When Walking Away is the Only Choice
Rick isn't the typical visitor to the MEDIA Alliance offices.
Rick had built a thriving career in South America. As a successful builder, he and his wife—an architect—were creating a good life for their young children. Their future was bright, filled with the promise of new projects, growing opportunities, and a home they had carefully built together.
But everything changed in an instant.
A drug cartel quietly moved into one of Rick’s housing developments. When he discovered what was happening and confronted them, he was met with the most extreme response—a direct threat on his life. The message was clear: walk away, or there would be consequences.
In that moment, Rick faced an impossible choice. Stay and risk his life, or leave everything behind—his business, his home, and the life they had worked so hard to build. For the safety of their family, they made their choice.
Less than three weeks later, Rick moved to the United States and moved in with his parents in the area. While his heart was full of trust in God's guidance, his life was now full of uncertainty. That’s when he found himself at the MEDIA Alliance offices.
Rick isn't the typical visitor to the MEDIA Alliance offices, but when he walked through our doors, he didn’t just find a meeting—he also found a refuge. We set aside time to have lunch, sit with him, and listen to his story. We prayed with him, encouraged him, and reminded him that even in this unexpected and painful transition, God was still at work.
At MEDIA Alliance, our mission goes beyond media training and global events. We stand alongside our international brothers and sisters in their greatest moments of need. Whether equipping leaders for ministry or offering a listening ear and a prayer for those facing crisis, we are honored to be part of what God is doing around the world.
From Tragedy to Forgiveness
Vera’s life has been marked by unimaginable loss. She grew up in a loving, traditional family, where kindness and compassion were daily values instilled by her parents. But in 2004, her world was shattered in an instant when her sister’s abusive husband stormed into their home and killed both her sister and her mother.
The grief that followed was all-consuming. Within a year, the weight of sorrow claimed her father as well. Vera was left feeling hollow, trapped in a cycle of pain and hatred.
“I was alive, but I felt like I was dead,” Vera recalls. “I had no joy, no peace, only pain.”
But in the midst of despair, hope came from an unexpected source—her young daughter. One day, after returning from church, she urged Vera to come with her.
“There is someone you should meet,” her daughter said.
Skeptical but willing, Vera attended a service. That day, she encountered something she had never known before—the love of Jesus.
“The moment I heard the sermon, I was touched,” she says. “I had been living without hope, but now I learned there was hope for me, my future, and my family.”
Yet even as faith transformed her life, one burden remained: her hatred for the man who had destroyed her family.
“I knew I had to do something for the person who killed my sister and my mother,” Vera says.
Years after becoming a Christian, she made a decision that would set her free. She wrote a letter to her brother-in-law in prison, enclosing a Bible with highlighted verses.
“I told him we had forgiven him,” she says. “It was a release. I had been a captive of so much anger, but now I felt free.”
She never heard back from him directly, but recently, a local pastor informed her that the man now attends Bible studies in prison.
“I don’t know if he is a believer,” Vera says. “But I pray for him. He has caused so much damage, but I believe in God’s redemption. My dream is to meet him one day and tell him face to face that because of Jesus, I can forgive him.”
For Vera, healing has come not only through faith but also through an unexpected companion—a small radio.
“One day at church, I received a radio, and I started listening to the programs on Radio Emanuel,” she shares. “It has been my daily companion, helping me regain strength and emerge from my darkest moments.”
Today, Vera’s story stands as a powerful testimony of transformation. The wounds of the past remain, but they no longer define her. Instead, her life is a testament to forgiveness, faith, and the power of the Gospel to turn even the deepest pain into hope.
It's our joy at MEDIA Alliance International to stand with ministries like Radio Emanuel in Albania as they "hold forth the word of life."