Marcela Contreras was experiencing a series of situations that overwhelmed her daily life. These led her to the point of wanting to end her life. “There was no point in continuing to live,” were her words when remembering certain situations before finding a book on her path that would change her decision.

One day, Marcela and her husband got ready to leave the house. When getting into the vehicle they both had, she opened the glove box (a closed compartment that cars have on the passenger side). “It was something special,” says Contreras, because in that small space, she saw a book that caught her attention. It was a copy of The Last Invitation, the missionary book that was distributed in 2022, as part of the South American Division's “Impact Hope” campaign of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

From that moment on, Marcela's life was not the same, she expresses. She asked her husband about the book and he told her that a friend's wife, Ayda Luz, had given it to him. Upon learning this, Marcela asked to see her and talk to her about the content of the book.

“Every client must be given a missionary book”

Daniel Inostroza is a boat builder and member of the Hualpin Adventist Church, located in the region of La Araucanía, in southern Chile. Enthusiastically, he comments: “My wife emphasizes to me that every client should always be given a missionary book.” With the conviction that God always works in His time and in His way, each year, they freely share the biblical literature with the purpose that more people feel interested in seeking Jesus.

Marcela's compelling desire to know more about Jesus and her church led her to seek out and establish a friendship with Ayda Luz. “In Sister Ayda Luz it was like finding a full sister again, that's how I felt at the same moment,” says Contreras.

A New Life and Disciple of Christ

Since then, Marcela began to attend church and study the Bible; but she did not want to be the only one to know the truth of Christ, so she invited her mother and daughter. This is how that book of hers not only led her to the feet of Christ, but also to be a disciple of the Lord.

“Every time we deliver a book, we don't know what story it will end up with. The Bible says that the Word of God does not return empty (Isaiah 55:11) and we have seen it in the story of Marcela, that through a book her life changed, because through it, she was able to know Christ." emphasizes Pastor Mauro Campillay, Director of Publications of the South Austral Association of Chile (ASACh) , administrative field to which the Hualpin Adventist Church belongs, where Marcela now congregates.

Learn about Marcela's testimony in this video:

The original article was published on the South American Division's Spanish website.