Chito

ContextChito Aguilar is a pastor in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, a city marked by drug cartel violence. His community faces constant extortion and threats: traffickers demand money for protection, while pastors are murdered and churches are targeted. Despite the danger, Chito leads about 25 churches in the region and maintains social work in crime-ridden areas.

The TrialThe crisis came when Chito tried to open a food distribution center in a neighborhood controlled by traffickers. The local leader, armed and flaunting expensive jewelry, confronted him and threatened to kill him. Chito was grabbed and taken outside, but his faith protected him. Before his conversion, he had been a communist leader and drug trafficker, arrested in a $1 million heroin deal.

Faith and OutcomeIn prison, a visitor named Guillermo offered God's word to Chito, who accepted without truly believing. His wife prayed for God to remove the evidence against him. Miraculously, at trial, the FBI witnesses did not recognize him, fingerprints didn't match, and videos didn't show his face. Chito was freed, but only after losing everything and facing further trials did he acknowledge God's hand in his life.