United Pentecostal Church Mannheim Testimonies

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Winning Souls and paying a price
Testimony of a young pastor in El Salvador
told by Sis. Showalter (appointed missionaries to El Salvador in the 90ties) at our German National Conference in Nuremberg

Sister Showalter was teaching in the women session at the German Conference in Nuremberg the 6 principles of a Christian life style. It was in these rich lessons she told us following testimony from a young pastor in El Salvador: It was around 1989 or 1990 when the Showalters were appointed as missionaries to this country, that was in turmoil and confusion because of an ongoing civil war. At the same time El Salvador experienced great revival and many churches were established throughout the country. The churches were very poor and most of the pastors were living at the church in a room with their whole family. One day a group of guerillas came to the young pastor and accused him of being a spy. They arrested him and even though the wife and child pleaded with them, they took the pastor away.

The leadership of the church came to the wife and asked her to leave her home, because it was insecure for her being there alone at the church with her child in this political situation. But the wife insisted to stay right at this place. She told them, that the LORD has assured her, that her husband will come back. She said: “How can I leave this place? When my husband comes back home, he will need me. I don’t want to leave this place and he will not find me here, when he returns from his captivity. This people should not think, that we are defeated. “

For a couple of month the pastor was tortured with cruel methods by about 15 guerillas. They used all kind of methods to force the Man of God to confess that he is a spy, but all what they brought out of him, was about every sermon he remembered having ever preached. Finally they gave up and let him go, and told him that they believe him now not being a spy. Very skinny and with the marks of the tortures he suffered, he came back home and found his wife right there. Praise God. But the story didn’t end there.

Nine of the fifteen torturers came back one by one and ask for forgiveness of their wrong doing. They repented, were baptized in Jesus name and filled with the Holy Ghost. Two of them became preachers of the gospel.
It is the LORD, who turns everything around.

The preacher could have confessed like Joseph back then: But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Genesis 50:20

Glory to the name of Jesus!!! Our God is compassionate, full of love and grace towards all mankind! He don´t want anybody to be lost, but that all men come to the knowledge of truth! Even at this very conference Jesus filled 12 people with His spirit! One soul is worth more than all the riches of this world! A child of God is the apple of His eyes!

Zechariah 2:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.