Rosa’s Story June 5th, 2007
There is Forgiveness. There is Healing. There is Hope.
Rosa was destructive. All she wanted was to cause as much pain as possible, especially if that meant hurting men. All of the pain in her own life had come from men, primarily from her father.
Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she was raised in an orphanage. Rosa never knew love or affection. When she was six, she began yearly visits to her father, but soon he began to molest her. The abuse was made public when she became pregnant at the age of twelve. Only a child herself, she could not understand when she was not allowed to keep the baby, and she was left with the emptiness of losing her firstborn.
Later in life, her first husband beat her. After he died she married again, but became suicidal. Her life was filled with pain and anger. She gave birth fifteen times, though only eight survived. Rosa constantly longed to feel whole again, to replace what was taken from her in the hospital room when she was twelve.
Then she found Jesus – Someone who would heal her hurts, cleanse her guilt and bring her hope. He helped her forgive her father and forgive herself. After so much of her life had been spent seeking to dull the pain inflicted on her in the past, she at last found Someone who would love her unconditionally and make her whole.
Rosa’s testimony is disturbing. When approached by Roland Walter, Spanish Ministries staff, to share her story as part of the “Gente Como Tú” video series, she was hesitant. Her story is so painful that Rosa was reluctant to tell it over the phone, but she agreed to meet for an interview if only for the chance of sharing her experience with other women who have suffered the same abuse and need the emotional healing Jesus brings.
Roland Walter, who also directs the videos, says, “It’s been tricky telling this story visually without being graphic and offensive, but still showing her pain. I guess my answer has been not to show what happened to her, but how she felt about it.”
To dramatize “Gente Como Tú” stories, he recruits local believers or visitors to Málaga Media Center (MMC), as well as MMC staff. While working on Rosa’s story we were fortunate to have a teenage girl, Briana Smith, visiting at the time we were taping, who agreed to play the part of Rosa as a teenager.
Roland says, “I thought she [Briana] would be too embarrassed to pretend she was giving birth, so I had to make it appear that she did. I think she also did a good job of staring hopelessly out a window with a pillow under her shirt.”
A mother and daughter from a local Spanish church acted the parts of Rosa as a child and as an adult, while a waitress from a cafe near MMC sat in as Rosa’s adult daughter.
Rosa’s story is one of the latest testimonies completed in the Gente Como Tú series, which will soon be available on DVD for distribution and outreach, and will be seen throughout Spain on television stations airing Christian programming.
Even though Rosa found it difficult to tell her story on camera, she wanted it to be told. She knows there are many other women who have suffered as she has, and she wants them to know there is hope, forgiveness and freedom. In Jesus.
Rosa’s Story, with English subtitles, is available for download or viewing on the Media page. To inquire about using People Like You video testimonies in your own broadcast or ministry, please contact Roland Walter.