Marina* was 33 years old when she attended a conference at which Susie Pek, our national coordinator for TWR Women of Hope Brazil, was the keynote speaker. After the conference, Marina emailed Susie and shared her story.

As a teenager, Marina had serious identity problems. She suffered many abuses in her childhood and believes they were responsible for leading her to a degraded life in her youth. Marina walked this path for many years until Jesus found her.

Her encounter with Christ led her to repentance for all her sins. She asked for forgiveness and found a new life – different and full of meaning. Marina got married and had two children. Despite having a beautiful family and walking a new path, after 10 years of marriage, Marina began struggling with her identity again.

Pain and conflict rose in her heart, and she suffered in silence. She was ashamed to talk to anyone and feared being misunderstood, not knowing how people would react to her crisis. The pain became so unbearable that she began to harbor suicidal thoughts. It was then that she arrived at the conference.

 “Since your first lecture,” she wrote to Susie, “God touched my heart in such a way that it felt like I had risen from the ashes. … At every word from you, my heart shuddered, and I cried. I was so broken up during those days that I could not talk to anyone. But as you said: God sees me! I’m not invisible. His love for me is so great that he brought you from where you were, thousands of kilometers from my town, to speak to my heart and, I believe, to the hearts of other women as well. Thank you for being such a wonderful representative of God here on this earth. I hope that one day I’ll have the chance to give you a big thank-you hug. … God bless you!”

No matter what situation we are in, God always sees and meets us.

*Name changed to protect listeners’ privacy.

 //Esther Chen, TWR WOH intern