Who’s Holding Your Hand?

Henrique (Henry) Rosa of Montes Claros, Goias, Brazil has an amazing testimony about God’s delivering power! Rosa first found the Lord Jesus Christ in 1999. He was a professional scuba diver that searched for diamonds, gold, crystal and other valuable gems that were buried up to 4-5 meters deep in the mud in the rivers between Sao Paulo and Rio Grande in Minas Gerais, Brazil. As a new convert, he faced many temptations.

One morning Henry got up and was riding his motorcycle to work and had an accident. He woke up that night in the hospital without any recollection of what had happened to him. The only thing he remembered was that he was passing a car; the next thing he knew he was at the hospital. Some people told him that he had been thrown into the trees after his motorcycle had hit a sandy embankment on the side of the road.

The doctor told him that the combination of alcohol that was in his system along with the improper scuba diving equipment (that he had been using) had caused a devastating effect on his mind. Ultimately, he had blacked out when the accident happened.

After they released him from the hospital, he went home (which was a local hotel) to rest and pay his bills. He was well enough to continue to scuba dive for two more days. He was making his way to a local bank one day after work when the road felt like it became jelly. He stopped the motorcycle and completely forgot that he was going to the bank. Leaving his motorcycle with the keys in it, he walked back to his hotel gave his documents and his wallet to the owner and told the owner to go back and get the motorcycle. Henry still does not remember any of this. His friends have told him about these events.

He said all of his senses became more acute. He could smell something from a block away and his perception was completely lost. For fifteen days he had these symptoms and walked the streets and lived like a homeless man. His family was notified that he had gone to the hotel and then disappeared.

During these 15 days he had hallucinations of someone holding his hand and leading him throughout the city and ultimately taking him to a bridge and telling him that he needed to jump. The water below was shallow, filthy, cold and full of jagged rocks but in Henry’s eyes it was a beautiful, clean and inviting river. The voice of the stranger holding his hand said you need to dive in head first and bathe. The evil voice also said I will jump with you. Henry said, “I want to bathe in my own shower.” Inside of Henry’s head, he began to remember the name of Jesus but he couldn’t verbalize it. Rosa noticed that his legs felt paralyzed during this time. He wanted to run away but couldn’t. The name of Jesus became stronger and stronger in his mind until he finally cried out loud,” JESUS”!! At this time Henry had a vision of himself in a white shirt that represented his Mother’s prayer and the good things he had done for his people and children. He also had a vision of a pair of bullet ridden black pants that he was wearing which represented all the things he needed to rectify, like his alcoholism, smoking, his marriage and gambling habit. Just as suddenly as he had uttered the name of Jesus, the hand of the stranger let go! It was at this time that the Jesus set the devil on fire and he slid away like he was going down a slide from Henry.

After Jesus came to his rescue, he could move his legs and began to walk toward the hotel. As he was walking, he turned back and saw a big finger pointing to him and the voice saying, “I’m going to catch you!”

When he got back to the hotel his family came and picked him up and took him to a mental institution. The doctor told his sister that Henry would never be able to live a normal life without taking medication, but after three days in this institution he woke up completely conscious. He asked the doctor what he was doing there. It was around the Christmas season and the doctor let Henry go home to visit with his family. Henry never went back to the hospital.

Today, Reverend Henry Rosa is the pastor of a local church in Montes Claros, Goias, Brazil. His church is growing; his wife is a school principal in town. Both are well respected leaders in their community.

The devil is a liar and wants to kill, steal and destroy, but God delivers us out of it all! I Peter 5:8 says,” Be alert and of a sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” We need to keep our eyes on Jesus because He will rescue of out of it all!

–Submitted by missionary Susan Aniskette

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