I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I believe I could define my background as non-practicing Catholic. Most people in Argentina (like in Italy) are nominal Catholics and do not make their teachings part of their daily lives. As a child I recall my brother (ten years my senior) being involved in a ministry at the local church, but after some time his interest faded away. We attended church only on selected dates throughout the year.

Growing up I remember having a consciousness of God and his presence in my daily activities. This communication with the Creator was very much personal, but I didn't find ways to feed this need to know more about Him. Questions like the futility of life, wars, the certainty of death and especially the sadness of the "not-to-be" on this Earth one day bothered me.

I felt the longing to be closer to God, but religion offered only a detached approach to Him; a message of guilt and penitence was all I heard from the pulpit at our local church. The Bible was hard to understand and boring. It actually didn't make any sense. I felt like the words had been so misused by the ritual of the Mass that it was hard to bring them back to their original meaning.

Many years after, in 1999, I moved to Torino and began attending the English-speaking service at the Waldese Church (part of that congregation eventually started what today we know as the International Church of Torino). That was my first ever approach to a protestant Church. Everything was so different from what I had seen before. The congregation was so lively and friendly, each one had their own Bible and the Pastor preached sermons that were not about generalities of life, but actually used Bible passages to support his message. These sermons brought the Word of God to life, a Word that was now very powerful and reached my soul like it never had before.

Lydia (who later became my wife) gave me a Bible in English and I started reading from Genesis. The words written there suddenly came to life and their meaning was very clear and exciting to learn. I began praying on a daily basis, now with a better understanding of who God was. My eyes were opened to the reality of Jesus Christ and His presence throughout the whole Bible, not just on the red letters of Jesus' words in the Gospels. A strong sense of "undeserved grace" filled my heart when I understood Jesus' sacrifice for me on the cross. The awareness of God's grace in my life has since then been very strong.

Since coming to trust in Christ I feel a more complete person. I want to learn more about Jesus and His purpose for my life. I enjoy studying the Bible and spending time with other believers. Life is lived under a different perspective, one that values every moment as unique and searches for God's guidance at every step.  To tell the truth though, in my personal experience the daily routine can make a person lose focus on Christ. I am faced with many temptations that lead me away from Jesus' example and teachings. It really feels awful when I realize that my actions are far from being a good example to others. When this happens, I feel the need to go back to God and ask for forgiveness in Jesus' name. 1 John 8-9 says "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." As bad as the world might look today, I believe the most difficult part to live as a Christian is to examine my own self in the light of the Bible. Most people see things they don't like about the world we live in today. But acknowledging my own sin and asking Jesus to help us walk through life is the key that opens the door to God's abundant grace. Romans 5:8 says "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Amen.