Testimony of Frank Hernandez

Frank H. is a new found friend of mine from a Christian website called Battle Cry. I would encourage you all to check out Battle Cry. You will be blessed!

Hello, My name is Frank Hernandez I pray that through this testimony the Lord can use my bad choices to minister to someone out there amen. Well I'm 35 years old. I was born in Riverside, Ca. However I was raised in Corona, Ca. I was raised by my mother and step father. I also have four brothers and two sisters, all younger than me. Growing up in my home with my step dad was very hard for me. I was always treated differently, was mistreated very bad. I never have been fishing, camping, or to a baseball game. My life was very restricted to being home. My step dad never showed me anything. At the time well I was young I didn't know he was my step dad. I grew up thinking he was my real Dad because He raised me from the time I was 6 mo. old. At the age of 8 years old I finally met my real dad. He had just been released from prison. Still at this time I was not told he was my dad. He was introduced to me as my uncle. My uncle (dad) saw me in the store on day. He wanted to buy me some candy, I told him I couldn't because I wasn't allowed to eat candy or drink sodas, but my brothers could. The next day he came over to visit me without my dad knowing. And gave me all kinds of sweets=) I thought he was the coolest. Yet I still didn't know he was my real dad. It wasn't till about 2 weeks later that my mom called me over from my grandma’s house to talk to me. She informed me that my real dad had just been killed, and that he was not my uncle but my real dad. Then she just got up and left me there by myself. At that point it hit me, all the hurt of never knowing who my dad was. Why I had always been mistreated everything hit me. I was only 8 years old, and I was filled with so much hate. All I knew was that this man my uncle or dad who ever he was, was the only person who treated me the way a father should treat his son. I put it in my heart to avenge my dad. So at the age of 12 years old I got jumped into my street gang. I started using drugs fighting anybody and everybody. I wanted too be feared. I had so much hate inside of me. I started too get locked up in juvenile hall at 13. I was on a down ward spiral, going no where real fast. at the age of 14, I started to shoot up speed and heroin. By that time I had made a name for myself in the streets. Even with the older homies. Everyone knew that when someone messed with my gang or its members I was the one to call. I was so dedicated I would sleep with my shoes on so I could be ready when the gang needed me. It got to the point that I was already fighting with the police. Shortly there after, a local gang was out to kill me. The police had called my mom to inform her that she should keep me inside and try to prevent me from going out that night. I didn't listen I went out looking for them and ended up getting busted. Thank you, Jesus. They ended up going to my house, chasing my lil brother shooting at him for my mistakes. That just made matters worse. I was still filled with so much rage and hate. I ended up finding out that my real dads brother had something to do with my dads killing. It may have been due to some prison politics stuff. So my ultimate goal was to go to prison. At 15 years old they sentenced me to 1 year in juvie camp. I ended up doing three years. When I got out I was just about 18 years old. After only about 2 mo. of my release, I met my wonderful wife. Everything moved so fast. 3 mo. later I was living with her, and her two young girls ages 4 and 2. They are my girls now=) Anyways I changed my whole outlook on life as a result of falling in love with my wife, although we both continued to use drugs, and partying all hours in the night. About 1 year later we both accepted the Lord. Halleluiah! We then got married and were doing good. However we were not reading our bibles at all=( We were the, yea look at me I'm a Christian type of person. you know the type.) We knew of God but didn't know God. In the year 2000 I lost my baby brother. He was only 23 years old. Didn't understand why he died he was in good health and shape. He went to sleep on night and didn't wake back up. It wasn't till later that we found out he had high blood pressure and didn't know it. That hit me real hard. I wasn't prepared for it spiritually. I fell back into drugs and gangs again real heavy. This time I now had not only my wife, but also my two daughters and two sons. I was bringing drugs and guns into my home. The only thing that mattered to me was me. I got involved in some pretty heavy duty stuff. I ended up in prison on a five year sentence for my crime. I thank the Lord because I was facing about 12 years. And yet even in there I wasn't ready to change. The first half of my term I was involved in some pretty bad stuff. My wife was driving 12 hours every weekend to come see me. Half way through my prison term God used an unsaved man to minister to me. This man said what was wrong with me. He said there was something different about me; I had a wife who came to see every weekend, got mail everyday. He went on to tell me that he knew I read my bible at night he suggested that I get my bible and stick to it. Prison wasn't for me he said. I knew at that moment The Lord was giving me one last chance. If I didn't respond he was going to stop knocking on my heart. So I literally went to the guys I was running with in there and said that was it I was going to serve the Lord. I really gave my life to him. I started to minister in there, the Lord was really using me inside there to minister to all those men. I was leading men to the Lord in there. I began preaching every weekend in the prison chapel. I always say that being in there was my spiritual boot camp. Being in there the Lord showed me how to depend on him. When my wife was sick and in the hospital, there was nothing I could do but pray. I couldn't even go see her because I was in prison. When my sons were doing bad in school, I couldn't help them. I just sought the Lord and he took care of it. Now I'm in Bible college to obtain my ordination lic. to become a prison minister. I was just recently invited to speak at the juvenile hall in my county. I am also involved in are churches youth group. I just had the opportunity to minister to them as well as our men’s meeting. God is doing something in my life. There is nothing better in life than serving the Lord. God is good. He has restored my relationship with my step dad and mother. Halleluiah. My mom is serving the Lord. I now work with my dad. So I minister to him through out the day. The Lord is just moving so much in my life. All praise and glory belong to Jesus. If this testimony has touched you and you would like to e-mail me for anything prayer someone to talk to. I'm here for you. But most of all God is there for you AMEN. my e-mail address is f.hernandez70@yahoo.com.

Testimony of an Anonymous Person

Well, I grew up in Detroit. I spent most of my life fighting with family and people on the block.
I got abused a lot by my dad, physically and verbally. He would tell me how stupid I was and slap me around. He popped my ear drum a few times from hitting me so hard.
I started drinking before I was 12 to deal with stuff.
About the age of 12 we moved down to Texas where I started to learn how to defend myself. I became trained in the art of Kenpo. I found a bunch of new people to fight with and I also found some other kids to drink with.
In Texas, I also started getting into some sexual sin.
Around the age of 13, I was able to fend my dad off so the physical abuse stopped, but the verbal just got worse.
We moved up to Oklahoma where I started up swimming and playing chess. But even in those activities I was able to find the drinkers and trouble makers.
My family situation just got worse. It wasn’t that my family was all that bad. My dad had medication problems which affected his temper. I think it was mostly me. I was a liar, a thief, destructive, drunk, had huge anger problems, and I was really bad into sexual sin.
Despite the fact I was really bad at school I excelled at chess and took 2nd at nationals (open section). (Chess was an excuse for me to hang with smokers, drinkers, and bums basically.) Despite drinking and abusing my body, I became an excellent swimmer, and made Olympic trials by the age of 16 and a half.
At the age of 17, I decided that I needed to do something about my life. My life was really going down the crapper fast. Figured a church might have some good people in it.
I remembered this old annoying guy that had bought some ribs from me years ago and told me about his church. I drove around, found his home and met with him about a week later.
I became a Christian on July 1st at his house and started going to church the week after that.
I met an awesome group of people at this church. They invited me on their float trip and then out to a party. If it weren’t for the fact I have so many awesome friends at my church, I probably would have stopped going and not be where I am now.
It took me months to quit drinking completely.
About 6 months ago I had a series of really bad luck. I actually pulled the trigger of a gun pointed at my head. I am still not sure why it didn’t go off, but I am glad it didn’t. God and my friends helped me through it.
I still sin a lot. And I mean a lot. But every time I do, I turn to my best friend that is standing right next to me every moment ask Him to forgive me and then continue to make it right.
I get along with my family, we still have our problems, but we work through them now.
I took a program called EE (Evangelism Explosion). It teaches you how to share the Gospel. I now witness to everyone I can.
I am currently concentrated on growing closer to God. It is a difficult task, but well worth it. I have realized that the only thing I can give God is the life He gave to me.
Even though I don’t think I will ever be able to get married and have a family, I will have a happy life serving God for sending His Son to die for me and take away my sins.
Oh, and that “old annoying guy” is my best friend now and an awesome accountability partner.
I guess my suggestion to anyone reading this is that no matter how bad things get...turn to God and He will help you. He has turned me from wanting to kill myself to never wanting to die because there are so many people to share His Gospel with. “His name will be the hope of all the world” Matthew 12:21 NIV

Moriah's Testimony

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I thought it would be a good idea to tell you all my testimony of how God changed me from a cussing, little brat to the person I am today.
I was born in Colorado on February 17, 1990 in a small hospital. My brother, Craig was born in the same hospital, same room, and same nurses on March 16, 1991.
The start of the memories of my life began in Tulsa, Oklahoma when I was about 3. I lived with my mom, dad, and younger brother Craig. We live in North Tulsa in a tiny one bedroom house in a run down neighborhood.
My dad was hardly ever home because he was a truck driver, and my mom couldn’t get a job to help pay the bills because she had to take care of us kids. Well, needless to say we were kicked out of our house. It was around this time that my parents divorced. Not long after the divorce my mom got hooked up with some guy, who later became my step-dad.
Well, about three months after we had moved into the apartments, we boarded a Grey Hound bus and went to Washington where my grandparents lived. We stayed with them over the Christmas season, then we moved again to California.
In California, we moved from one homeless shelter and apartments to another. When I was about 6; I was raped my step-dad's best bud. When I told my parents about what had happened; they didn't believe me.


By the time I was 6 1/2 both my parents drank, smoked pot, and my step-dad was a pack-a-day smoker.

My step-dad would often beat us kids with the metal part of a belt when he was high, or in a drunken rage.

My youngest brother was born when I was about 6 1/2, and soon Craig and I felt left out, and unwanted.
When I was in the 4th grade, my family moved in with some friends we had known when we were in a homeless shelter together. That school year proved to be extremely hard. I got head lice, and I couldn’t get rid of it. In the end I missed about half of the school year.
Near the end of my 4th grade year, my parents got a tax return check. My mom and step-dad then decided to move us to Oklahoma so we could be near my step-dad’s parents.
So we packed up the car and moved to Oklahoma. We stayed with my grandparents about a year then moved into a small trailer park about a half a mile away from the Tulsa Zoo.
I started attending the public school in the town that I lived in after summer break. Since I had missed so much school when we lived in California, I had to do 4th grade over again. I was very shy at first. I wouldn’t talk to anyone, and when I did start to talk people called me an idiot.
Well, 4th grade came and went, and we had moved in with my grandparents again, and it was then that I did things that to this day I still regret. Some of these sins included sexual sins, cussing, and drinking beer. It got worse as I got older.
5th grade came and went, and I became very bitter. I hated everyone. I wanted to move out of my grandparents house so bad that I actually attempted to run away on several occasions. None of these attempts succeeded though. It was like something or Someone was stopping me from doing it.
6th grade was the peek of it all. During the summer I had prayed the prayer. I only did it though because I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. But when I got back from summer camp my life continued to go down hill at top speed. I cussed every other word, had a bad relationship with a boyfriend, drank, smoked, I started messing around with pot and I tried to commit suicide on several occasions. On top of all this I was pushing God as far away from me as I possibly could.
Well, 6th grade finally ended and I had promised myself that I was going to commit suicide during the summer or run away. I just couldn’t stand living with my grandparents any longer.
One fateful day my aunt came and picked me up to spend the weekend at her house, and while in the car she asked me if I wanted to come and live with her and her family. I enthusiastically said yes. So a few weeks later Craig, Adam, and I went to live with my aunt and uncle. Within weeks we all began to call them Mom and Dad because they were more of parents to us then our real parents had been.
Almost immediately I saw a difference in the way that they lived their life and how I lived mine. They didn’t cuss, smoke, drink, or yell at each other. I can honestly say that I wanted what they had. So I started to listen to my new parents and to the pastor at the church I started attending. I was told several verses during my time of searching that I would like to tell all of you. I was told that Heaven is a free gift. Romans 6:23- For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. I was also told that Heaven cannot be earned or deserved. Ephesians 2:8-9- For by grace you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. Let’s just say for instance you have a friend and that friend gives you a very expensive car ( 2006 Corvette) for your birthday. And out of the blue you start pulling out your wallet or purse to give your friend some money to help pay for this gift. That would be so insulting! It is a gift that must be accepted freely because if you pay for it then it is no longer a gift. I think you guys will understand this more clearly when I tell you what the Bible says about man. You see, man is a sinner. Romans 3:23- For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Let me explain what sin is. Sin is anything that is contrary or goes against God’s perfect law. Some of these sins could be lying, cussing, pride, lust, and hatred. The Bible tells us that these are all sins. You are probably think, “Everyone does it, so what?” Just because everyone does it doesn’t make it right. Sin is a very serious issue! And since man is a sinner, he can’t save himself. We would have to be perfect. Matt. 5:48- Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect. Some of you have heard the saying that the good stuff you do in your life will outweigh the bad. If this theory were true or even possible then there would be no need for Jesus to come to earth. Sin is sin.
Let me clarify on who God is. God is merciful therefore he doesn’t want to punish us. 1 John 4:8b- ...for God is love. But God is just therefore he must punish sin. Exodus 34:7b- He will by no means clear the guilty. So we have a major problem. This problem was solved about 2000 years ago in the person of Jesus Christ. Christ is the infinite God-man. John 1:1,14- In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. (In the Bible the word Word is capitalized which means it is a name of God. So in other words you can replace the word Word with the name of Jesus.) You see, Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead 3 days later to pay the penalty for our sin and purchased a place in Heaven for us. Isaiah 53:6- We all like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all. This free gift can only be received by faith. The key to Heaven; the key that will open the doors of Heaven; is called saving faith. Saving faith is trusting in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life. Acts 16:31- Trust on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved... Finally the light bulb above my head clicked on and I knew what I had to do. So right then and there, while I was laying in bed, I put my trust in Jesus Christ, and decided to live for Him.
Sure life is still really hard at times, in fact recently I had fallen away from God, and had become a cutter, but not only that I had tried to commit suicide. I finally came back to God and have walked with Him ever since.
Later after I had gone through my struggles with cutting and all, I had asked myself why that had happened to me. Well, a few months later a friend of mine was going through the same thing that I had already experienced, and I was able to help that person in a way that not very many people could have.
So now I come to the end of my testimony. I want to thank you for reading my testimony. I pray that one day you all will come to know Jesus Christ in a personal way, just as I have. Thank- you and God bless!

(I would encourage you to check out the other testimonies on this blog, and if you would like to submit your own testimony; just shoot me your testimony by email. Thanks and God bless!)