VL - Issue 42 - January 2022

PHOTO BY MARY WHITMER
escape the righteous impact my mother
was trying to have on me. I moved my family
and continued to do my thing in Miami. It
wasn’t long before my sin and pride caught
up to me.
My sister’s boyfriend had approached
me with what appeared to be a sweet deal.
All I had to do was cash some bogus checks.
I didn’t bother to consider that the money
belonged to someone else.
With my connections in Miami, I could
easily pull off the scam. A friend who
worked at a bank helped me open a checking
account under a false name. I deposited
the checks, waited until they cleared, then
emptied the account and closed it. I got fifty
thousand dollars for a couple of hours of
work. Not bad.
A month later, however, FBI agents were
in my office looking for me. My “friend” had
ratted me out, and I was facing a possible
55 years in prison. It was my word against
his, and at first, I thought I could talk my
way out of this situation. I was, after all, a
master manipulator. But my fingerprints
were on the checks. It wouldn’t take a genius
to figure out who was telling the truth.
I was a dead dog if the FBI found me, so
I went into survival mode and withdrew
what cash I could. “Pack our things,” I told
Cecilia. “We’re taking a little vacation.”
Poor Cecilia. She was seven months
pregnant with our second child and caring
for our four-year-old son. Nonetheless, she
did as I asked, and we left for Puerto Rico
that very night.
With Puerto Rico being a US territory,
we couldn’t stay long, or I’d risk being arrested.
We had to keep moving. We needed
passports to go further, but with my connections,
obtaining them wasn’t a problem.
I told Cecilia the truth while we were there.
She was furious with me.
After a few days in Puerto Rico, we flew
to the Dominican Republic, and then to
Bogotá, and then to Medellín (Colombia). I
had no plan, and I wasn’t thinking clearly.
Finally, we settled in Caracas, Venezuela.
I opened a restaurant, which took some
underhanded scheming and money. I
worked fast and hard to find investors and
a Venezuelan partner. In no time, I owned
the best Cuban restaurant in the country. I
used the restaurant and its glamour, not to
mention my mad dancing skills and thick
dark hair, to get women. Cuban men were
very popular with Venezuelan women.
We lived in Caracas for almost two years.
But then, the FBI paid a visit to my dad.
That night, he and my mom called me.
“Manolito,” he said. “I know what you have
done. I know you are facing time behind
bars. Let me ask you a question. If I died
tonight, could you come to my funeral?”
I was silent. I knew the answer was no.
I broke down and cried. Then, my mom
began to speak. She reminded me that I
had sinned against a holy God, and she
pleaded with me to repent of my sins—to
turn from my ways.
“To repent is to live,” she said. “You need
to trust in Jesus Christ and make Him Lord
and Savior of your life. He will forgive you
for your sins, Manny, if you ask Him.”
Mom started praying for me on the
phone. “Oh, God, save my son. Make him
see how lost he is, how far he is from You.
He’s on his way to hell. He needs You, God!
Help him see he cannot run from You.
Father, You promised to forgive him. I pray
my son will ask for Your forgiveness and
follow Jesus.”
I sobbed as the Holy Spirit quickened
my spirit and opened the eyes of my heart
to see what I could not see before—that I
was lost and in desperate need of a Savior.
I prayed out loud, repeating the words of
my mom, “Oh, God, please forgive me for
all I have done; I have sinned against You.
I’m guilty and ashamed, and I don’t want
to run anymore. Lord, save me. Come into
my heart and change my life. God, I need
Your help. Give me the courage to face what
I’ve done and make it right. Give me the
courage to face my family and the world
with the truth.”
My mom started praising God and
thanking Him for what He had done. I felt
like God had lifted the whole world off my
back until Mom asked me, “When are you
coming back to America to face the music?
You must surrender to the FBI and do what
is right.”
The world ground to a halt. Sure, I had
prayed for courage and a way to make
things right, but surrendering to the FBI
was not what I’d had in mind! That wasn’t
part of the deal.
Mom noticed my hesitation and said,
“Manolito, God promises in Hebrews 13:5
that He will never leave you or forsake
you. He will not fail you. You have invited
Jesus into your heart, and He will be with
you from now on—even if you have to go
to prison.”
Tears flowed from my eyes as I bowed in
total surrender to the God of the universe,
to His Son, and to His Holy Spirit. I would
now serve a new Trinity. My mind was set,
and there was no going back.
Manny shares with men in Angola Prison how to
have true life in Christ.
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
Issue 01 / 2022
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