Hello, bishop!

My name is Paul Joseph Muniz France and I wanted to share with you my testimony. This man writing is a friend, who once hated you, even without you knowing you.

Just by hearing your voice I turned into the devil himself.

I come from a broken home. My mother left my father and soon after he killed himself. I went to a life of crime when I was 9 years old, in the state of Bahia. Many of my family members served the evil spirits.

I remember one day when my sister and I got into a fight, and my mom was trying to separate us, I broke her arm. From that day on, my life became a living hell, I became a burglar at the age of 10.

I was well respected in the life of crime, stealing and killing. As I recall, I took the lives of five people.

At age 17, I gave a lot of work to the state police. My mother suffered a lot. When she had heard that there was a shooting in the area, she knew it was me. She did not accept the life I led. Until the day came when the police told her that I would not live to reach the age of 18.

Then I decided to stop for a few months.

My mother thought I had changed. She sent me to live with my uncle in Sao Paolo, so I could stay away from bad company.

In a short time after arriving in Sao Paolo I put together a new gang with six people. We began robbing bus companies. Apparently, everything was going right, living a wealthy life.

That was my routine here in Sao Paulo for six years, until one day I was arrested doing a robbery at a factory. The public jails in that region do not accept me or not my partners, because they knew we would flee. Then they sent me to the old Carandiru.

I found myself behind bars, sniffing “flour”, smoking pot, like a madman. Everyone abandoned me. I found myself in a bottomless pit. I was evangelized by an assistant from The Universal Church named Joao Gomes, which I set a trap to kill him, but failed.

I had an uncontrollable rage when it came to the people of  The Universal Church.

After a few days, I a certain denomination for help, because I had was embarrassed to ask any one from the Universal church for help, but they closed the doors for me and did not accept me.

I found myself in a situation where I thought about taking my own life. I was no more drugs and no more family.

Who do I see in this time of great despair?

It was one of the evangelists from The Universal Church, who was also in jail with me. He talked to me and listened to me, promising to help me the way I was.

From that day forward I accepted my shame and let Jesus help me.

I was sentenced to 120 years in prison, and I have served 15 years and 5 months so far. But I’m happy and free. It has been 14 years since I was consecrated an evangelist by Pastor Afonso, who now is a bishop, he followed my whole story.

I do the God’s work with love and dedication for the souls. I know the meaning of Jesus in my life.

But now here comes the strongest part of my testimony.

I already was an evangelist in 2001 when I helped a fellow inmate, who ended up betraying me.

I broke a retired ex-cop’s arm, and put fire in his house and car and also killed his parrot. I committed a barbaric act.

One day, while I was evangelizing inside the prison, I heard a comment: “Today an assistant from The Universal Church is going to die…” The son of former police officer was also in that prison and knew it was me who had done such barbaric crime against his father, that’s why my name mentioned. There were so many prisoners but I knew who was going to kill me, but they did not know whom I was.

It was that prisoner that I was helping that gave them my name.

I just prayed and fasted for a week.

I went to talk to the assistant Joao. The bishop told the assistant to help me. He went to talk to those robbers who, at the time, were part of a gang that acts inside and outside prisons.

They said: “We respect you alot, but what he did is unforgivable!”

The bishop promised to get me transferred to another prison that same day, so I wouldn’t get killed. Apparently, everything would’ve worked out, but I was not transferred.

The next day, the bishop came and asked me what happened, why I did not get transferred. I simply said: “Wherever I go there they can write a letter or make a phone call to find out where I went and they will give the order to kill me. ”

I said that my problem would get resolved. What God am I serving?

One more nightmare!

The Bishop put his hands on my head and blessed me and told me to go. Everyone who was doing the Work of God there in that prison turned away from me because they knew I would not come back alive. Only one decided to go with me.

When I got to Hall 7, I came across 10 thieves, all with knives. I saw my death. When they saw me they began cursing me, because they passed every day looking for me, but God himself covered me with His robe. In the middle of that confusion they had someone that would be in charge of my death, like a trial, which would decide whether or not they would kill me.

One of their phones rang.

It was his wife asking him not to kill me, because I also served the God in the same church as her.

When he told the others, they insisted to have me killed, but he said he would obey his wife’s request. Little did he know that he obeyed God himself.

In all these years none of this struck me, therefore I dedicate myself to do God’s work better. I’m about to win my freedom and I will continue doing God’s work out there.

I used to talk to Marco Sales a lot. He was one of my prison mates, who now is a Pastor.

When we talked about becoming Pastor’s of The Universal Church, other Pastors that heard us would say “too late” because we were old in age. But inside ourselves we rebuked this and today Marco, who is 39 years old, was consecrated Pastor and is responsible for seven prison regions.

I am 38 years old and no longer want to be a pastor, but a bishop’s in charge of a prison instead, because I know the God I serve and that I can help many people.

This is Jose Paulo Muniz France’s account, a prison inmate.

The Universal Church in the Prison

It doesn’t matter where they are or much less their mistakes, when there is repentance, sincerity before our God, the Holy Spirit comes onto the person, transforming them into His instrument wherever they are!

This photo shows six inmates being consecrated as Assistants inside the prison, on 05/04/2013. They are our helpers inside the prison.

Thank God!