Her name is Rebeca.
When I first met her, I liked her a lot, which isn’t all that amazing—she was very beautiful—and she liked me too, which is amazing. That’s because back then, I was not easy to like. I was doing illegal things. I was partying. I was addicted to drugs. I was just not a good person. When we started dating, I mainly remember seeing her always happy and patient and peaceful, and thinking, That’s what I want. That’s what I need. I didn’t know at the time that it was Jesus I was seeing in her.
I’ll never forget when she drove me to my first day of drug treatment. We were in the car, and I told her, “I don’t think I can do this,” and she turned and looked at me with so much confidence and faith and said, “You’re right; you can’t do this. But Jesus can.” And she was right.
Rebeca stuck with me. I got sober, and she began taking me to church. When I gave my life to Christ, she was the one who started teaching me the Bible and showing me how to pray. I wasn’t always the best student, but she was so patient. She never criticized me, and I remember even then, she kept telling me, “I just know God is going to do an amazing work in you.”
And again, she was right.
We eventually got married, had two beautiful kids, and moved from Washington, D.C., where we met, back to Comerio, my hometown in Puerto Rico. All my old friends and family knew the terrible person I used to be, and so when we started connecting with them, and they saw how Jesus had changed my life, they all asked us, “What happened?” Rebeca and I started sharing Christ with them, God began to open all kinds of doors. In 2017, we planted a church in Comerio.
Since then, we’ve seen many people get saved and baptized. Lots of people are coming to our church now, and I know that when they do, they see me up front, preaching and sharing about all that God has done for us. They don’t necessarily see Rebeca. And yet, she’s the one behind the curtain. She’s the one God used to start all this. He made her into a strong, godly woman, and then put her into my life at the very moment I needed help.
Without her, I’m not sure if any of this would have been possible. She’s always been faithful and a woman of wisdom, and she’s the one God used to change me and fulfill his calling on my life.
She has been, she is, and she will forever be my Annie Armstrong.
Learn more about how Annie Armstrong’s legacy is impacting North America with the gospel at AnnieArmstrong.com.