My name is Rita, and I’m 21 years old. My family and I came to the Universal Church when I was 6. We were delivered and surrendered our lives to God. My mother was raised as an assistant and, at the age of 13, I became an assistant too.
At the age of 15, I met a pastor who was interested in “praying” with me. We got engaged one year and three months later. I thought he had a strong relationship with God, so I didn’t pay attention to certain details and thought “testing” him would just be a waste of time. I ignored the fact that he was quick to get angry, proud and disagreed with the direction of the Church.
One day, he was reprimanded and disciplined because of his pride. He felt like it was an “injustice”, became very upset and abandoned the Work of God. Everyone tried to warn me. A pastor spoke to me and said that those weren’t the actions of a man of God. I silently listened to everything he said, but rage grew inside me. I said I would stay with him; I would not leave him. The pastor’s wife said to me, “Rita, the devil wants to get his hands on you”. I didn’t listen to her; on the contrary, it fueled my anger even more.
He moved in with his parents because we didn’t have enough money to get married. Our faith became cold, I stopped being an assistant, rarely went to Church and things began to get hot and heavy between us. My family ended up leaving the Church; we were all lost. He said we needed to get married as soon as possible; it was now or never. Against my will and my family, we got married. It was supposed to be the most beautiful day of my life, but it was horrible. It was not in a church, there was no wedding dress and there was much sadness, because I had slept with him shortly before.
There was no honeymoon and we rented a house. In the first months, the debts started rolling in. He had no control over our finances, so we got bad credit and there was never any money. We argued a lot, I was always sad and wanted a divorce. On a search for happiness, we went to nightclubs and I know that if I had died at that time, I would be in hell. As the bishop says, I accepted the “Kiss of Judas” and, because of an emotion, my life was a living hell. This was when I remembered those words, “Rita, the devil wants to get his hands on you”. He got me, my family and my Salvation.
At the time, I began to follow Cristiane Cardoso’s blog again. I hated the Church but felt peace whenever I read the messages on her blog. I read every day, listened to the podcasts and it began breaking my stone heart. First, I’d go to Church just to take my tithes. Then, I remember the pastor used to say, “Faith comes from listening to the Word of God”. My husband was getting worse and my life had no meaning, so I decided to go back.
One night, I got down on my knees and cried out to God for Him to bless everyone I had hurt. I said each individual person’s name. My heart ached; it was as if it was going to jump out of my chest, but I forgave them. This is when I was reunited with my beloved Holy Spirit and all the weight was lifted from my shoulders. From that moment on, God has given me the peace and wisdom to deal with all of my problems. My husband started going to Church with me. A few months later, he stopped hanging out with the wrong crowd, started praying and taking things seriously.
Today, I am an assistant again. My family is going to Church and I can already see a change in my mother. I’m working two shifts to keep up with our expenses. My marriage is different, but it hasn’t been easy to fight for my husband to change, be responsible, remain calm and make me feel secure. This is his third job in five months and still can’t trust him when it comes to our finances, but I believe that God will transform it.
The moral of my story for all women is: DO NOT FULFILL THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART, for the sake of your Salvation. I am only saved today by God’s mercy. Please, assistants, don’t fall for a pastor just because he acts like a gentleman, is handsome and speaks well. And those who are dating or engaged should carefully observe absolutely everything, test them and do not be fooled by a “holy appearance”.
I could have avoided all this suffering if I had been rational, listened to the voice of God and ignored my heart. I put my Salvation and all of my family’s Salvation at risk, and hurt them.
I ask God to have mercy on me because I do not want their blood on my hands. This is very serious, because everything I went through was unnecessary. Please don’t do what I did because I’m saved again, but I know many others who did not return; they are still in the world, and many others have already died.
Mrs. Cristiane, I thank you for the messages on your blog. If God had not used you, I would probably not be here writing you this e-mail.
Rita