A debilitating disease and her sister’s kindness bring a woman to seek God.

My name is Margarita Moncada. For many years, I lived alone and worked in a large finca (farm house) located in La Tebaida, Colombia. My employer was very kind, and life was relatively stable.

Even though my life was good, from time to time, I still experienced seasons of depression and anxiety. My source of comfort during these times became sweet treats and other kinds of unhealthy foods. I knew that I needed to be careful about what I ate, but as winter settled in, the depression and anxiety returned, and I turned to food yet again. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize the damage these kinds of food were doing to my health.

One day at work I began to feel extremely fatigued and collapsed to the floor. I was rushed to the hospital, where the doctors immediately recognized my symptoms as diabetes. Fortunately, they were able to prevent me from falling into a diabetic coma, but my symptoms worsened, and I ended up having to stay in the hospital for many weeks. It was a very difficult and frightening time.

Near the end of my stay in the hospital, I received an official diagnosis: Type 1 diabetes. As a strong and independent woman, this was crushing news. After returning home, I suffered with severe muscle pain, and it was hard to walk. When I pushed myself too much, I started to tremble and feel sick. I became dependent on others to help me through each day.

When my relatives heard about my condition, they urged me to move to the town of Unión Valle to live with my sister Lucia, so she could care for me. I agreed and made the transition because I could no longer manage even the most basic personal activities. Though I appreciated my sister’s kindness and willingness to help, I felt misunderstood, helpless, and overwhelmed by my physical disabilities. In those first days, I fell over and over again. I stumbled and lost my balance often and injured myself many times. I felt like I had lost control of my own body.

I began to sink into another season of deep depression and again turned to food as my source of comfort since that was all I knew to do. The emptiness I felt began to ache more deeply. I began to wonder what would happen if I died. Would anyone care? Would anything happen after death?

It was around this time that I began to notice something about my sister. “Where do you go every Saturday?” I asked one morning as she pulled on a dress.

“To church,” Lucia replied with a smile.

“You always come back glowing,” I observed. “You seem happy and peaceful.”

Lucia laughed. “Maybe it’s Jesus. He’s the reason I can smile through hard times. Why don’t you come with me one day?”

“I can barely walk to the kitchen, let alone to church,” I said.

Lucia didn’t push. But I kept thinking about what she had said—and how the emptiness in my life needed to be filled somehow.

One afternoon, I asked Lucia if someone from her church could visit me so I could talk with them. Her eyes lit up, and she agreed to arrange a meeting.

The next evening, a young man named Juvenal came to our home. Even though I had asked for someone to come, I still wasn’t sure how I felt about church and eyed him warily. I invited him in but kept up my guard. “I’m not one for sermons,” I warned him. “I’m tired and sick. Angry.”

Juvenal nodded respectfully. “Then let’s just talk.”

For nearly an hour, I poured out my frustrations to Juvenal—about my illness, my regrets, the loneliness, time lost. Juvenal listened quietly, never interrupting.

All of a sudden, I felt something shift inside of me. I looked at Juvenal and said, “I want to be baptized.”

Juvenal’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

I shrugged. “I know it sounds sudden, but I really mean it. I don’t know how to explain it.”

I had no idea that an evangelistic campaign was scheduled to begin the following week. And I had no idea just how much my life was about to change.

(To be continued.)

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Location
Colombia

Author
Narrated by Margarita Moncada to Juvenal Galo who is the director of the Bible and Evangelism Department at Fundación Las Delicias.

How You Can Help
Pray that if it is God’s will, Margarita will be healed. Pray for her as she witnesses to those in her family.

Give to the work in Colombia by sending your donations marked “Colombia Evangelism” to:

Mission Projects International
PO Box 237
Kirksville, MO 63501

To give securely online, visit: 
www.missionspro.org/donate

Thank You!
Fundación Las Delicias says “thank you” to all the MPI supporters for your contributions to God’s work in their part of the world!