Dr. Carlos Tuma emailed our Cru Resources office from Argentina in November 2018. He requested information regarding evangelistic materials to use at the Miami Marathon just two months later. As I emailed back and forth with him, we worked out a plan. Dr. Tuma paid for us to ship 2,000 copies of The Four Spiritual Laws booklets to a friend of his in Miami who coordinated with him to distribute 1,300 of the booklets at the event. And Dr. Tuma himself (almost 73 years old at the time) traveled to Miami from his home in Argentina to join over 20,000 other runners as an active participant in that world-famous race!
Dr. Tuma recently emailed me again from Argentina to inquire about ordering copies of a booklet our office distributes called Discovering God in Chinese Characters (there is a large Chinese population in Argentina), as well as copies of a bilingual (English-Spanish) version of The Four Spiritual Laws booklet and the Spanish version of Have You Made the Wonderful Discovery of The Spirit-filled Life? booklet. He also emailed me his testimony of how he came to personal faith in Christ through Campus Crusade ministry in Argentina years ago. (See below)
It is our pleasure to share Dr. Tuma’s story as an example of one of many people who came to Christ through the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry decades ago and who are still faithfully involved in helping other people come to faith in Christ. We are grateful for the ministry that our Cru Resources office has in providing evangelistic and discipleship materials to Christians who are “on mission” for the Lord. And we are grateful for your ministry partnership with us!
May my life story help many others experience transformation, as I did. (Dr. Carlos Tuma)
Years ago, when I was studying medicine at the University of Argentina, my life was filled with worry and spiritual sickness. Rebellious and full of pride, I had a snobbish attitude and a desire to change everything that had been done before I came on the scene. Even though my studies had been going well, my dedication to my academic work began to decline due to an increasing attraction I felt for the night life of Buenos Aires and the temptations it offered.
I became involved in a very promiscuous lifestyle and continued in it until I started questioning why I was living this way, when it didn’t bring me any happiness. I expressed my doubts to a number of other people, but they told me that having these kinds of experiences was a necessary part of life. Their responses left me very confused.
Unsettled questions kept going through my mind until one day two students involved with the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry on my campus approached me. They asked if I would be willing to take a survey, to which I agreed. The questions in the survey asked if I believed in God, if I knew who Jesus Christ was, and if I felt the need for a more personal faith. When I answered “yes” the students prayed for me and gave me a copy of the New Testament, which was something I had never seen before.
Following that encounter, I started reading the New Testament with great interest, but I didn’t understand it. After some time passed, I decided to go to the Campus Crusade for Christ office, where I intended to discuss my personal problems and hopefully find a human solution. But the Campus Crusade staff members told me that the only solution to my conflict was to trust what the Bible said and to accept Christ as my Savior and Lord.
I was surprised by what they said and replied that I knew about religion and didn’t see Christ as being the practical solution to my personal problems. But they continued answering my questions and presenting the truth of the Gospel message. My faith was weak, and I didn’t know how to pray, but finally, at 7:00 p.m. on October 25, 1967, I asked Jesus Christ to come into my life, trusting in what the Bible says, “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself . . . and this is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life.” (1 John 5:10-12)
The day after my decision, I began to feel a desire to read the Bible, and I started to understand it! I parted ways with my friends who had been a bad influence on me, and I resumed my studies with new zeal. When Christ began directing my life, He dealt with my promiscuity problem. My mindset about women began to change, and I learned to have pure thoughts toward them and to respect them. The following year, while attending a Christian retreat for college students in Uruguay, I met Graciela, and a year and a half later we were married.
I went on to graduate as a doctor. I have spoken about my changed life in Christ in churches, universities, hospitals, libraries, theaters, on the radio, etc. I haven’t spoken with persuasive words based on human intelligence but with power and authority from God, supported by a changed life through the work of Jesus Christ.
Carlos first met his future wife, Graciela, at a Christian retreat for college students. Josh McDowell was the speaker at that retreat. Josh has traveled the world as a powerful evangelistic speaker for Cru/Campus Crusade for Christ on college campuses and other venues for over fifty years.
