From Orphan to Missionary｜從孤兒到宣教士

My name is Leandro. I am 34 years old. When I was eight, my father and mother separated and later my mother left us. My father was too old to support my siblings and me at that time, so he sent us to different relatives. I was sent to live with one of my aunts. I did all kinds of work while attending school– cleaning the house, raising livestock, among other chores. At that time, my life was very difficult; because I was not the biological son of their family, I was often abused. Some relatives even suggested that they abandon me. Therefore, I was full of hatred at that time.

When I was fifteen, I left my aunt’s home and went to find my uncle. He kindly kept me and helped me find a job in the factory. Although I was still a minor then, I was already making money. With the money I had, I went into the world of alcohol and drugs. Alcohol and drugs temporarily filled my empty soul.

On the day my father died, I went to his funeral. On my way from the cemetery, I visited one of my other aunts. She sat down with me and said I should pick myself up and go back to school to finish my high school studies. In the end, I took her advice.

This aunt was a Christian and often attended local church gatherings. She invited me to attend different gatherings at the church. I had rejected all the invitations until I heard there was a gathering for men only. I attended because I thought I was a man, an adult!

At the gathering, they were telling a story of a child who lost his parents and was hopeless.Finally, Jesus’ love comforted him and fulfilled his heart. This story moved me so much that I decided to attend church and other services as well. Once, at a meeting for brothers, the pastor called, and I could no longer refuse the conviction of the Holy Spirit, so I asked the Lord to forgive my sins and change my life.

From that day on, my life really changed. My heart was no longer empty, and I became a new person! I became an active attendee in fellowship gatherings, served God, and shared God’s Word with those around me. With the encouragement of the church, I studied in a Bible school for two years. Later, with the support of the brothers and sisters, I completed the four-year course at Mobile Bible Institute. When I was studying in the seminary, I met my life partner, Johanna, that God arranged for me. She was studying in the music department of the seminary. We married three years later, and now we have a beautiful daughter. We always serve God together.

There was a missionary in our church who had been evangelizing to the Indian tribes in the mountains of northern Honduras for many years. When he was about to retire, he made an appeal in the church and asked, “Who is Timothy?”  and who could take over his ministry. I had heard about missions before, and God put missions in my heart. Now the Holy Spirit touched me again and stirred up my passion for missions, so I started a missionary journey with my wife.

For the past few years, my wife and I have served the indigenous people in the Indian tribes on the mountain. Thanks to the Lord, God helped us overcome many difficulties, and we became a member of the big family of Indian tribes.

我叫Leandro, 今年34歲。 8歲那年，我的父親和母親分居，然後母親離開了我們。 我父親當時年紀大了，沒有能力養活我們兄弟幾人，就把我們分別送給了不同的親戚。 我被送到我的一個姑姑家。 那時我一邊上學，一邊做各種家事和農事：打掃房子、放養牲畜等等雜事。 當時我的日子過得很艱難，因為我不是他們家的親生兒子，經常被虐待。 有些親戚甚至提議拋棄我，所以那時我心裡充滿了仇恨。

十五歲那年，我離開了姑姑家，去找我的舅舅。 他好心地把我留下，還幫我找在工廠的工作。 雖然當時我還是個未成年人，但已經開始賺錢了。 因為有了錢，我又進入酒精和毒品的世界。 酒精和毒品讓我空虛的心靈暫時得到滿足。

父親過世的那天，我參加他的葬禮。 從墓地回來的路上， 我拜訪了另一個姑媽。 姑媽坐下來跟我說，我不該自暴自棄，應該重新振作起來，回去學校完成我的高中課程。 最後我接受了她的勸告。

這位姑媽是基督徒，經常參加當地教會的聚會。 她邀請我也去教會參加不同的聚會，我一直不願意去， 直到有一天聽說有一個專門的弟兄聚會，我就去參加了，因為我認為我已經是一個男人了！

當時他們在講一個故事，一個沒有父母的孩子，失去了所有的希望。 最後是耶穌的愛安慰了他，填補了他心中的空虛。 這個故事感動了我，我決定參加教會，也開始去參加其他的聚會。 有一次在弟兄聚會上，牧師呼召，我不能再拒絕聖靈的感動，就求主赦免我的罪，讓我的生命得到改變。

從那天開始，我的生命果然發生了變化，心靈不再空虛，我變成了一個新人！ 我積極參與聚會，並且服事神，把神的話語分享給周圍的人。 在教會的鼓勵下，我去一個聖經學校學習了兩年。 後來又在弟兄姊妹的支持與幫助下，完成了在Mobile聖經神學院的四年課程。 在神學院學習時，遇見了神給我安排的人生伴侶Johanna。 她在神學院的音樂系學習，我們認識三年後結婚了，現在有了一個漂亮的女兒。 我們總是一起事奉神。

我們教會的一位宣教士在宏都拉斯北部山區的印地安部落宣教了很多年，快要退休時，他在教會裡呼籲，誰是提摩太？ 誰可以接替他的事工？ 之前我聽過宣教，上帝就把宣教放在我的心中。 現在聖靈再一次感動我， 挑旺了我心中對宣教的熱情，我就和妻子開始了宣教旅程。

在過去的幾年裡，我們夫婦兩人在宏都拉斯北部山區的印第安部落服事那裡的原住民。 感謝主，神幫助我們克服了許多的困難，我們成為了印地安部落大家庭的一員。