[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.59″ background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
Ant\u00f3nio writes:<\/em><\/p>\n I was born in S\u00e1 da Bandeira, <\/em>I was the fourth generation living in colonial Angola. As all traditional Portuguese, we were born catholic and were meant to be faithful to our customs and die catholic. At the age of 6, with the Portuguese colonial war, we all had to tragically flee the country and start a new life elsewhere all over again. We eventually settled in Portugal.<\/p>\n I began searching for God at an early stage.\u00a0\u00a0 I had a lot of unanswered questions,\u00a0 I spoke to several priests, all they told me was that I had something special inside of me.<\/p>\n As I pursued my search for God,\u00a0 I once visited a priest with\u00a0 a \u201cspecial calling\u201d, as they told me,\u00a0 I was about 17 years of age.\u00a0 I asked him many questions, he tried to answer in the best he could.\u00a0 He told me then, I see you have a calling inside of you, God has a special plan to use you.\u00a0 He then told me something very interesting and powerful! He told me to go home and pray to Jesus, that He would reveal Himself to me.<\/p>\n I certainly did that. In fact I was already doing that, hence the reason I went to visit that priest. I remember going as a youngster to the Catholic Church with my mother and father, and I went empty and left empty\u2026 It was too much of a religious set of words and actions.That wasn\u2019t what I was after. I was after God. If God exists, I said, I want to know Him!<\/p>\n And I pursued that prayer: \u201cLord Jesus, reveal yourself to me.\u00a0 \u201dI went to the army when I was 20.\u00a0 One day\u00a0 I sat at the tuck-shop, having a beer with a friend, Stelio,\u00a0 that lived in the same city as I in Leiria.\u00a0 Somehow the conversation lead to religion, and Stelio said to me, that he used to go to church. I asked him about God, what did he believe in.\u00a0 His words to me were \u201c the experience I have with God, I can\u2019t explain to you. You have to experience God, yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n I was AMAZED with that thought! I told him, that was what I wanted.\u00a0 He promised to take me to his church on Sunday.\u00a0 That Sunday, I was spending the weekend at my parents, and he came and\u00a0 pick me up with his pastor.<\/p>\n They took me to a place, that wasn\u2019t what I was expecting. I was expecting a big building,\u00a0 some form of a\u00a0 cathedral … but no. It was just a small hall on the ground floor of a building.\u00a0\u00a0 I was a bit uncomfortable\u2026 But I couldn\u2019t really go back\u2026<\/p>\n As I went in, I was attracted to the praise, the freedom, the form of praying to God as a father, as friend.\u00a0 At the end, I went forward and received Jesus Christ in my life.\u00a0 After that, one lady came to me, and congratulated me saying, I feel that you have a calling of God in your life.\u00a0 Another lady came to me and said exactly the same, and said, God is going to use you.<\/p>\n My life was changed from that day on. I was excited! I just wanted to learn about God. The next day was\u00a0 Monday and I was back in the army.\u00a0 At 7am,\u00a0 I found myself sharing to my friends what happened to me and I was answering questions about God as if I was a teacher of the Word!! Praise God for His Spirit, salvation and friendship!<\/p>\n Ant\u00f3nio Moinheiro<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"