Unlikely Missionary

I was born in 1956 but this is not a biography so I’ll spare you the details.  Becoming hardened by a life of crime and violence I went to prison for armed robbery, house breaking and grand larceny at age 17.  Tried and sentenced as an adult I spent 61 months in state prison where I learned to be a hate-filled career criminal.  Theft, violence, drugs and depravity occupied my entire life.  Arrested on various criminal charges and convicted of some of them, life was a downward spiral. Filled with murderous hate and rage I was a ticking time bomb…till I met Jesus Christ.  In 1993 at the age of 36 I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  That day I was born again, a new creature in Christ.  He replaced my hate with love and gave me new desires to change my hardened heart.  Reading and studying the bible became my pleasure.  About 5 months later I was convicted on drug and firearms charges from an arrest in 1992 and was sentenced to 68 months in federal prison. Though I was saved I still reaped what I had sown… till God intervened!  After 26 months I was freed when the firearms conviction was overturned.  God had used prison as a bible college where I had time and opportunity to study His word and an 18 month course in theology.  During my incarceration I received the call to go to Mexico as a missionary.  Adding Spanish to my studies, I began to study the Word in Spanish as well as English.  This is a testament to God’s power!  I had an 8th grade education and spoke no foreign languages when I came to Jesus.  I also knew nothing about the bible as I didn’t grow up in church.God took me through many years of training after prison, working in many areas of ministry inside and outside the church.  Only after almost 15 years of training did He send me to Mexico in early January 2009. My wife and I are servants of the King, working in His harvest field.  Our work is carried out in faith, depending on the providence of God to continue.  We expect to keep working this field until Jesus comes back or calls us home.  a cold hearted, hate filled, violent career criminal with no education!  Who but God would have chosen such to carry the love of God to those who need it most?