Jonathon Fana
Not one, or two, but seven. That’s how many bullets ripped through Jonathon Fana’s body as he ran from island police.
I listened to Jonathon’s story in astonishment as he showed me the bullet holes and the long, jagged scars on his neck and abdomen. How could he have survived such injuries? Yet there he stood in front of me, very much alive. I would soon learn from Jonathon that those seven bullets, far from ending his life, actually played a part in giving him a brand new life.
Jonathon told me that it’s not uncommon for police in the Caribbean nation of the Dominican Republic to shoot first and ask questions later. A few days before those seven bullets stopped him in his tracks, Jonathon had been arrested on drug charges, but was released for lack of evidence. This time—during yet another drug raid—the police didn’t hesitate to shoot as he fled the scene.
Jonathon’s wounds landed him in a hospital rather than a prison, for which he was thankful. Yet he knew he was already a prisoner—to drugs. He had no doubt that he would be pulled back into his old addictions after his release. As Jonathon lay in a hospital bed contemplating his close brush with death, he wondered if perhaps God was trying to get his attention.
Jonathon remembered hearing of a Christian drug rehab center in the area, and once released from the hospital, he went there searching for answers. The director of that drug rehab center, José Martinez, disciples recovering addicts using the Bible and The Disciple-Making Minister, printed by Heaven’s Family in the Dominican Republic. José is also very thankful for a recent micro-loan from our Prison Ministry & Rehab Fund that has helped finance the center’s soap-making business. That business helps pay their operating expenses.
Amazingly, none of the bullets struck Jonathon’s vital organs or nerves
When Jonathon arrived, pastor José led him to Jesus, and Jesus freed him from his drug addiction. Jonathon is growing in the Lord, and he is convinced that God preserved his life for a reason. He hopes to one day help other addicts find the same freedom he has found—without the aid of seven bullets.
