Elimelet Guerra, a new Nazarene from Venezuela, decided to abandon the path of occultism, recognizing his desire to be free in Jesus Christ. He was recently baptized through the mission-type church of Fundo Coropo. 

Guerra joined the occult after meeting a wealthy person who attributed their worldly success to the practices of the religion.

“The truth is that one becomes a slave of this religion, because before entering this religion I had a prosperous life,” Guerra said. “I was doing well in the things I did, and above all, I had peace.”

When he joined the religion, everything began to decline. He lost his peace, his finances diminished, and he felt like his life was spiraling out of control. After a workplace disagreement, three coworkers came together to get him fired. He went to his guide and told him to perform a work of evil against those coworkers.

Despite the fact that all three were fired, Guerra did not feel satisfied.

“I saw that things were fulfilled, but only the bad was fulfilled,” Guerra said. “Good things did not happen to me. When it came to evil, everything happened.”

Guerra said that when he first entered the religion, it was because he wanted to have a prosperous life. 

“On the contrary, I was ruining myself,” Guerra said.

Guerra began to turn to alcohol and drank heavily. In a drunken stupor, he told a friend he was going to abandon the religion. The friend told him that he had to believe only one God, because there is only one God. 

The next Sunday he went to the church at Fundo Coropo. At the end of the service, Guerra approached the pastor, Daniel Bastidas, and said, "I want you to pray for me, because I want to get rid of all these idols and I know that I need the protection of God." 

Bastidas asked the church members to extend their hands and pray for this brave young man who was determined to put all occult practice behind him.  

“Showing affection and love, without condemning or attacking the beliefs of this young man, was what won his heart to voluntarily get rid of all the objects he used in his old belief,” Bastidas said. “We always received him with a warm embrace as he approached our church.”

Later that week, the church carried out an evangelism campaign in Guerra’s neighborhood. Their happiness, as well as the singing and celebration, captivated him.

“I wondered how these evangelicals can be happy without having a drop of liquor or some vice,” Guerra said. “A curiosity began to rise within me to know more about Jesus.”

In the following days, Guerra gave his life to Christ and even got baptized to publicly declare his transformation. He said that God opened a door for him to get a new job, but above all things, He has brought peace.

“In short, I can say my life has changed,” Guerra said.