What is your full name?
Widnelia Aponte AKA: Whitney/Widny
How old are you? 44 yo
Are you married? No
Do you have children and how many?
Yes, I have 2 amazing and beautiful children, 20 yo. (boy) and 22 yo. (girl).
What was your life before Christ?
I lived in Puerto Rico and spent my childhood years glued to my grandpa. Abuelo papai, his real name was Severo Esquilin. He was my hero. He owned a farm full of animals. We had a strong bond. My grandpa was a co- pastor of a church. On another note, my stepdad’s mom would take me to church with her at la Iglesia del Velo,(Church of the Veil) a very strict Pentecostal church. I remember seeing them feeling the Holy Spirit and me thinking I want to shake like them. At the age of 14, I came to Orlando Florida, well my mom decided to send me for vacation, and I ended up staying there and that was in 1993. Although, I went to church, I never gave my life to the Lord. I lived a reckless life after high school. Partying and just thinking I was living life. I started dating my kids’ father at the age of 19 and by 21,I got pregnant with my daughter. He never wanted to get married, so we lived together as a married couple and then I had my son at the age of 23. We ended up separating, we were not on the same page and I had dreams and goals which I strongly felt I would not be able to accomplish due to the way we were living. It was not an easy break up so that made me feel worse and I started going down a dark path smoking marijuana, drinking and I spent 6 months really doing horrible things and not thinking of the consequences.
How did you come to know Christ, what age and What made you decide to surrender your life to Him?
I am going to be transparent because I feel it is important that you understand how broken I was. One night after I had smoked marijuana, I laid down with my children in my bed. They wanted to sleep with mom, but my daughter wanted to be next to me, so I laid in the middle with my son to my right and my daughter to my left. I believe I was about 24 years old and my kids were little, suddenly, I heard a cry far away. When I finally woke up and turned the light on, my son was lying on the floor in a puddle of blood. He had fallen and landed on a glass of water which when it broke, it cut him behind the ear by the neck area. I grabbed him and his blood was just like a hose with pressure hitting me on my chest. I grabbed a towel and applied pressure. We went to the ER, and they took care of him and thank God he was fine and doing well. That was the scare of my life. I said, “Lord, I am sorry please, please, please help me.”
A week after, a lady invited me to a church. They had a guest preacher named Marylu Dones and that night and I gave my life to the Lord and decided to fully commit to Him and raise my children in church and teach them how amazing the love of God is. We are here because of His love for us, and we are here to serve Him and worship him.
Share your testimony
I served God for many years at the Spanish church. I love the Pentecostal churches I felt the fire of the Holy Spirit. I was serving as an Usher and the church was growing. I remember having to tell people they could not come in the church because we were at capacity. That broke my heart but eventually our pastor had a vision and we ended up building a big building with much more room. The church was beautiful. I got involved in the children’s ministry for a while then the evangelist group where we used to go preach at peoples houses and God would move in such beautiful way. I remember one day I was singing, and God showed me how while I was singing swords were coming out of my mouth. He was letting me know we were fighting a spiritual battle so I was like "ok let me sing louder then". Everything was so awesome. I kept building a relationship with the Lord and as I did that, I felt God closer and closer. His presence was so beautiful. I remember I spent about 5 years as a single mom fully dedicated to the calling. I went to Palm Coast and we were trying to open a church over there.
I met Pastor Samuel Lopez an amazing man of God and his wife. He was my mentor. I was like a little girl asking questions left and right. I also earned the driver's title, the brothers and sisters begged me to drive each time we went to Palm Coast, they said they felt safe because our Pastor would start talking and get all excited to talk about the word that he would forget the wheel. It was funny but not funny. We would go to church on Mondays for prayer night, Wednesdays for service and Sunday service and at 2 or 3 pm we would head to Palm Coast. We did that for 5 to 6 years. I had the most amazing time during those years. God was using me and revealing things and just working in my life and through my life in a way I had never imagined. Unfortunately, one day I decided to listen to someone give me a false prophecy and I ended up leaving that church to go to another Pentecostal church. There God continued to use me and build me and transform me regardless of the many trials I went through. I started preaching and singing. I didn’t think I could sing but hey when you are in the Spirit you would be surprised at the things you can do.
The Divorce
A few years went by and I went through a lot at that other church and eventually decided to go back to my previous church. Well, I met a “leader” we got married and what a HUGE mistake that was. He was supposed to be a Godly man and he wasn’t so I didn’t want to get divorced because I always thought I would dishonor God if I did so I stayed with him for 7 years until he had an affair. I decided to forgive him but one day my kids had enough and wrote me a letter. They could not deal with him anymore and told me things he had done to them and so I told him he had to leave. I finally got divorced and started going to Faith Assembly because I did not want to be in the same church he was. I could not get back in serving God because a lot had happened and I was just disconnected from God.
The Traumatic Experience
I started dating someone who was a high school friend that always had a crush on me according to him. He used to always tell my brother that. I stopped going to church as frequently. I only went whenever there was something special like Mother’s Day, Easter etc. We were together for 6 months. I thought I was finally happy and my kids loved him and we all had an amazing relationship. In July of 2017, we got in a rollover car accident. The truck rolled over 6 to 7 times, my daughter was ejected out of the truck and landed 20 feet from the vehicle. My son was untouched but I had lacerations in my legs and my partner at the time was traumatically injured. We were all taken to the hospital, we made it out, but he passed away a week later. This was extremely traumatic for my kids and I. We went from finally having joy and happiness in our lives to a complete nightmare of pain in all areas of our lives. I felt like I had no purpose in life and I could not find my way back to God. About 2 years went by after therapy and helping my children heal from the physical, mental and emotional damage. I did not leave my house but to go to work and home, I was dead inside. I used to talk to friends on Facebook and they were very supportive. One day one of our mutual friends was going through a divorce and he was feeling low. I started talking to him and encouraging him, we ended up dating and getting together. He's an amazing man. He is caring, detailed, a great father and super smart. We had a great relationship but again I fell in the same vicious cycle. I was not putting God first. After being with him for 4 years we ended up separating, he left and I said that’s "IT I am going to go back to church, I need God to help me I am broken, I am lost, and I can’t take it anymore.
The Reconciliation
On September of 2022, I reconciled with the Lord, and I said Lord you and I together, no more playing around. I need you. Please help me. I remember Rita Springer was at Faith that day and I ran to the altar, threw myself on the floor and said I am tired of doing things on my own, doing things Whitney’s way. Lord, I am all yours. Please take me back. Please forgive me and please heal my wounded heart. Ever since then, I have not missed church for anything in the world. I am focused and I am determined to follow God at any cost. Without Him, life has no meaning. Not only did I reconcile with the Lord but I also had to share God's love with the person I was with, I told him you MUST seek God. You cannot live life without Him. He started seeking the Lord as well and has been having some spiritual experiences with Him.
I could not be selfish and simply tell this amazing man that it was nice while it lasted and not care about his soul,He needed Salvation and Healing too.
How is your life now after becoming a daughter of the King?
My life is peaceful. I can honestly say that knowing God on a deep level is a special bond with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. When you decide to not play church but to get to know God on a deeper level, you experience that Peace that surpasses all understanding. You can be going through difficult times but when you have God on your side you have absolutely nothing to worry about.
What is your favorite verse that has impacted your life?
I have a few but the 2 that always speak to me are.
1 Corinthians 16:14
Let all that you do be done with love.
James 2:13
For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
What would you like to say to others that have not yet surrendered to God?
No matter what you have done in life that makes you feel unworthy of the mercy of God, unworthy of His Love, unworthy of His forgiveness, God LOVES you and He will not reject you. He says He will never leave you nor forsake you and He also says a broken and contrite heart, He will not despise. I encourage you to submerge yourself in the presence of God and allow Him to heal your wounded heart and restore your life in Him.
If you are currently serving God, Brother or Sister , I say to you, there is a lot of work to be done, get involved in church and serve as much as you can and every second counts. Talk to people about the goodness of the Lord. Preach the Gospel. You don’t need a stage, the stage is you. But most importantly, let all that you do be done in Love and always have mercy for others as the Lord has mercy for you and me.
