Wolfgang N. - My Conversion
How I Found My Way to Faith
Written in August 2013

My name is Wolfgang and I am 31 years old. I have been happily married to my wife Elisabeth since 2008; our happiness is completed by our three children: Philipp (4 years), Miriam (2 years) and Thomas (8 months).
I come from a family in which my childhood and youth were no "picnic", the parental home was anything but harmonious. My father was a not particularly successful entertainer who tried to keep his head above water with side jobs, who converted from Catholic to Protestantism in order to be able to marry several times. We changed residences countless times, getting a real foothold somewhere became an impossible thing. I was baptised a Roman Catholic, more out of tradition than conviction; faith only played a very subordinate role in our lives. Nevertheless, I joined the Jungschar (community of young Christians) and was even an altar boy.

I received the sacrament of First Communion because everyone at school was there, but when it came to the preparation of Confirmation, I was told by my parents that it was all about who would receive the more expensive gifts from their Confirmation godfather and that the whole thing was not important.
So I skipped Confirmation and (like most young people of my time) moved further and further away from the church. Mass attendance was limited to school services and sporadic Sunday masses, as well as the traditional services with the fire brigade.

12 July 2002 - the day that was to fundamentally change my future - through a stray text message during my military service, a wonderful person entered my life: Elisabeth, my future wife, through whom structure and stability finally were to be established .
Shortly after we met, my future parents-in-law converted and got rid of the constraints of esotericism, in which Ilse, Elisabeth's mother in particular, was entangled through family constellations, chakra teachings, homeopathy and much more.

At first we couldn't cope with the fact that from now on everything revolved around faith, we were downright irritated at times that they constantly urged us to attend Sunday mass. Elisabeth got carried away with some retreats, but at that time I strongly doubted the credibility of the priests who preached there and called down the Holy Spirit for healing. The in-laws also made a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, from where they brought me back a gold Miraculous Medal, which I have worn on a chain around my neck ever since.
Although I was so sceptical, things suddenly changed in my environment; the relationship with my father and stepmother crumbled visibly and resulted in my father kicking me out of the family when I criticised his lifestyle, as I was annoyed by the fact that he had a mistress in addition to his (now third) wife.

She experimented with white magic, which she also made me feel: the next morning, after waking up, I had a choking attack and could no longer breathe. Instinctively I prayed, fearing I might die, and the pressure subsided. Later I learned that my half-sister, who had been with me during the "family expulsion", had also suffered the same thing.
After moving into our house in 2007, which we had built in the meantime, Elisabeth and I decided to get married. So it happened that in 2008, in a unique form, I received the Sacrament of Confirmation from my marriage priest, which my parents had dubbed unnecessary. I felt a change in myself, but I couldn't assign it.
The wedding ceremony was very touching for us, as my biological mother and my siblings were also present, with whom I had had no contact for 15 years.
After the birth of our son Philipp (2009), the process of conversion began:
The night before our first Mass attendance as a family, my spouse had a nightmare, followed by another one a few weeks later in which a demon tried to take possession of her, which terrified her for days. Again, a few weeks later, in the middle of the night, I thought someone was walking through the house, I heard shrill laughter, woke up and saw a grimace.
The following day I called my wife as usual from work, where she told me that she had a real encounter with the powers of the Adversary that night, which manifested itself in her being paralysed for a short time. She wanted to move her hand towards me and turn her head, but she was unable to do either. I told Elisabeth about my experience that same night and we both immediately agreed that we had to change our lives and that God should become our centre.

My wife spent the following days with her parents, as she did not want to be left alone under any circumstances during my working hours out of fear.
The next night, which I spent alone, I heard footsteps again, this shrill laughter and squeaking noises that reminded me of the (well-known) scratching of long fingernails on a blackboard. Suddenly I felt a great pressure on my chest and noticed that the Miraculous Medal around my neck was getting hotter and hotter. I could hardly breathe and could not move. Instinctively I began to pray the "Hail Mary", immediately the pressure disappeared, drenched in sweat I straightened up, everything was quiet.
The next morning I told my wife about my experience.

From then on, we started praying the rosary together, went to confession and attended Holy Mass every Sunday. Since then we have been attending retreats, praise evenings and healing retreats, going on pilgrimage to Medjugorje and raising our now three children in the Christian faith. Furthermore, we have enrolled in the "Movement of Pure Hearts for Married Couples".
It was a special honour for me to have the opportuniy to tell Father Rufus Pereira, the exorcist and charismatic Father who shortly afterwards deceased, about my conversion, to be blessed by him. He helped me a lot, especially to forgive my parents and to come to terms with my past.
Since 2012, I have also been active as a parish councillor in my parish.

I thank our Lord and God for this hard but effective "kick in the backside" and with the intercession of Mary and the mercy of Jesus I ask for further strengthening in faith, for peace and unity all over the world.

Amen!