Carlos' Hope

"Pastor, do you think God can change the decision of the judge? Do think that it is OK to pray for that?" Carlos asked. I replied, "All things are possible with God. But many times He allows us to experience the consequences of our actions. We will pray that God can work out your circumstances for the good of His children."

Some of my blog friends have asked about Carlos, the husband of Rosanna, who I've mentioned at times in my blogging. Carlos and Rosanna have 4 daughters and Carlos has struggled with an addiction to drugs. Rosanna and her parents have come to me for advice on how to handle this situation, which is understandable as I've had experience with drugs.

This has been a stressful situation for me, because it is serious and the advice that I give has the potential of greatly impacting many lives. This situation has left me somewhat insecure as I'm trying not to make a major cultural mistake.

It was difficult in the beginning to be the one to tell the family that Carlos was on drugs and appeared to be an addict. And it was even more difficult to tell them that the only way that Carlos was going to make the turn-around would be with Christ, when Carlos hit his "bottom." That is to say when Carlos came to a point that he thought he would never experience and would have never allowed if he truly had control of his own life.

My advice was to show Carlos some "tough" love. This would mean removing him from the house until he sought help. This was probably the hardest thing I could have asked in Paraguayan culture. This type of discipline is viewed as lacking love, mercy and grace, which are major values in the culture. When in reality God many times demonstrates His perfect love, mercy and grace through discipline. The advice was followed for a time, but after a few months Carlos was back in the house. When I was asked what I thought about the decision to accept him back I could only reply, "I'm waiting to see what Carlos' "bottom" is."

Over three weeks ago I received a phone call from Carlos' wife at 12:30 a.m. Carlos was being held at the local police station. He was being held on charges of possession with the intent to distribute. At 12:30 in the morning my sin nature wanted to say, "I TOLD YOU SO!" However, even in the wee hours of the morning the Holy Spirit can take over and I said to Rosanna, "Right now let's pray for peace for all those involved. Tomorrow I will help out in any way that I can."

The next day I was able to help out in some practical ways. Serving mostly as a chauffeur for Carlos, his wife, and the police (that's a whole other cultural story in and of itself). My last words to Carlos that day were: "I've always been here for you, always praying. When you are ready for some help, you let me know."

The following day, Tuesday, Rosanna told me that Carlos wanted to talk with me. It seemed he would be held at the police station for 10 days and after that the judge would make a decision to let him go free or send him to the national prison. I arrived on Wednesday to speak with Carlos. I've never experienced an easier conversion than I did that morning with Carlos. As Carlos entered the visitors area where I was waiting he walked towards me saying, "Pastor, I'm ready to be clean. I'm ready to accept Christ as my Savior. Can I pray with you for this?" After briefly explaining true faith to Carlos from Romans 10:9-11, I prayed with him to receive Christ.

His mother-in-law came up to me the following Sunday at church and told me that Carlos had finally reached his lowest point. I agreed. He had reached the place where he could no longer depend on himself but rather understood his need for God. That morning we both praised God for His work in Carlos' life.

I continued to go back every couple of days to encourage him and drop off a new book to read (he was reading like there was no tomorrow). We talked about how he was doing, I answered questions that he had from his reading, we prayed, he always thanked me, and I would leave.

A week ago Monday marked the 22nd day of his incarceration. Carlos was waiting to find out if he would be allowed to go free, or if he was going to spend the next 5-15 years in prison. Things did not appear hopeful, Carlos was guilty of the crime. Many family and friends, here and in the States, joined us in prayer during this time.

All of us are guilty and none of us deserve mercy. And yet through Christ God demonstrates His mercy to us every day. I am so thankful that we serve a God of hope.

Monday I received a phone call from an excited Carlos, "Pastor, I'm in my home. Thank you so much for praying for me. I've been praying for you every day. When you can, please stop by as I have many questions about the Bible that I want to ask you."

Carlos is now serving a five month sentence in his home. Typically a person is not held in the local jail for more than 10 days. If the judge does not make a positive verdict in favor of the accused within that time, they are handed over to the prison system. Carlos was caught red-handed possessing an amount of an illegal substance that normally sends the person directly to prison. God definitely worked on Carlos' behalf. Today we have another FREE brother in Christ in Paraguay.

Carlos' process is not over. He still has many obstacles to get around. But today he is going forward with Christ. Please pray with me that Carlos will be another victorious story that will bring Glory to God and more believers to this part of the kingdom in Asunción, Paraguay.

Tuesday Carlos and I begin our weekly discipleship studies at his house.

This testimony was made possible by your prayer and financial support.

Thank you for that support. We are TEAM!