BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — 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.
Robert Ochoa stood over the edge of the bridge for nearly five hours before the pastors intervened.
"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’t come to see me and pray with me. I wouldn’t be here right now," Ochoa said.
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.
"It’s 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.
Vietti said finding purpose is important to pull someone out of a dark place and encourage them to keep pushing forward.
"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.
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.
"If I would have jumped in front of them, I feel like I would have been a coward to Jesus. That’s 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’s really been a blessing," Ochoa said.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, reach out call or text 988, or talk to someone you trust.
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