I was born in 1980 in San Jose, Costa Rica. I was reared in a Catholic family, but I had the freedom to choose whether to believe their creed or not. In 2000, I met the love of my life, Jackeline – affectionately known by everyone as Jacky – and then I moved to Panama. We got married that same year. The following year, we welcomed to this world our one and only son, Jonathan.
Jacky grew up in a Christian family, but I did not. The first time I attended a worship service in a church of Christ was because of her. I liked what I saw and heard, but, at that moment of my life, it was not “my thing”. I visited a few more times but did not have that sense of “there is something I must do”. The apostle Peter wrote about the effect of Christian and faithful wives, and how their behavior may be of great help in the conversion of their husbands (1 Peter 3:1). Jacky did that. She never “pushed” me to be baptized. Neither did my in-laws. They just lived the Christian life and through their example, they showed me what a Christian is.
It was not until 2011 when I realized that no one in this world, not even my beloved wife, nor my beloved son, can save me from hell when this world ends, but Christ through my obedience to the Gospel. No one can wash my sins away but Him. So, on February, 13th, 2011, I was baptized (immersed in water) in obedience to our Lord for the remission of my sins and added by the Lord to His church (Acts 2:37-47).
As stated by the apostle Peter, being a newborn babe, I had a sincere desire for spiritual milk, a desire to grow and keep growing (1 Peter 2:2). As I was growing in the knowledge of our Savior (2 Peter 3:18) there was the need at our congregation to teach the children. Jacky was asked to do it, but she was very shy at that time, so, I volunteered to help her, and learn at the same time. A few months later, we were involved in encouraging our youth to remain faithful to the Lord. Later on, we got to meet young brethren from other congregations and started to have devotionals at our home. I was invited to speak during a camp, and it was then when the word of God was like a burning fire in my heart (Jeremiah 20:9). I applied to the Memphis School of Preaching and was accepted one day after my birthday (such a wonderful gift). We moved to Memphis, TN in August 2014 with only 200 dollars in our pockets. The Lord has been mindful of us and blessed us (Psalm 115:12) all the time. He never leaves us nor forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5). We made it. I finished the two years of Bible Studies. I did an extra year on World Missions. We returned to Panama and collaborated in two congregations before planting a congregation in the community of Las Villas, in Arraiján. We were so blessed during our time at Memphis in getting to know faithful and dedicated brethren who serve and love the Lord with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strengths (Mark 12:29-31). Many good friendships were born during that time. Lots of opportunities to work together in letting the world know about the greatness of our Savior through mission work, whether as speaker or interpreter. Because of those friendships, and God’s blessings, I have been able to translate articles, books, and tracts for faithful works of the Lord such as Apologetics Press, Christian Courier, House to House, The Light Network, Truth for the World and evangelism booklets such as Bobby Bates’ “Back to the Bible” and “Does It Matter?”, as well as Rob Whitacre’s “Believe the Bible”.
In 2019, one new opportunity came. Our Lord opened a door, a big and wonderful door. I was contacted by World Video Bible School (WVBS), after some good recommendations, and was asked if I can translate and present some videos in Spanish for them. I knew about the great work they do since our time in Memphis and was praying since then for an opportunity to work in a similar ministry. My prayers were answered. Those videos are now available at https://buscandolaverdad.org/, https://video.wvbs.org/, and also in WVBS and Gospel Broadcasting Network (GBN) apps.
After recording those videos, we had a meeting and I was asked if I was willing to translate the School materials and start an online Spanish school. I gladly accepted. Then, during a short conversation with Charles “Chuck” Horner (one of the instructors and founders of WVBS), after he was told that I was going to start the work of the Spanish school, he told me, “I have been praying for this to happen for 33 years”. At that moment, WVBS was in its 33rd year of operations. Since then, I am the Director of the “Escuela Bíblica en Línea” (Spanish Bible School).
Why am I sharing all these details with you? Because you could probably relate to this. We all have ups and downs in this life. It might be that you grew up in a Christian home or not. It might be that you got married to a Christian spouse or not. It might be that someone knocked at your door and wanted to have a Bible study with you or not. But, the main thing about this is, Christ is inviting all of us to come to Him (Matthew 11:28-30). God is waiting for our response to that invitation (2 Peter 3:9), but He is not going to wait forever. A decision must be made, and it must be made soon. You can be a Christian, just a Christian, just as those men were in Antioch about 2,000 years ago (Acts 11:26), today, by obeying the Gospel if you have not already. As a Christian, our Lord expects you and me to serve Him during the rest of our lives (Matthew 16:24-25; Colossians 3:23-24; Ephesians 6:5-8; 1 Peter 4:1-2).
Everything on this website is published and shared with the sincere desire to help you choose right about your eternal destiny. I want to see you in Heaven, but, most importantly, God wants you to be there. This is not because of what I wrote, but by having you opening your Bible and reading what God has revealed to all of us (2 Peter 1:3, 2 Timothy 3:16-17). Many of the articles will help you to clarify doubts. Others will help you to grow spiritually. Others will help you to open your eyes to matters related to sin in this world. The videos have the same purpose.
If I could be of any help, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will be more than glad to talk and meet with you if it is possible.
May God bless you richly today and always, and all glory be to Him, forever.
In brotherly love,
Marlon Retana.
The following videos were produced by World Video Bible School, and Spanish versions of them are available at https://buscandolaverdad.org/
Hundreds of FREE Faith-building, Bible-based videos are available at https://video.wvbs.org
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