A Story of Faith and Forgiveness

I am Bibiana Quiroga, a disciple from the church of Santa Cruz in Bolivia, South America. I was baptized nine years ago. I want to share my testimony of how God can, through faith and forgiveness, free our lives and let us have great blessings.

When I started studying the Bible, my husband and I lived together, but we weren't married yet. We had been together for nine years and had two children. Our relationship was very difficult because while he was living with me, he cheated on me with many other women and that went on for seven years. When I was first baptized, I dreamed of rebuilding my family and marrying my husband, but far from that, the situation became more complex when he fell in love with another woman and made plans to marry her. He started telling me that he didn't love me, that I should live my own life, and that he would leave home and leave me. I fought with all my might to keep him. I cried and begged him not to leave us. I read scriptures, fasted, and pleaded with God to keep him from leaving, but nothing worked. Finally, he left me and my children with great sadness. My family was torn apart, and I couldn't help it.

I cried and prayed a lot during that period. I finally realized that I had been struggling with my strength. Even though I was praying, I did not trust God's will. I began to ask for advice and help. Moreover, I began praying that God would do His will and keep my heart from being filled with resentment. The fact that I would have two children as a single mom had to be accepted. Despite all the hurt he caused, I managed to treat him well when he visited the children.

I was happy when a year later my children's father started studying the Bible and was baptized exactly one year after I was baptized. That was a sign of God's great power and I was grateful. While the situation remained difficult, I had faith and kept praying for my family's restoration, even though he did not love me, on the contrary, he was in love with another woman. I kept praying and fasting for my family to be restored, but my pain persisted.

After he was baptized, he began to fight with all his strength against his feelings for the other woman and I accompanied him in that prayer, although it was very difficult for me, it was a very painful time for both of us. A year after our struggle, God changed his heart and allowed him to rekindle his affection for me.

We got married five years ago and God has blessed us a lot, our oldest son was baptized and God has allowed us to serve together in his church in different ways. We served together in the youth ministry, and after that, my husband was appointed as a minister. He loves God, he is very thankful for how our Lord had compassion on him and forgave him. I am very blessed because my husband loves me very much and shows me his love and gratitude constantly. A year ago he became an Elder and he is a great example of how God can transform any heart.

Today I feel pleased about what God has done in my life and my family. He filled me with faith and confidence in His powerful Word. He helped me forgive and not hold grudges. God healed me and I never remembered the past again. He taught me to forgive from the heart as He did with me. He made me a new woman. To Him be all the glory!!!

English translation provided by Amalia V. Avila