Good morning, Bishop!
My name is Regina and I’ve been coming to the Universal Church since I was a young girl. I am adopted. My aunt, who is deceased, brought me to Church when I was 10 years old. Until the age of 26, I never took anything serious in the Church. My love life was in shambles, but the suffering truly started in my early 20s. I became involved with prostitution because nothing was going right for me; I was unhappy in my love life and couldn’t find a decent job.
B joining those two problems, I came to the conclusion that prostitution would be my door to freedom (this was the beginning of my addiction, yet I had no idea where this would end up). Though I was in Church, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get away from that lifestyle. It felt as though something was holding me back. I had no idea what it was, but deep down I never truly wanted to leave.
It began with virtual prostitution, which then led to pornography; I thought it was the worst thing in the world and wondered how someone could possibly become addicted to it. But I went on with my plans. In real life, I was one person but online, I was another; I had two lives. I had cybersex with several men, sent intimate pictures of myself to some and got involved in a virtual relationship with someone, but every time we planned to meet, something went wrong. Until he began making veiled threats and I got really scared. My uncle always dragged me to Church and I went unwillingly; I didn’t want anything to do with the things of God. I thought the pastors were a drag and Bishop Macedo was an arrogant hypocrite (I apologize, Bishop Macedo and pastors). However, my eyes were opened around that time and I saw the pit I was in, and had time to turn my life around. I was delivered and received the Holy Spirit.
Less than a year later, the devil, who hadn’t given up on me, found a way to bring me down. I had a serious argument with someone and thought that I was being treated unfairly, so I ended up harboring grief. With that, I returned to the old habits, but with one difference: I didn’t want to prostitute myself, but I began to miss the pornography.
At first I was able to resist, because it wasn’t very appealing, but each day without access to the Internet became a torment. When I began delving into the addiction of pornography, a voice warned me: “You’re addicted, ask for help, go to the treatment.” But another voice said, “Nah, it’s just to relax, an escape, it’s nothing. An addict is someone who drinks, smokes or uses drugs. This is isn’t an addiction.” This went on for almost one year. I paused my college courses to satisfy my addiction because it was the only time I was home alone. In the morning, on one of those mornings, I watched your TV program and came to the conclusion that I needed help, but my pride would not let me go to the treatment. I thought that faithfully going to Church on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, was already enough. I did not turn away after my spiritual fall; on the other hand, I sought strength to move forward, asked for help, was sincere, but it just didn’t work.
I wouldn’t stop manifesting and the addiction seemed to be getting worse; the more I fought against it, the more it seemed to get worse. There were times where I’d have an abstinence crisis just like an alcoholic. My body shook, I was easily annoyed, sometimes even became aggressive and, out of nowhere, I began to hate you (I’m sorry). I thought what you did was an absurd, and wondered, “How does he do that? Okay, I know exactly what the treatment is, but what’s the difference between what he does from what the other pastors do?” I swore there was some type of trick going on, and couldn’t fathom there being a cure addiction. I was almost giving up on everything again, thinking that it was ridiculous for you to open a can of beer on the Altar.
This went on until May of last year; it had been a long time since I watched your program. One day, I had to get up at dawn to take my sister to the train station, and when I came home, sleepless, turned on the TV, put it on channel 21 and lay on the couch; I fell asleep and woke up with you saying that the treatment isn’t only for people that aren’t members of the Church, but for those who are already members of the UCKG too. Everything you said after that seemed like there was a conversation happening between us. Everything I was thinking, you rebutted and showed me the right answer.
A few weeks later, two assistants from my Church went to work in the treatment and invited me and another girl to go with them. They didn’t even purposefully invite me to do the treatment, it was just to make them company, but my first thought was, “I’m going. I want to see what this Bishop is about and then I’ll put into practice on Friday. I’ll be healed and, at the same time, find out if these people are really receiving healing on the spot, like they say they do.”
Again, only this time it happened in person, I had to hear many truths that I did not want to hear. But, I left that first day determined to faithfully attend the treatment, at least until the last Sunday of the year. In the first two months, I had a lot of trouble facing my pride, I didn’t accept everything you said, but when I decided to obey, I was delivered in one month.
I no longer have any of those desires. I can surf the web at any time without having to see pornography. There aren’t any more anxiety attack, shaking or aggression. I can only thank God for His patience with me and for your dedication in proving that there is a cure for all kinds of addictions, as long as the person truly wants it.
Thank you, Bishop, for having asked to help me that day. Little did I know that in six months I would be giving my testimony.
Regina Maria Rosa / Jandira-SP