In the midst of the tools, paints, and other materials that decorate his blue overalls, is Felipe Coarita. Coarita is a father of three children and a native of Puno, a city located in southern Peru. He works in a mechanic shop fixing cars and motorcycles. However, every weekend he had a beer encounter - not one or two, there were several until he was totally dizzy and penniless. The sparkling glass made him forget the tears of his partner and his children when they had nothing to eat or medicine when they were in poor health.
Felipe watched his son study the Bible because his school taught him to do so. Watching his son motivated Felipe to seek God. “I started to think about myself. I felt that my life had no meaning and I wanted to find a direction," he says.
Then, he remembered reading the Bible with his father and together they attended a religious denomination. He decided to look for it. “I started reading the Bible again, but I didn't understand [it] very well and I was curious to know more and I was left with doubts,” recalls Felipe.
It was Sunday and he knew that, on some television channel, he might find a message from Christ. He zapped between the Movistar TV channels and the button on the remote control reached 571 and found Pr. Luis Gonçalves preaching on the “Deciphering the future” program on Nuevo Tiempo TV.
His method of explaining the Bible was so simple and clear that it motivated Felipe to reconnect and watch again the next day. "What caught my attention was how the Bible harmonized with historical facts," says Felipe. Thus, he continued watching and learning from the Bible for more than a year.
Finally, Felipe searched out the offices of Nuevo Tiempo Peru and personally requested a Bible study. He had the joy of meeting each person who works in radio, TV, and social networks in the country.
Felipe continued studying the Bible with the Nuevo Tiempo TV , which not only helped him to love God but also to change his lifestyle, give up the addiction to alcohol and multiply his love for his partner and his children.
He is another person and even his friends have been surprised by this change in his life.
Three years later, Felipe married Mercedes, the mother of his children, and, finally, both sealed this pact of love by giving their lives to Christ in an emotional baptismal ceremony in Lima, Peru.
“I am happy, very happy. I longed for this moment for a very long time. Now I can say: mission accomplished!”
This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site