He gripped the knife, bringing the blade up to his neck.
Images raced through his mind: the drug deal gone bad, the hundreds of thousands of dollars owed—but most of all, his family. What would happen to his wife and kids? If it ended for him right here and now, maybe his family would be safe.
Then he heard a voice, still and small. “It’s not your time yet.”
He struggled to listen, but another voice drowned it out. “It would be so easy.” On his knees, the conflict raged within. He pushed in the knife, and everything went black.
A Street Life
When Bernard came to, he was in the ICU. A nurse told him that if the knife had gone in even one more centimeter, he would have lost his voice forever.
Later, he learned that his wife had called the police after she had talked to him earlier that day. She had realized that he was going to do something horrible. It was the police who had found him bleeding on the floor. After all that, the voice had been right—it was not his time. He had been given a second chance.
And God used you to help Bernard make the most of it!
Bernard had grown up on the streets of New York City, in gangs and dealing drugs and alcohol. While his mother was a Sabbath-keeper, he and his siblings were raised to be Catholic, the faith of his father. Eventually, his parents divorced, and his mother began to live out her faith.
After getting out of the ICU, Bernard started attending a non-denominational church. But it seemed like something was stopping him at every turn, including a divorce and a six-month stint in jail. Finally, he found himself back in his mother’s home and driving trucks for a living.
His mom would talk to him about the Sabbath, but all he could remember was how she would sneak them to church on Saturday whenever Dad was not around. He hated it. Besides, he thought, every good Christian knew that keeping the seventh-day Sabbath was just legalism.
But then the strangest thing happened. Bernard heard that voice again, that same still, small voice: “My Sabbath is the true day.”
Still, he struggled. He had so many questions about the Sabbath and about God. He began to fast and pray. Then, one day, he made a delivery at a warehouse and spotted a small book. He heard the voice again: “Read the book.” He hesitated, then shook it off.
An hour passed, and someone came to tell him there was a delay with his delivery. Instantly, there came the voice: “Read the book.” Still, Bernard refused, something raging within him.
The minutes crawled by. Three times the man came to apologize for the delay. Three times Bernard heard that same voice. Finally, exasperated, he picked up the book—and then read it cover to cover.
He began to weep. Every question he had about the Sabbath, about God, was answered.
Internationally Amazing
Later, Bernard’s mom introduced him to Amazing Facts and shared with him The Final Events of Bible Prophecy DVD. He explains, “When I saw that video, it blew me away! It shook me up.” His mother invited him to church, where they were showing a video of Pastor Doug giving his testimony. Bernard says that after watching it, he thought, “Wow—this has got to be God leading me to the right place!” It led him to dive deep into the Amazing Facts Study Guides. Today he exclaims, “Amazing Facts opened up a whole new life to me!”
Bernard wanted to become a trained evangelist at the Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism (AFCOE). But he could not afford a cross-country trip and school fees. He was, however, able to go on a funded mission trip to the Philippines. Years later, in God’s perfect timing, he was finally able to fulfill his dream, graduating from the Philippines Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism (PAFCOE)—along with his new wife!
For their first evangelistic series, Bernard and his wife brought 34 souls to baptism. Since then, they have been instrumental in building the only Sabbath-keeping church in that area of the Philippines, on a plot of land given by a Sunday-keeping pastor who had attended their seminars. Oh, and that pastor—he and his entire family were eventually baptized as well.
Bernard has since dedicated his life to full-time ministry, which includes a sponsorship program for others to attend AFCOE. This changed man, once ready to take his own life, now thanks God for his life. “I would not give this life up for anything,” he shares.
Thank you for providing Bernard’s mom with a Final Events DVD that brought eternal hope to her son. You helped Bernard journey from ending his life to giving his life as a dedicated witness for Christ. Amazing Facts has been used by God to train more than 2,500 students to serve the Lord. Each year, hundreds of graduates conduct thousands of Bible studies and evangelistic meetings that lead thousands of others to Christ. But we need even more life-changing resources to be sent out. We need more soul-winners like Bernard to carry the three angels’ messages into all the world.
Please support these life-changers. Thank you!