"I witnessed people being decapitated from the time I was 7 to 12 years old. Every Sunday during the cold war in El Salvador, my Grandpa would send me with my cousins to see soccer matches. While riding in the back of a pickup truck going from town to town, I would see dead bodies and gun fights along the way. I saw families and children that had been massacred just hours earlier. My father left when I was around 5 years old and my mother left when I was 7. My mom said she was going to the fair to buy me toys. I told her that I wanted to go with her and she said not to worry, that she would be right back. I felt like something was not quite right. I waited for her for days, she never came back. When I was around 16 I left for the United States; it took 3 years to get my visa. The war ended 2 months later. I started reading the bible around 17 and I gave my life to Jesus at 21. In March and April of this year Jesus revealed the resentment that was hidden deep in my heart and removed it. After 36 years of living with this pain and void, I can finally share my story with people and show them the power of Jesus. I feel free! My name is Manuel and I surrender.”
(Manuel, Mesquite, Texas)