God Uses My Past — Hernán’s Story

 After three years he was admitted to a rehabilitation centre, but continued to be consumed by his addiction. Life sunk to a new low when he had to live on the streets with his pregnant girlfriend, Agus. Tired of the life he was leading, Hernán sought help.

“One night, crying, I told God that if He really existed, then I wanted to know Him and that He should enter my heart. From there, after ten days I stopped using (drugs).” — Hernán

He and Agus got married and shut down the idea of an abortion, instead choosing to raise their daughter.

Almost twenty years have passed since that experience. Today, Hernán does not run away from his painful past but uses his story to show others the forgiveness and future full of hope that Jesus offers through salvation. He tells his story to anyone who will hear it.

His desire to reach others with the gospel caused him to create the Prodigal Son Project, a means to encourage other young people to go to the streets, interact with people and initiate a conversation about Jesus.

“With the Prodigal Son Project, what we do in the streets is show the image of God as a Father.” — Hernán

Hernán and his team will do whatever it takes to reach people: they go on trains to sing funny songs, offer free hugs or just listen to those who need a friend. Those who are part of the project believe that people are willing to hear about Jesus.

“For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.” — Romans 8:19

The focus is to first create bonds with people and then introduce them to Jesus. They have found that the best way to open the door to share is by making others laugh and showing sincere friendship. There are people who just need a smile or someone to listen, and the team from Prodigal make people feel comfortable around them before sharing their personal experiences.

Hernán’s testimony and the stories of others help people in similar situations to see that there is hope in Jesus.

“Life is a missionary journey and we are on that mission 24 hours a day.” — Hernán

Hernán highlights the importance of using our daily life to make a difference for Jesus. We do not have to be great preachers, just attentive to the Holy Spirit and willing to ask Him to show us when someone is open to talking about God.

A person may not accept Jesus at that moment, but the seed will be planted.