His Heart Was Touched

“We were a family of 13 children,” Gloria Adame writes, “4 boys and 9 girls. It was 1984. Father returned home to Mexico and learned that while he was away working in the United States, our family had begun to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. He was not at all pleased, and he began to oppose us. It seemed that with each passing day, his heart became harder.

“We loved our father very much, and we wanted him to benefit from the life-giving knowledge we were receiving. Day after day, we prayed fervently to Jehovah, imploring him to open the way for us to speak with Father about Jehovah’s purposes. Jehovah heard our plea because he gave us the courage to gather each evening in the living room, where Father spent every night watching television. There, my mother and we girls would meet to read the daily Bible text.

“Mother conducted the discussion, and after reading the comments, we would take turns praying. When our youngest sister Marie, who was only five, prayed, she would petition fervently: ‘Jehovah, please soften Daddy’s heart so he will also become your Witness.’ It appeared that Father was not listening, for he would turn up the volume on the TV. However, as time went on, he began to lower the volume, until one night he shut it off altogether.

“That evening, as was our custom, Mother asked whose turn it was to read the text. To our great surprise, Father said: ‘It’s my turn.’ We were amazed but said nothing. Mother did not resist or ask questions but handed him the booklet Examining the Scriptures Daily. After he led the discussion of the Bible text, Mother asked whose turn it was to pray. ‘It’s my turn,’ Father said.

“We were dumbfounded. In the middle of the prayer, we could no longer control our tears. Father too began to cry, and he asked Jehovah to forgive him for having blasphemed Him. He also asked Mother to forgive him for having opposed us.

“So in 1986 opposition from our father ceased. In 1990 our family moved to Texas in the United States. In time, Father dedicated his life to Jehovah and symbolized it by water baptism, as did seven of us sisters. In April 1997, Father was appointed a Christian elder. To this day, considering the daily Bible text as a family is extremely important to us, and prayer to Jehovah is a foundation of our family life.”

[Picture on page 31]

1. Four daughters who pioneer in Mexico. Marie is in front

2. Juanita and Isaac Adame, with some of their children. Gloria is on the far right