Ricardo’s* family was made up of the most feared criminals in his province. They were a gypsy family that trafficked drugs throughout Spain. Ricardo was only 14 when he started dealing drugs, and 18 when he became one of the main pimps in the city.

The Dark Streets of Spain

He traveled to Morocco regularly to get 18 year old girls to bring back to Spain to be prostitutes. Through some networking, he quickly began his own prostitution and drug trafficking rings. Ricardo frequently used cocaine, partied hard, and squandered his money.

Lost on the Streets of Spain

At his lowest, he began to wish he could end his own life. When a friend told him about the gospel, he laughed. He just knew that Jesus couldn’t solve his problems. All he needed was someone to stop him from using drugs.

Hope Reaches the Streets of Spain

One night, a local pastor called me and said, “Ricardo called me crying and desperate. He needs our help. He says his hands are full of blood, and he hears a voice asking him to kill his three kids.”

So I went with the pastor right away, and we found him on his floor… crying uncontrollably. His children and wife were frightened. They had never seen him this way.

Redemption in Christ

The pastor and I gathered around him and prayed that the Lord would remove all of the evil from that house. Everything changed immediately. Ricardo stopped crying and asked right there to make Jesus Christ the Lord of his life, and his family did the same.

Less than a year later, Ricardo and his entire family were baptized on the beaches of the province that he once served as a criminal.

From Streets of Sin to Streets of Salvation

He is a changed person who now preaches salvation on the same streets that he once sold drugs.

*Name changed for security reasons.