5 /5 Elsa Smith: I came to the United States with my family when I was 12 years old from Michoacan, Mexico. Although my parents had converted to Christians and I heard a lot about Jesus from an early age, a lot of confusion and dishonesty I experienced in churches made me reject anything that had to do with God, Jesus and religion when I reached the age of accountability. In the pursuit of finding something to fill the void I felt, I sought education thinking that would fulfill me, but it didn’t. I went through 10 years going through an immigration situation where I grew up very isolated and focused on surviving through education. Then the Lord brought me in contact with a sweet couple at the age of 22 that testified to me not with words but with their lives. I was able to feel and see the genuine love they had for people and for one another. Their conversation was safe and full of understanding. They invited me to church and while I was very hesitant to attend because of my previous experiences with churches, I attended a national meeting out of respect for the kindness they had shown me.
The love I felt from the People of God was so overwhelming when I attended the meeting I didn’t come back for another six months. Because of past pain and the walls I had built to protect me, it took me another six months to receive the Holy Ghost. It was through love and time with my new environment that I was able to see I was in a very special place. I received truth from a five Office Ministry that spoke from verses in the Bible I had never seen before. They spoke of the order of God, the Principles of the Doctrines of Christ and Four Major Doctrines and many other truths that created a spiritual foundation in me. As a true academic, I began to search the scriptures and confirm that what they were saying was indeed in the Bible. I have seen and I’m convinced that the scripture in Acts 10:34 is true: “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted of him.”
