Maricela’s Testimony: One of Many Stories of Redemption
At six years old Marcelina was working with her father in the field picking crop. At 10 years old, one of her uncles began to severely mistreat her. He threatened her life if she told anyone. This time in her life was very damaging emotionally and mentally. This went on until she was 16 years old.
At 16, she convinced her parents to allow her to illegally cross the border and follow the “American dream”. Her parents agreed. There she met the father of her children. While in the United States they had a son. Her man became ill and it became impossible to meet the monthly bills of rent and food and care for her son.
They brought their savings and came back to Mexico where she gave birth to five girls. Sadly, her husband began to drink and do drugs and became violent with her and her children. One day her son stood up to his father, not allowing him to hurt his mom or his sisters anymore. His father tried to kill him and Marcelina ran for the police. Their father got away and as a family they decided to flee. They lived wherever they could until her sister came and brought them to San Vicente.
Marcelina worked in the fields with some moms from Casa del Pastor. They convinced her that Casa del Pastor would be a perfect place for her and her children. Marcelina has been at Casa Del Pastor 8 years. In that time she was able to save up enough money to buy her property. In September,The Lord blessed her with a house where she and her children can live as a family.
