M E X I C O O UT OF THE DEVIL ’S HANDS May 24 | Emilio Martinez ADVENTIST MISSION Inter-American Division E 18 milio [eh-MEE-lee-oh] was 15 years old when his mother died. His father had left the family when Emilio was a baby, and his brothers and sisters were married. He was an orphan, alone in his home and alone in the world. He missed his mother, and often wished he could talk to her, feel her comforting arms, hear her assuring voice just once more. But she was gone. A few weeks after his mother’s death, Emilio’s aunt visited him. “Your mother has a message for you,” she told him. “What did she say?” Emilio asked eagerly. He knew that his aunt dealt in spirit worship, and he did not like the spirit worships that his mother had taken him to. But he was eager to talk to his mother. “I think the family has been cursed,” his aunt said. “I can lift the curse, but I need your help. Bring your brothers and sisters to my house for a séance.” Emilio did not want to attend a séance, but he felt he had to obey. Unseen Evil At the séance furniture floated above the floor, lights blinked off and on, and terrible screams came from unseen visitors. He wanted to run, but he couldn’t move. From that day on Emilio often felt a strange, heavy presence dragging him down. Demons in the form of animals appeared in his house and ordered him around. A voice often talked to him. The voices and the visions terrified Emilio, who just wished that they would go away. Over the next year Emilio discovered that if he drank enough alcohol, he would pass out and the demons could not trouble him at night. During the day he smoked marijuana to escape the demons. His life was in constant turmoil, and often he wished he could die rather than live in this private hell. Jesus to the Rescue One day while watching television, he saw a program about Jesus. Emilio wondered whether Jesus was the answer to his miserable life. He found a bookstore and bought several books about Jesus. He read them eagerly and discovered a deep hunger to know God. He visited the church that his mother had once attended and stayed through several services to hear the sermons. He felt a little better there than he did at At age 17 he was afraid to live alone any longer. He told his brother what he was experiencing, and his brother invited Emilio to live with them. A woman suggested that Emilio buy a Bible and memorize several psalms that he could repeat when the demons tormented him. It helped, at least for awhile. Then he had a dream in which a man in shining clothes urged him to read the Bible and there find the peace he was searching for. Emilio began reading the Bible every day. As his faith grew FAST FACTS One-fifth of the population of Mexico, more than 22 million people, lives in and around Mexico City. About 22,000 Adventists live in this region—a ratio of one Adventist believer for every 1,000 people. Pray that God will use the believers to reach out to their neighbors, coworkers, and family members for Christ. Deliverance and a New Calling Then one night as he cried out to God for deliverance, God answered in a powerful way. God called him to share his experience with others. Emilio started with his family, the same ones who had joined him at the séance four years earlier. In time they all gave their lives to God, and today they are united as a family in Christ. They lead several small groups in their homes where they study the Bible with anyone who will come. Emilio works with a new church plant in the heart of Mexico City, an area plagued by drugs and demon possession. He has found a ministry to those who still suffer from demon possession. “I thank God for never letting me go, even when I didn’t know Him,” Emilio says. “He rescued me from the powers of evil and gave me a ministry to help those who struggle with demons.” Your mission offerings help plant churches in the heart of the devil’s territory, lighthouses in the darkness of Mexico City and throughout the world. à MEXICO Over the next year Emilio discovered that if he drank enough alcohol, he would pass out and the demons could not trouble him at night. During the day he smoked marijuana to escape the demons. he asked God to deliver him from the demons. God answered his prayer through a new friend, Julian. Julian became like a father to Emilio. The two talked for hours, and Julian explained the danger Emilio was in. The two studied the Bible together. Emilio accepted Jesus as his Savior, but still the demons tormented him. Even on his baptismal day the demons urged him to run away. Emilio asked Jesus to rebuke the forces of evil, and he found peace. But he did not experience instant deliverance from the evil ones. He prayed often and long, and God impressed him that he must renounce everything that put him on the devil’s ground and embrace the promises of God and the power of Jesus. www.AdventistMission.org home. An idea formed in his mind, and as he left the church he bought statues of several saints, hoping that these would drive the demons away. But it didn’t work. Emilio visited other churches, hoping to find deliverance from the demons, but he found no peace from the voices and the visions. He sank into a deeper depression. 19