BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 Two local pastors from Valley Bible Fellowship helped save a man’s life after he stood on the edge of a bridge over Highway 99 contemplating suicide. Back in March, Pastor John Tweed and Lead Pastor Ron Vietti were called to the scene of a man trying to take his own life.<\/p>\n
Robert Ochoa stood over the edge of the bridge for nearly five hours before the pastors intervened.<\/p>\n
“I stood over the edge of the bridge from 5:01 AM to 9:48 AM. If Pastor Ron Vietti and Pastor John Tweed hadn\u2019t come to see me and pray with me. I wouldn\u2019t be here right now,” Ochoa said.<\/p>\n
Ochoa has been a parishioner at Valley Bible Fellowship for a few years and has been working with Tweed for some time. Tweed told me Ochoa had hit his breaking point, losing almost everything and not knowing where to turn.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s important if you are feeling that way of any inclination. Everybody gets depressed to a certain point. Where we just want to end it all, everybody has been there. If you are at that point God wants you to reach out, and there are a lot of people who are willing to help,” Tweed said.<\/p>\n
Vietti said finding purpose is important to pull someone out of a dark place and encourage them to keep pushing forward.<\/p>\n
“I feel that one of the major things that helps us combat suicide is purpose. They say people with strong purpose in fact those who go to church regularly are a lot less likely to be suicidal. I told him, brother, you got purpose we got to get you off this bridge!” Vietti said.<\/p>\n
Ochoa told me his life has shifted in the right direction since that day. His stolen car was returned, he found a new place to live, and he is working on himself each day.<\/p>\n
“If I would have jumped in front of them, I feel like I would have been a coward to Jesus. That\u2019s what the devil wanted me to do. Ever since that day, it changed my life. Changed the way I treat people. People have approached me and told me they see the Holy Spirit in me; it\u2019s really been a blessing,” Ochoa said.<\/p>\n
If you or someone you know is in crisis, reach out call or text 988, or talk to someone you trust.<\/p>\n
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