A pastor who helps victims of substance abuse, rescues minors from prostitution and provides a home for battered women survived an assassination attempt in Argentina.

Pastor Marcelo Nieva was driving in Rio Tercero when a gunman fired rounds from a 9mm handgun into the pastor’s car.  Neither Pastor Nieva nor his passenger was hit with any of the bullets that penetrated the car.

A forensic exam of the car found that a bullet struck a vertical beam in the car frame and was deflected millimeters, sending the round into the car’s interior.  Without the deflection, the bullet would have struck the pastor’s neck.

The Pastor credits the hand of God for keeping them safe during the attack.  He also said that he is not going to slow down doing the work of Jesus to placate the drug gangs that have been objecting to his helping those in need.

“We are struggling and working to uncover the truth of the facts,” he said to Chrsitian News. “We firmly believe that truth overcomes lies and the light will always vanquish darkness.”

Police have been slow to investigate and local residents have said they believe the pastor’s actions are exposing corruption among local officials when they don’t take steps to stop the drug gangs from harassing the pastor and church members.