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Pain, heart palpitations and anxiety are common heart attack symptoms. But these sensations aren’t just tied to physical ailments—they can be paired with the pains associated with spiritual lostness. Often those far from God ache from fears of the past, present and future.

Raul was well acquainted with both types of heart pains the day he met an East-West short-term missionary serving in his Latin American nation.

Just weeks before her visit, Raul suffered from a heart attack that should have taken his life. He was frail and weak when he opened his home to this foreign guest.

She was accompanied by members of the local church who’d cared for him since he’d been released from the hospital. Historically opposed to organized faith, Raul was captivated by the amount of love, comfort and care he received from these formerly unfamiliar faces. He was drawn to learn more about their Savior by the way they lived with great joy and compassion.

That’s why he let the missionary visit him that day.

Raul was captivated by her words from the moment she sat down in his living room. His heart—with all of its aches and pains—was open and Raul fixated on the truths the missionary shared about Jesus Christ.

With tears in his eyes, he exclaimed the words, “¡Creo en Jesús!” (I believe in Jesus).

He understood in that moment that his life was spared just a few weeks earlier so that he’d have an opportunity to have a relationship with his true Heavenly Father. God’s eyes were on his child and brought him home to a place of belonging, love and forgiveness.

Raul’s heart was healed in the greatest way.

Before the missionary left, she passed Raul’s house one last time. With a smile on his face, she could tell he was in less pain, had more energy and—most importantly—hope for the future.