by Brian Burkholder

On December 5, 1973, little five-month-old Norma Rivera Garcia was pulled from the flames of her burning house. She had been trapped in a plastic bathtub in the kitchen, a room that had been almost completely destroyed in the fire. Her rescue was both a tragedy and a miracle. The tragedy was that her mother had left her and her one-year-old brother unattended in the home. It was a miracle because the young men that rescued her almost left her behind until they heard the cries of the baby girl slowly being burned along with the melting plastic tub.

But the tragedy that Norma suffered that day was only the beginning of a life filled with suffering, rejection and sadness. More than 50 per cent of her body was burned, mainly on her face, arms and legs. She would learn to live with the physical scars that would remain, but it was the emotional wounds that she received that would leave her hurt, humiliated and lonely.

That same day, when her mother returned to find the smoldering house, the neighbors, who lovingly had been caring for this now burned baby, handed her to her mother expecting a passionate and sympathetic response. But to their shock and dismay the mother stated very coldly, “What am I supposed to do with this!” She handed Norma back to the neighbors, wanting nothing to do with her suffering daughter.

It was her grandmother who had to take her to the hospital. For five months Norma hung between life and death. Her face had swollen so much that it looked like an inflated balloon. The doctors continually worked and operated on the third degree burns that covered much of her growing but scarred body. She was released into her family’s care after seven months of hospitalization.

Much of her young life was spent being swapped around among the family members. By the time she was three, her father had abandoned the family, her home was shattered, and her mother physically abused her and blamed her for all of their problems. At the age of five she was given to her alcoholic grandmother who raised her until she turned fifteen.

In 1981, Norma was finally allowed to enter school like any normal child. As might be expected, she was not very well accepted. To the contrary, she tells that everyday she literally ran home from school to escape her tormentors as they called her “witch and mummy.”

She desperately looked for acceptance. She felt worthless and rejected. Much of her day was passed by daydreaming… “What would my life have been like without the burning.” As she looked in the mirror, she often wondered… “What would I have looked like without these terrible scars.”

In her search for love and acceptance she fled to the only institution that she knew - the Catholic Church. “Here I will be given an opportunity to find my niche in life,” she thought. From age fifteen on she boarded at a Catholic school for girls and involved herself in the church’s activities and rituals. It was here that she became acquainted with a young man named Victor Cano. Victor’s family had always been very active in the church as well as its social programs. In spite of her handicapped and scarred appearance, Victor and she fell in love and were married in 1995.

Surprisingly, there was still an emptiness and a void in her life that she was not able to fill. This was confusing to her; she had what she had always been looking for - a husband who truly loved her and a church that gave her an opportunity to serve - but still her life was not complete. Little did she know that God was working behind the scenes, setting the stage for a remarkable transformation that would give her everything for which she had ever hoped.

A few months before, on December 25, 1995, Victor’s brother Rodolfo had been saved at the Bible Baptist Church of Lindavista in Mexico City. It amazed Norma and Victor how Rodolfo’s life had changed since his salvation. At first they rejected his words and testimony as he shared with them what Christ had done and was doing in his life. However, it did not take long for their interest to be sparked enough for them to begin attending the services occasionally.

Slowly but surely the Word of God began convicting and convincing them of the truth of salvation. Norma was first. On Sunday February 19, 1996, she trusted Jesus Christ as her own personal Savior. About a month and a half later on April 5, Victor was gloriously saved.

On June 23, both Victor and Norma followed the Lord in Believer’s baptism. Victor is now enrolled in the Bible college in Mexico City, training for the ministry. Norma describes her life now that she is a child of God by simply stating, “My life is now complete; I have found what I was looking for!”

For the second time in her life, Norma had been rescued. Her first life-changing experience was the result of neglect and a lack of love. The second was just the opposite; the love of Christ found a burned, abused and empty young lady and tenderly and gently pulled her from the eternal flames.

After 23 operations there is little more that the doctors can do to better her outward appearance, but the real Norma has been wonderfully saved and transformed. Her life is now occupied in sharing her glorious testimony, for after all…she had been pulled from the fire…twice!!

The Brian Burkholder family served in Mexico City for nine years as church planting missionaries. The Bible Baptist Church of Lindavista was the first church that God enabled them to start. Brian now serves as Co-Director for Central America.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Richard & Elizabeth Conrad -  JAPAN
David & Marilyn Cook -  USA
Douglas & Michelle Cook Jr -  MILITARY - GERMANY