José Gonzalez and his wife Marisa

José went from one prison to the next until he was truly set free.

Argentinean José Gonzalez was not a stranger to crime, having been in and out of juvenile detention centers and prisons since turning thirteen.

José began his life of crime at the young age of ten, joining friends in juvenile delinquency in an attempt to avoid his father.

“My father was an alcoholic,” José says simply. “As a result of my father’s abusive behavior towards my brothers, but especially my mother, I spent more time out of the house than I did inside, which led to my smoking, drinking and getting involved in delinquency by the age of ten.”

After going to prison at age 13, José’s life revolved around drugs, alcohol and crime.

“I was out of control and by the time I was 19 I was serving a six year prison sentence,” he admits.

While José was in prison, changes were happening to his family.

“In 2000 my father died,” José recalls. “Then my mum decided she would accept Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and she became a Christian.

“I was released from prison in 2002 and since my mother had already experienced the forgiveness of her sins, she began to pray for me daily, that I would come to Jesus as well,” José recalls.

“She would regularly leave me tracts about the love of God and how the only way I could avoid a life spent in misery was to believe in the sacrificial death of His son Jesus Christ and ask Him to forgive me. Mum also left me a New Testament Bible and other Christian literature on my night stand while I was out late at night.”

One night, José picked up the Bible his mother had left for him and began reading Psalm 31Psalm 31.

“I remember thinking that verses 9 and 10 fitted me exactly. I felt the same way; anguish, sorrow and pain,” José says.

“Be merciful to me, O LORD,” he read, “for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.”

For years José had believed his problems in life stemmed from his alcoholic father and the neighborhood he grew up in, now he could see what the real problem was.

“Through reading that Bible I understood the reason for all my problems were the sins that alienated me from a holy God who could not allow any disobedience in the light of His perfect law.”

Despite realizing the root cause of his troubles, José continued his criminal activities until one day he found himself outside the church he had attended as a child.

“I noticed that there was a meeting going on and, despite the fact that I was carrying a gun, drugs in one pocket and drug money in the other pocket, I decided to walk in and sit down,” José recalls.

A man from the church sat down next to José and began to explain how Jesus Christ was able to make him acceptable to God.

“He said ‘Jesus loves you’, ‘Jesus came to save sinners’, and ‘He gave His life to pay the penalty for your sin so that you don’t have to be condemned,’” remembers José.

“My heart was filled with joy to hear those words and on my knees and with a broken heart I asked Jesus to be my personal Savior.”

The same year that José was released from prison he was also set free from his criminal lifestyle by the love and power of Jesus.

“I now know that it was my mother’s countless prayers for me that helped make a difference. I stopped smoking, drinking and criminal activities, choosing instead to attend rehab and live my life for Jesus.

“This personal and vibrant relationship with this amazing God that saved me is what really has made the difference in my life.

“God’s grace has been abundant in my life and I will continue to live for Him,” concludes José.