I grew up in a broken home full of deceit, pride and vanity. At a very young age my life turned into a nightmare. I was young when I started hearing voices. Over the years I learned to live with them, until I started actually seeing the spirits who spoke to me. At the age of nine I began to drink, smoke and feel an overwhelming desire for women. Throughout my teens I was promiscuous, got drunk and used drugs. I studied mysticism, spiritism and psychology, and started to notice that I had a knack for influencing and deceiving people, and so I took advantage of it. On one occasion, I was caught trying to embezzle someone’s money and decided to leave Brazil.

I moved to Japan and got a job there in an attempt to change my life. I stopped drinking, smoking and using drugs, threw myself into spiritism, palm reading, telepathy and parapsychology and was convinced that I was finally going to find happiness and return to my family one day. Everything was peaceful for some time, but after a few years the spirits returned. The attacks were now more frequent and increasing in their strength.

The following years were filled with a lot of torment. Doors opened and closed by themselves, lights flashed on and off, I could see spirits walking in the house, etc. I began to lose my mind. A girl I was seeing got pregnant and decided to have an abortion. After this I constantly had visions of a deformed child; the phone would ring and when I answered I would hear a baby crying. I confronted them, asking them to show themselves so I could defend myself, and then they started touching my body. They would hold me down and I would fight back — their strength was incredible. I know it’s difficult to believe, but it seemed that the spirits often dragged me into what seemed like hell. I saw people suffering in ways I will never forget. I felt the heat burning me. At times I would feel like I was suspended over my dead body. This happened to me for many years, and finally I began to ask God to help me. When I yelled out with all my strength—”God”—they would disappear for a while.

I don’t remember anyone speaking about God or the Bible to me, but everything was so twisted in my head. I even got interested in UFO’s, and noticed that the Bible was used in its theories. In torment I returned to Brazil and hit rock bottom: sorrow, loss, failure and a great deal of humiliation. I ended up at a witchcraft center and the man there asked me: “What are you looking for? You’ve come from far away, what are you doing here?” I replied: “I’m looking for the truth!” He had no answer for me, except that I needed a spirit-guide. He asked me to think about it and come back in a few days.

Then I overheard someone talking about a place in town where pastors rebuked evil spirits. I walked around, for how long I’m not sure, until I finally found it. I didn’t see the name, but a voice inside told me that that was it. It said: “Go in!” Another voice said, “Stay away!” I decided to go in, and at that very moment I felt indescribable relief. It was the Universal Church. That night when I returned home, I saw the spirits and a fire towards the back of the house. They were angry with me. I remembered a song from the Church and started singing it. I felt better, so I went back the next day.

The place was packed with people. The pastor began to sing and speak, and I couldn’t hear anything else. Sweat rolled down my body like water and all I wanted was close my eyes and disappear, but I felt like I had to watch what was going on until the very end. I held on to the seat in front of me with all my strength, so I wouldn’t fall. Then everything went silent and I could hear orders being given to entities whose names I knew only too well — orders given in the name of Jesus. Only then did I understand whose side I was on, who God was and who the enemy was. The scales fell off of my eyes. I wanted to live again and believed that I could find happiness. I wanted to talk about Jesus to everyone I knew and lived with.

Then I returned to Japan with the same desire to tell everyone about Jesus. Unfortunately, I also wanted to know more than the pastor. I read the Bible several times all the way through, I no longer had addictions, but I continued to lie. My flesh was too strong. I began to fall back into the same sinful habits of sexual immorality and promiscuity, until one day I was in bed with a person and the devil spoke to me through her. After that I cried and asked God for forgiveness, but not long afterwards I had no more strength to attend Church anymore.

With no one to guide me, I moved to the United States. My first day in the country I was given an invitation to the Church, but I was sure God would never forgive me for all I had done. Whenever I came across people who were suffering, I took them to the Church, but never went in myself. Then one day I summoned all my strength and went back; my deliverance process began all over again. At the time I was preparing to marry the person I was living with. One morning I woke up with the determination to make a vow to God, and so I went to Church with this sincere desire. It was a last resort and I still remember what I said to Him: “I can’t be the same person anymore. I want a change! God, if you forgive and accept me and cause all the people that I’ve wronged to forgive me, I promise to surrender my life to You and serve You — even if it means cleaning the bathroom of the Church.” At that very moment I knew all the demons had left my body and that God’s Spirit was now with me. The person I was living with did not like my transformation, so the wedding was called off and I remained single.

Every time I had urges for something bad, I remembered my vow. I went through a desert and had a lot of struggles, but miracles happened every day, and I waited for God to restore my life. Before long, as with other answers to prayer, I came across the person that would be my wife and partner in this new phase in my life. It happened just like I had asked, because I didn’t want to choose, I wanted it to be God’s choice for me. From the first time I saw her, from our first conversation, I knew she was the one. A love developed that was strong enough to unite us forever. Today I am happily married to the best, and most beautiful wife in the world. I no longer need to be involved with other women, and I know what true happiness is.