Betidaté’s story:
I’m going to add my words. My words are for Marina, that is why I’m putting them on the recorder here in God’s house.
It was a long time ago that I was baptized. When I was a young girl they threw me into the water. I have never yet told on the recorder about when they baptized me.
But I know that I believed in God and now I’m putting my words on the recorder here in his house. It’s been a long time ago that I believed in Jesus when I was a young girl and when they baptized me as a youth. But now I’m very short in my older age.
But I only want to tell you that I have never believed in anything else, only in God have I trusted. I know that I believe in God’s Son also, and I want to record that so that Marina can hear what I say here in God’s house.
Betidaté’s trials:
I realize that I have had trials, and my children always die. They always died. I have lost three children, but not even that has caused me to stop listening to God’s word. I’ll never stop listening to his word, because I am a believer and I have been baptized. And I also know that I’m sure of my relationship with God.
People are always recording their words, but I never have until now put my words on the machine here in God’s house. Right now, I’m putting them on it. I am sure of my faith and that is why I’m doing it. I’m always telling myself: “Why is it I never have told about my faith and put it on the machine?”
It’s so very long ago that they put my face under the water. Luis (Louis Small) baptized me, and now, I can say that it’s also been a long, long time that I have been praying to God in the church. I’ve been laughed at, but I don’t pay attention. When you laugh at me, I don’t listen to you. As if you are my respected leaders, you who laugh when I pray. Go ahead and laugh at me, for God alone hears me. I ignore those who laugh at me.
It’s also been a long time that I have suffered headaches, but I ignore the pain. Satan wants to use the pain to make me stop following God, but I won’t stop. I tell myself, Satan is who wants to make me leave God. Satan wants to be in me, but he can’t get in. I say, it’s because he wants me to stop serving God that he gives me trials, but I do not want in any way to stop.
I was crippled a while back and couldn’t walk, but that didn’t make me want to give up on God. I had to crawl on the ground to get around. Nothing would help me. Only God could help me. That was another trial Satan brought my way to make me stop following God, but I didn’t stop at all. Only God is there for me, and he hears me, and he helps me, and I am getting to know him better through my trials.
And so, I do not forget when I was baptized to show that I believed. Since then I have continued following Jesus. The only thing is, I sometimes have not been well enough to come to God’s house for meetings, and had to stay home, but that’s the way it is. I think that God can be compared to a child’s friend that goes with him wherever he goes, and when I’m here or not, he is with me. This God of ours that we have never seen is our father and our friend.
What brings joy to Betidaté:
I’m happy when they ring the bell for church, and it’s like the kind of happiness we felt when we were children and went about with our friends. I look forward to them ringing the bell. I am about to start doing something, but when I hear the bell, I say, I’m going to do this later. I stop what I’m doing and take off for God’s house. It’s because I’ve been happily looking forward to it. I’m like a child getting together with my friends, that’s how happy we are to be going to church.
This is all my words. I will stop.
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the Lord‘s house.” (Psalm 122:1)
Betidaté’s – Tobité, Bolivia – 08/23/75
Transcribed and translated to English by: Maxine Morarie
Scripture portion added.
