“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten” (Ecclesiastes 9:5).
“I have been at rock bottom. I would look at the sky and think there was no way out. If I could have, I would have ended my life.” These words, spoken with the pain of someone who had seen hope fade away, belong to Victor, a young man who now stands strong, having conquered his inner demons.
Victor was born in Chókwe, a district in Gaza, southern Mozambique. The eldest of 11 siblings on his father’s side, he grew up in a hardship-filled childhood. His parents, Catholics by tradition, preferred to rely on witch doctors. Their separation marked the beginning of a cycle of suffering. His stepmother’s presence turned Victor’s life into a living hell. He often went to bed hungry and without a blanket. The fear of further mistreatment made him withdraw from everything he loved. “If my mother were here, none of this would be happening,” he thought. But his mother was far away, in another home, outside Chilembene (the village where he grew up). He felt abandoned, lost and without anyone to whom he could turn.
If the pain of Victor’s childhood left deep scars, it was loneliness that made him question whether there was any reason to go on. He couldn’t take it anymore. At one point, he considered ending his life because he saw no meaning in his existence. He was an intelligent young man but lacked the support needed to build a future.
In 2014, things seemed to get worse. Victor got involved with a dance group called “Zona Quente,” which he and his friends had created. This movement made him popular but also pulled him further away from the values he knew were important. “I wanted to feel people’s warmth, but emptiness was all I felt.” He tried strong drinks but, by God’s grace, never became addicted. The success he found in dancing did not bring him true joy, and he still felt the weight of his life falling apart.
Then something unexpected happened: change.
In 2018, Victor was in 11th grade when, for the first time, he got close to some Adventist classmates. They sang hymns during recess, and the music touched something deep within his heart. Victor, who had always sought warmth from people, found something there that he could not explain—a peace that did not come from fame but from something much greater.
He started attending church with his friends, but this time with a different purpose. It was no longer to flirt or to pass the time. The Catholic church he had been part of, with its traditions and rituals, no longer seemed enough. When he heard an Adventist speaking about what really happens to the dead, it was like a shock. What he heard at that moment, during a discussion on Ecclesiastes 9:5, made his heart race. “The dead know nothing . . .” These words cut deep into his soul because they were the opposite of what he had learned from the witchcraft practices in his home. His father often brought witch doctors to their house to perform rituals and summon the “spirits of the dead” for consultation. He started questioning everything.
His curiosity grew, and the invitation to study the Bible with one of his classmates became a turning point. As the Holy Spirit continued to work in Victor’s life, the friends he had made through dance abandoned him. Some doubted the miracle that was taking place in his life. But when Victor surrendered to God, it was no longer about the people around him—it was about the truth he had found. On December 28, 2018, Victor was baptized.
He did not tell his parents in advance, knowing it would not be accepted. When the news of his baptism spread, things got worse. His father, deeply upset, tried to humiliate him and even threatened to kick him out of the house. But as Victor would later say, “God always helped me. He gave me the strength to keep going, even when everything seemed to be falling apart.”
The struggle was not easy. Facing his father’s opposition and the loss of his friends was painful, but Victor knew that his real enemy was not his father. It was the evil that controlled minds and hearts, the force that tried to bring down all who decided to follow Jesus. “I learned that those who fight against God are fighting against a rock they can never break,” he reflected.
The greatest challenge came when he decided to take another step and share his faith more broadly. He traveled to where his mother lived and began gathering friends to study the Bible. Some, like his then-girlfriend, also decided to follow Christ, even facing persecution within their own families. But faith never allowed them to be discouraged.
The more he lived his life for Jesus, the more his transformation began to be noticed. His life became a living testimony of God’s power. His stepmother and father began to recognize the change in him. Though their faith in witchcraft remained strong, Victor did not give up praying for them.
Recently, Victor lost his mother at a young age due to illness. It was not easy for him to bear this loss. We did everything we could to comfort him in that difficult moment.
Today, Victor works with us in preaching the gospel in Chicualacuala, one of the most remote villages in Gaza province, near the border with Zimbabwe. The challenge of learning a new culture and adapting to missionary life is great, but he feels that God has been leading him on an incredible journey.
“I have overcome,” Victor says with a confident smile in God. “There is still much more to do, and my dream is to plant a great movement of Jesus’ followers here, in this land where the gospel is still new to many. I know that God is with me and will use me for great things.”
Victor’s story gives us hope that, even in moments of pain and loneliness, God has the power to transform our lives.
