesia.
 
Alya said, “I used to do daily prayer and recite the Quran. And I went to the Mosque.” 
 
Alya had never heard about Jesus or the Bible until one day she met someone who invited her to an afterschool program supported by CBN’s Orphan’s Promise. Her parents agreed and signed her up. There, she received free tutoring, snacks, and learned about God from CBN’s SuperBook. 
 
“At the afterschool program, I learn about counting, reading, and I watched SuperBook,” said Alya.
 
One day, she watched the story of Jesus dying on the cross, and she also learned why He did it.  
 
“Jesus was crucified to wash away our sins,” explained Alya. “That day, I learned I am a sinner. I was sad to see when they nailed Jesus’ hands.”
 
That day, Alya said she prayed to become a Christian.
 
“I prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Be my Lord and Savior,’” said Alya. “I am happy because Jesus forgave my sins.”
 
Alya said she loves talking about SuperBook with her parents, and said her mom has now become a Christian too.
 
With a big smile, Alya said, “Thank you to the people who showed me SuperBook, and for the afterschool program too. God bless you.”

Yuncai’s dreams were simple.   

“I just wanted to eat cake, ice cream, and chicken,” he explains.  “I wanted to know what it tasted like.”

He also wanted to play soccer.  But he was born with Hirschsprungs Disease, which often led to blockage in his digestive tract.  

“I always had a dull pain in my abdomen,” recalls Yuncai.  “If I tried to exercise, my stomach hurt.  So, I just stayed at home alone.”

His mother abandoned the family, leaving Mr. Chen to take care of Yuncai by himself.  

“A doctor said if Yuncai didn’t get surgery, he’d never be able to eat like a normal person because he wouldn’t be able to digest food right,” Mr. Chen says.  “As I did more research, I found out that he could end up with a perforated intestine, and even die.  I was really scared.”

A lot of the time, Yuncai was on a liquid diet.  It was hard for him, so once he decided to eat a piece of cake. 

“His stomach swelled-up, and he looked like he was pregnant.” Mr. Chen remembers.  “He was vomiting and shaking and fell into a coma.”

Doctors at the city hospital said he had a serious intestinal infection, as well as sepsis.  

“I was told that he would need at least two operations to recover,” Mr. Chen says.  “So, I tried to borrow money to get Yuncai surgery, but no one would help.”

Then, Mr. Chen heard about Operation Blessing.  

“Operation Blessing told me I didn't have to worry about how much anything cost because they’d help,” Mr. Chen exclaims.  “Their support gave me confidence and comfort.”

Yuncai adds, “Operation Blessing volunteers said, ‘If you’re afraid, speak to Jesus."  After that, I dreamed about Jesus.  I heard Him say to me, ‘Be strong! I'll get you through this.’” 

Soon, you helped Yuncai get the surgeries he needed.  A doctor removed some of his intestines, clearing his immediate blockage and corrected his digestive tract.” 

Yuncai proclaims, “Now I can eat whatever I want.  And I can do my favorite sports.”

Mr. Chen says, “Before, I always thought people were selfish and cold, but Operation Blessing showed me selfless love for the first time. They said they love me because God loves me!”

Yuncai concludes, “You not only got rid of my disease, you brought me Jesus.  And that's the most important thing.  Now, my life is completely different.  I thank the donors at Operation Blessing.  Because of your help, I’m healthy and happy!” 

Do you know that CBN partners can reach people around the world for Christ every day? We invite you to join us in ministry together as we provide financial support to those in need through our life-giving surgeries, food and clothing programs, humanitarian aid, and so much more! When you give today and become a CBN partner, you’ll help transform lives in the name of Jesus Christ! Join us now!

December 2008. Estevan Medina needed urgent help. “I remember walking into the hospital, and they could tell I was drunk. They gave me a breathalyzer, and the breathalyzer was a 0.67. And the doctor was like, ‘I don't know how you are having a coherent conversation with me right now. You should be in a coma or dead’.” It was pneumonia that landed Estevan in the hospital, but doctors soon found more. His liver was failing giving him only a 5% chance of living a few more weeks. He recalls, “My mind was just going a hundred miles an hour, you know, in disbelief and just struggling with it. Where did my life go? I didn't even get to live life.”  

Though just 28, Estevan had spent nearly half his life behind bars, starting when he was 12. For him, prison felt safer than home. Estevan says about prison, “I wasn't gonna have to worry about my next meal. I wasn't gonna worry where I was gonna lay my head at night. I felt secure.” Raised by drug-addicted parents, Estevan found acceptance by joining a gang, entering a cycle of crime and incarceration. In 2003, at 23-years-old Estevan married Lisa while serving time for a parole violation. After his release, Lisa pushed for change. She says, “I wanted him to get out of the gangs and I wanted him to work, and we wanted to build a family.”  Yet, Estevan recalls, “I feel like, when I got out, I didn't have a purpose. So, I started drinking. What it did was create more problems. My home now was chaotic.”

As his drinking spiraled out-of-control, Estevan realized he’d become like the man he hated… his dad. Estevan recalls, “Even though it wasn't with hard drugs, it, I was just like him with alcohol. And I came home one day, and me and my wife were fighting and I went to pick up my son and he gave me a look and he pulled away from me. And that look, and the way he pulled away reminded me of me when I was a kid, and it broke my heart.”  Wracked with guilt, Estevan left and would spend the next two years homeless …… drowning himself in alcohol. He recalls, “I would get a gallon of vodka and sit there and drink that; I’d kill that within a 24-hour period.  Then in December 2008, after landing in the hospital with pneumonia, he learned his liver was failing and he was dying. Lisa, despite her bitterness, went to see him. She says, “I really wanted to tell him how disappointed I was in him, and I actually felt compassion and the love that I still had for him when I saw him in the hospital.”

Unsure what to do, Lisa turned to her Christian mother for hope and guidance. Lisa recalls the talk, “She told me, only God can help. And I said, well, I want him to come into my life. I'm ready to give my life to him 'cause I need his help. I felt at peace, and I felt free from my own sin. I felt God's spirit come over me at that moment.”  That same evening, Estevan, alone in his hospital room, started blaming others for his condition. He says, “Then I get to God and I'm like, ‘God, if you're real, why? Why are you letting me? Why are you letting this happen to me?’ And I heard a voice, and it said, ‘I didn't do this to you. Your sin did this to you’. And I realized that nobody put me there but myself. I was like, ‘God, help me because I don't want to be like this no more’. Took the scared feeling away, it took the fear, it just took it.” The next morning Lisa returned, and now both saved, the two reconciled. Now they determined to trust God, despite the doctors’ grim outlook. Estevan says, “They didn't give us no hope. No, they didn't, they didn't want to try anything. They looked at my appearance, they looked at my background, and the doctors pretty much said, ‘we don't help people like you. You did this to yourself. These are the consequences.”

Amazingly, Estevan hung on nine more months, even as his body continued to deteriorate.  Still, he and Lisa believed God for a healing. She believed, “In the darkest times, you praise God because that is when God moves the greatest. I would continue to, to say, my husband is not gonna die. He's gonna live. And they would look at me like I was crazy, but I kept going. I kept going by faith and not by sight.”  His one chance was a liver transplant. Standing before the transplant review board, Estevan needed to convince them to put him on the organ recipient list. Estevan recalls the meeting, “I prayed and surrendered it to God. There was no positive accomplishments from my past that I could use or say. The only thing that I was able to tell 'em is that I've surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. I want to raise my kids, and I want to help others.” Now frail and ashen, Estevan waited as weeks passed without word. Then on July 6th the letter came. He recalls, “We open it, and it says, congratulations, you've been able to be put on the transplant list. So, me and my wife are, you know, hallelujah. I praise God. And the doctors come in and they're like, ‘don't get your hopes up. Most people wait up to five years, like, you're gonna probably die waiting’.” 

Three days later, they had a perfect match. Lisa recalls, “We were definitely shouting and just praising God for this miracle that he was doing and that the promise had come.” Following the 15-hour surgery, Estevan started recovering immediately. Six months later his new liver was working perfectly. Both Estevan and Lisa knew without a doubt their miracle came through prayer and faith in God. Estevan says, “He brought everything back. Like, you know, my family, the love, my life. He's just amazing.” Lisa is happy too, “I just felt like so thankful again to God and just like so excited that, now we could live life again. My husband could go on with his life and just that God is just good and faithful to his promises.” Today, Estevan shares his story of redemption and healing with youth, gang members, and inmates, proving that through Jesus, there’s always hope. He believes, “It's possible to change no matter what we've been through, no matter what lifestyle we've had. No matter what situation you're in life, there's hope, no matter how bad it seems, there's hope and through Jesus Christ.”