“I found the God of the Universal Church”

Good morning, Bishop!

I would like to share some of my story with you and tell you how your life, and the life of the pastors and bishops, changed and continues to change my life because of your surrender and sacrifice.

I was always very sick as a child. My sister and I were constantly being admitted into the hospital. I remember being hospitalized for weeks with illnesses the doctors could not find a cause. My parents were constantly arguing, to the point where my father drew a knife on my mother and tried to stab her.

I remember my mother often taking my siblings and I, and running away with us at dawn. She would run away from my father because he was violent with her and with the children as well. And to protect us, she ran away from him without knowing exactly where to go and with no one to help her.

We had happy times, but most of the time it was terrible! My father often manifested with evil spirits and they would make us sit with them and eat food that had been offered to them.

On New Years, my parents gave offerings to the evil spirits (called the “queen of the ocean”). However, they did this without the knowledge we have today, that these entities are demons.

Surely here lied the reason behind so many illnesses, arguments and division in our home. One day, my father was listening to the radio and he heard about a place that promised to put an end to these problems. He did not want to go, but he told my mother to go, and thank God, she went.

She arrived there with my sister, who was very sick. Many people gathered around, but my sister managed to let go of my mother’s hand and made her way to the Altar. My sister was already feeling well because, in addition to the illnesses, she was also afraid of large crowds and enclosed spaces (claustrophobia).

Since that day, my mother has never left that Altar! And it’s been over 25 years.

My sister grew up, but didn’t remain firm in the faith and got involved with worldly things, but after suffering and almost dying, she came back, had an encounter with God and today is an assistant of God – her and my dear beloved mother serve the Lord Jesus!

In the beginning, I didn’t remain firm either. I suffered with depression and anxiety in my adolescence; I liked watching bloody movies and constantly locked myself in a dark room without a care in the world. Besides everything that was going on, my father also tried to rape me. He would touch me while I slept.

One day, when my mother went to Church, he tried to rape me, but I ran away and, thank God, he wasn’t able to do the worse. From that day forth, I was afraid to be left alone with him.

I also suffered a lot because of my love life: I would always like a person that didn’t like me and when someone liked me, I didn’t like them; I would even mistreat them. I had many friends and was quite popular, but there was always a tremendous void in me, and I did not know why.

One day, I returned to Church. I began attending the youth group meetings. I evangelized, cleaned the Church, but still had ties with the world because all my boyfriend did was make me suffer, yet I could not stay away from him. So I left the Church again and moved in with him. Even though my mother warned me not to go, I went.

I went and it was the biggest mistake I ever made. I abandoned God and that led to a failed marriage, with lots of arguments, poverty, jealousy… I wanted to kill my husband and I almost killed my son when I picked him up by the neck. My baby was about one and a half years old and I almost killed him.

At the time I tried to kill my son, I had gone back to the Universal Church because I was tired of so much suffering. There I found assistants and pastors who helped me a lot, but since I was in the process of deliverance, there was a constant conflict in me, and it was during one of those conflicts that I tried to kill my son. In a moment of rage, I grabbed him by the neck with such force that his body became limp. That’s when I felt something pulling my hands away from his little neck.

I don’t know how to put it into words, but it was as if someone was pulling my hands away and keeping both him and I from a tragedy. I started crying and fell to my knees in the bathroom, asking God for help. I did not want that for myself or my family.

It was a tremendous battle to be delivered, but with sincerity and determination, I succeeded and continue to succeed.

Today, I have had an encounter with God, the God of Bishop Macedo, the God of my beloved Universal Church.

I am baptized with the Holy Spirit, and the day I had an encounter with Him was the most beautiful and memorable day of my life! It was more special than the day I gave birth to my son, who I had desired for such a long time. It was a mixture of repentance, joy, happiness, strength and an overwhelming desire to never turn away from Him again. Now, I wanted to tell everyone about this God, who I had once left because I had only heard others talk about Him. However, now I truly knew and know Him!

Today, I won’t trade my Lord Jesus for anything or anyone, lol…. He means everything to me.

Even though I have the Holy Spirit, I still face a lot of battles, but I conquer them all, and the ones I haven’t conquered yet, I know will eventually be conquered because He is with me! Hallelujah!! Because it is written that everyone born of God will overcome the world, isn’t that right, Bishop? Lol!

And I was born again and I know Who I was born from and in Who I have believed!

Sorry for writing such a long letter lol… But the Holy Spirit has been urging me to do this, and I couldn’t find the words to describe what He did and has done in my life! And when I began asking Him for direction, while I was writing, I returned to my past, felt pain and cried while describing many of these memories. But I also rejoiced and cried too, as I remembered where my God has taken me from and where He has put me and, most importantly, that He gave me something so valuable: the “Holy Spirit”, my Greatest Love.

Thank you Jesus for such love and mercy! And thank you Bishop Macedo, my dear and beloved father in faith, who through sacrifice, tears and humbleness, has allowed himself to be used by God to change lives like mine and so many others.

I am Universal and I’m not ashamed of it!

Congratulations, Universal, for transforming lives for 37 years!

And the coming of the Temple of Solomon!!

I am waiting in anticipation!

Erika Teixeira, assistant of Soberana – SP