Blind But Leading a Full Life

I WAS a boy of ten growing up in Ecuador when it happened. In an accidental explosion, I lost both my right hand and my right eye. My left eye was affected, too, but an operation saved about 50 percent of the vision in it.

Then I slowly began losing the sight in my good eye. When I had it examined, I was told that within a few months I would be completely blind. I was crushed. Words cannot describe how depressed I felt.

During this time my father died, leaving my mother alone with two boys: my brother Eddie, who is two years older than I, and me. The love of my mother and the understanding of my brother Eddie helped me to cope for a while. Yet I felt that I was a burden to them. So I decided that whenever my mother died, I would commit suicide.

The time from the age of 23 to 30 was most difficult. I spent day after day thinking about and searching for some kind of work. But the answer was always the same: To work, a person needs his hands and his sight. Many were the times my mother would say to me: “Just pray to God for comfort.”

“If God existed,” I would exclaim bitterly, “I would not have lost my hand or my eyes! What sin could I have committed at ten years of age, so that God punished me by making me an invalid?” As always, such conversations left my mother crying, which only added to my depression.

Meditating on my situation, I thought, ‘My life would be less sad if only I had faith.’ With that I decided to visit a religious order near my home. They gave me some books for my brother Eddie to read to me. These did nothing to comfort me. Finally, I asked them for a Bible, and they lent me one. As I listened to Eddie read, I felt great relief inside, even though I did not fully understand what was being said. Before long, however, the Bible had to be returned.

Light for the First Time

Shortly afterward I went to visit a friend who was studying the Bible with some Protestants, or so I thought. The lady, Beatriz, was very friendly and tried to include me in the discussion, but I was hostile. I considered Protestants to be agents of capitalist imperialism; I was a member of the Communist Party in Ecuador at the time.

Beatriz was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and was not discouraged by my attitude. She continued to converse kindly with me. In fact, she gave me her address and invited me to get in touch with her if I had any questions. Not long after this I went to her house with some questions.

Beatriz was not at home, but her aunt, Castorina, also one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, received me very kindly. When she mentioned God to me, I recall replying, “I do not believe in anything, neither in God, nor in the virgin, nor in the saints; and for me to believe, you have to give me proof!” I left her house surprised and humbled by her answers, promising to return for a study of the Bible.

In January of 1965 I began studying the Bible, using the book “Let God Be True.” I remember asking, “Where do you get all the questions to ask me?” Beatriz and her aunt then explained that there were printed questions at the bottom of the page and that these were designed to draw out the main points of the paragraphs. That presented a problem for me. How could I prepare in advance for my study? I was eager, in fact, determined, to learn. So I again asked my brother Eddie to read aloud to me.

For the first time in 20 years “light” began to enter, no, not through my eyes, but through my ears. Peace slowly began to calm my troubled mind. I talked to everyone about the new things I was learning. When we finished studying the book “Let God Be True,” I was sure of one thing: God does exist!

At this point I began doing something I would never have dreamed of doing before​—going out and talking to others about the Bible! One day while we were visiting homes, a lady replied, “Please speak to the doctor.” I expected a medical doctor. But what a surprise to meet a Catholic priest who asked us to return that night because he was busy!

That evening we were received kindly by the priest. I started by asking, “Is it permissible to use the Bible?” He assured me that it was. We talked about the doctrine of hellfire. From the beginning of our discussion, he confidently claimed that he could prove from the Bible that hell was a place of fire and torment. That discussion lasted for two hours, and he could not prove his point from the Bible. For the next three weeks, we continued discussing it.

“Now I can show you in the Bible that there is eternal torment by fire,” he claimed during one visit. “In Matthew chapter 25 Jesus says to the goats, ‘Go away from me to eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his demons.’”

I replied: “But if the fire is prepared for the Devil and his demons, why do you think these poor animals are thrown into the fire with them?”

“Oh, but the goats mentioned are not literal animals. They are symbolic of bad people,” he answered.

“Then the fire must also be symbolic,” I replied.

Finally he admitted: “Perhaps we are not able to prove from the Bible that hell is a place of torment, but philosophically it can be confirmed.” That did it! It was plain to me that he did not have the truth.

Later, something similar happened when I spoke with a Protestant missionary. I discussed the doctrine of the Trinity with him. After a lengthy discussion, he admitted: “The Bible does say that the Father is greater than the Son, but I still prefer to believe that Jesus Christ is God.” My preference was to believe the Bible! I knew now that I had found the truth. On September 25, 1965, I was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Joy in Teaching Others

I found great joy in teaching the Bible to others, and I began spending the greater part of my time doing this. Of course, it was necessary that someone accompany me to read the verses from the Bible. As always, my dear brother Eddie helped me to prepare in advance, reading the publications out loud to me.

In April 1966, I became a regular pioneer (full-time preacher). I was so happy to be using my life in such a worthwhile way! Four months later my brother married, and shortly afterward I was invited to be a special pioneer, devoting 150 hours each month to preaching the good news. But how could I do it? How could I conduct Bible studies alone?

When the book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life was published in 1968, I memorized the answers to all the questions in the 22 chapters. In this way I was able to use the book in teaching others. I also memorized the answers to the questions in various other Bible study aids published by the Watchtower Society. When the generously illustrated publication My Book of Bible Stories was released in 1978, I soon memorized the pages on which the illustrations are found.

Then, when the new illustrated study book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth was released in 1982, I developed a similar method of teaching. I have never seen the pictures, but I know them all by heart so as to explain them when teaching others. When using the book, I simply count the pages to a certain illustration and then explain it. This method makes it a lot easier for me to conduct Bible studies with the help of this publication.

Incidentally, after I started special pioneering I decided to try to get my brother Eddie to accept a regular Bible study with me. He agreed, although not with much enthusiasm. I was surprised to learn that he understood practically nothing of what he had patiently been reading to me all this time. “Eddie, how can you know so little about the Bible when you have been reading it to me for so long?” I asked him one day. His reply that he had done it just to help me made me realize all the more what a fine brother I had. It was not long, though, before he began to appreciate the precious truths of the Bible and made steady spiritual progress.

Dangers and Hardships

As you can imagine, being without sight has its problems. Why, several times I almost lost my life due to this! For example, I was walking home one night when I happened to bump into a man. He angrily blocked my way. Suddenly I felt something hard on my shoulder. My collar was turned up due to the cold weather, so I couldn’t tell what it was. I tried to excuse myself by explaining that I was blind.

But the man had been drinking and he paid no heed to me. I felt him lift whatever it was off my shoulder and say in a menacing tone, “And now what?” I raised my head and inquired, “What?” With that, he apparently realized that I really was blind and his tone of voice changed. Then I understood the danger that I had been in. The hard object he had placed on my shoulder was the blade of a machete. He had come close to cutting my head off! I had shown no fear simply because I did not realize the danger. The man went on his way, and I returned home safely.

There have been other difficulties, but these have only served to show me that the hand of Jehovah is not short. By now, there were seven in our family​—my mother, my brother Eddie, his wife and three children, and me. Due to a work shortage, Eddie was forced to take a job in another town, with all of us accompanying him. However, there the work situation got worse. Eddie lost his job and was out of work for almost a year.

Fortunately, I was able to continue as a special pioneer. Not one day did we go without sufficient food and clothing. How much I appreciated the words of Jesus: “Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you”!​—Matthew 6:33.

A Fruitful Ministry

Through the years, I have had other evidences of God’s blessing on my ministry. I recall one day visiting the home of a Protestant family, and a discussion about the hellfire doctrine promptly ensued. They called the pastor, who lived nearby. The pastor insisted that this teaching was correct, and the conversation went like this:

“There was once a ruler of the Incas named Atahuallpa who died many years ago,” I started. “He was an idolater and a polygamist, and he was fratricidal. So where is his soul?”

“Then he must be in hellfire,” answered the pastor.

“But this ruler knew nothing of the true God. He never read the Bible or came to a knowledge of it.”

“Then he must be in heaven,” he responded.

“Yet 1 Corinthians 6:9 says that idolaters will not inherit God’s Kingdom,” I replied.

Silence. Hearing no reply, a high-school teacher who had accompanied the pastor spoke up and said, “If the pastor is not able to answer your question, then would you please tell us? Just where is Atahuallpa’s soul?”

I then proceeded to show them from the Bible that the dead are unconscious in the grave and that God has set a future time of resurrection and judgment. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; John 5:28, 29; Acts 17:31) The explanation proved to have lasting effect on the schoolteacher because later he, of his own accord, looked up Jehovah’s Witnesses. He is now serving as a ministerial servant in one of the congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses here in Ecuador.

My heart is full of joy, as my entire family are now Jehovah’s Witnesses. Eddie, his wife and her sister, who had been preparing to become a nun, were baptized in 1969. My mother followed in 1970. I am so thankful to my family, as well as to other Witnesses, for their kindness to me. But, most of all, I am thankful to Jehovah God, who has opened my eyes (spiritually, of course) and given meaning to my life. With his help I have been able to live a full life despite my blindness.​—As told by Rodrigo Vaca.

[Blurb on page 23]

“If God existed, I would not have lost my hand or my eyes!” I would exclaim bitterly

[Blurb on page 25]

By memorizing all the answers and the pages on which the illustrations are found, I am able to conduct Bible studies

[Blurb on page 25]

I asked, ‘Where is the soul of Atahuallpa, an idolater and a polygamist?’

[Picture on page 24]

I find great joy in teaching the Bible to others