Something went terribly wrong as Vitalina prepared to give birth to her second child in São Tomé and Príncipe, a tiny island nation off the coast of West Africa.

She began to bleed heavily, and the doctors mistakenly gave her the wrong type of blood during a blood transfusion. The baby boy was born safely, but Vitalina suffered a severe infection in her legs. To save her life, the doctors amputated both legs. Vitalina was just 19 years old.

After this tragedy, Vitalina’s husband left her for another woman. Depression overwhelmed her, and she considered suicide.

SID1803_ES_STP_550.MP4 - 1:05 (Vitalina Mendes)

“I felt a lot of pain, and I asked God,“Let me die, please kill me, God, because I cannot live with this pain. But God had a purpose, a plan for me, so He allowed me to live.”

Vitalina worked hard not to burden her family. She sewed to pay the bills and the people who assisted her with house chores she couldn’t do. After some time, a Seventh-day Adventist woman who washed Vitalina’s clothes got sick.

SID1803_ES_STP_548.MP4

0:58-1:00 - I wanted to find another person but the woman said,

1:06-1:17 - “Don’t worry, I am going to ask church members to come wash your clothes.” At that time, I wasn’t an Adventist, so I told her not to do it.

1:25-1:31- Butshe didn’t listen.She asked people at church, and they came and washed some of my clothes.

When a group of Adventist girls arrived at Vitalina’s home to help with washing clothes, she only gave them some of her clothes and told them that was all. But eager to help, the girls decided to look through the house for more items to clean. Then they took her clothes to the river and sang as they washed.

SID1803_ES_STP_548.MP4

1:49-2:00 - They washed and washed, and then they invited me to an evangelistic meeting. I attended it and decided to accept Jesus.

After her baptism, Vitalina was eager to share her new faith.She told her personal testimony to everyone who would listen. “Look at me,” she told people who stopped by her home. “God is working in me, and I’m able to work. God is wonderful, and you need to trust Him!”

Through her witnessing, Vitalina convinced seven people to go with her to the closest Adventist church. She even paid their bus fare for weeks. All seven people are now baptized members of the Adventist Church.

Vitalina also organized a Bible study group outside her home, and six more people were baptized.Soon, she led 40 people to baptism, including two of her children!

Church leaders began drafting plans to open a church in her neighborhood. Lacking funds to buy land, the church accepted an offer from Vitalina to build a temporary structure outside her house.

2:13-2:17 - I used to go to the closest Adventist church, but it was still far.

2:46- 3:01 - Now, I feel happy about this. I feel content because it’s much closer now. It was expensive to visit there, and I needed people to take me there because I couldn’t go alone.

This humble church is made of people who are on fire for mission. After the Sabbath service each week, they go out the door singing and shaking each other’s hands. As Vitalina shakes each hand, she is reminded that God will one day give us victory over everything that leaves us helpless.

3:20-3:25 - I pray for this community that we may win them for Christ.

3:31-3:36 - There are still a lot of people here who need Christ. This is my mission.

AdventistMission.org

“NOTES”

“I’m so happy to see the church at my front door,” Vitalina said, seated on a couch in her living room. “But even more than that, I’m happy to see so many people converted.”

Vitalina, 57, said the secret to leading others to Christ is being a friend.

“It is difficult to lead people to God without friendship,” she said. “I make friends with those in the community and invite them to church.”

Her favorite Bible verse is Matthew 6:33, where Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (NKJV).

“This verse encourages me because it says if I put God first, He will give me everything that I need,” she said. “And He has.”

NOTES

Vitalina’s condition began at birth because of a bad transfusion. The doctor told the parents that they needed to amputate both of her legs. The parents said let her die but do not cut her limbs. The doctors tried everything in their part but after a series of surgeries, Vitalina kept her legs but experience a lot of pain for many years.

“My condition today is not from a car of motorcycle accident, it happened during birth.”

This house church now conducts a regular Sabbath worship.

They sing a song about Jesus’ redemptive power through his blood.

At the end of worship everyone greets each other singing, the trumpet shall sound

Each hand she shakes is a reminder of God’s victory over our helplessness.

Vitalina shakes everyone’s hands at the end of worship. Each one comes to her house every Sabbath.

Young girl balancing the Bible on her head.

Vitalina Mendes Moreira

“My story goes like this. Before, I wasn’t Seventh-day Adventist.”

“I had a washer, someone who washed my clothes. But she got sick and could not wash my clothes anymore. So, I tried to find someone else to do the work. This new lady was an Adventist. She said, no. I am going to look for someone to wash for free. But I said no because I was not part of the church. But at that time, because I wasn’t a Seventh-day Adventist, I felt embarrassed and I would hide my dirty clothes when they came.”

But the girls from the Adventist church still came and looked for the clothes and washed them for Vitalina.

“After the first day the girls washed, they kept coming. Until I finally accepted an invitation to attend evangelist meeting for 15 days nearby. It was then that I decided to follow Jesus and I have a Seventh-day Adventist Church member since then.”

“ for someone in my condition. So the pastor suggested that I start a church close by. The pastor suggest we start a house church in my property and this would be easier for me. That’s how it begun. We prepared the space in front.”

“Now, it’s much closer for me and I am satisfied.”

“My prayer since I got baptized is that I can reach my community for Christ. I still pray this prayer because there are many souls around me to win for Christ.”

“In my family there are several people who are part of the church, one of my in-laws and out of my children only two are not Adventists but I have hope for them.”

As they walked to the buss stop, Vitalina would share a word of encouragement.

Vitalina would ask people to take her to church because of her condition. Little by little the entourage grew and more people from the community accepted Jesus.

When the youth walks through the community, many take notice and wonder how they are so happy before difficult trials. They often sing on the way to church irradiating joy and a spiritual message to those who they pass by.

Today, she enters her own gates where a new church is forming.

The ladies from the Adventist church came to her house to wash her clothes but Lina insisted that she was no from the church, how could she give them clothes to wash?

She felt incapable and weak and did not want to be a burden to anyone.

The girls took her clothes and walked the distance to the river. There they washed her clothes while they sang songs about heaven and salvation so the nearby women of the community could hear.

Vitalina’s story of victory has helped many people in this community who feel helpless. God helps us defeat giants when we are faithful.