The students of Love Guatemala all have unique stories of God’s grace moving in their lives. They have all been changed by the Father and His Word in different ways. Andrea, a teaching assistant in our literacy school, shared her story with me.
Before Andrea came to Love Guatemala, she was painfully shy. She did not want to be noticed. She did not want to be seen or heard. She avoided talking to anyone. Even when she spoke to her family, she seemed hateful, angry, and unhappy. She refused to wake up for school so many times that her mom eventually just stopped trying. She did what she wanted, which was not school or anything beneficial, preparing herself for a life of hopelessness, a life with no access to better or different. Similar to all of our lives as sinners, the story doesn’t end here. Love Guatemala interceded, and Andrea met Jesus. She met her glorious Savior and found it impossible to avoid heart change. This young lady is enthusiastic. She gave her life to the Lord at Love Guatemala, and now she talks with the confidence of the princess that she knows she is. She has excelled so much in the classroom that she is now a teaching assistant in the literacy program. She is excited to learn, to teach, to read God’s word, to go to English school, and to access opportunities that improve her life.
The God of the universe has given us direct communication with Him. He gave us the Bible to serve as anchorage to Him and all that He wants from us and for our lives. At Love Guatemala, it is our mission to share these words with our students and give them the hope that abounds in the gospel.
We know that we are incapable of reaching heavenly goodness or righteousness on our own and that there is one aid to this infinite struggle, Jesus. He came to rewrite our entire lives out of pure love for us. He came to endure unimaginable hardships to make our paths to heaven clear. When you encounter this Jesus, when you meet this Father, there is no way to avoid change. There is no way to crave a life of sin or a life devoid of God’s love anymore. When we meet Him, He reaches out. He won’t let us miss what He has for our lives. He won’t let us ignore His love, His majesty, His mercy, His glory. He calls us every day, despite our brokenness and fallenness, to seek a heart and life like His own. He is a life changer, and because of this, there is no neutral reaction to Him. There is no lukewarm with God. He did not want to suffer, but He did so that we could have full lives so that we could have the example and power to be good. He gave us this remarkable gift, all because He wants us in heaven with Him. When we truly encounter God, we will want a heart like His. We will run for His kingdom. We will lay down this world and pick up the cross and live like Him. To say that we will never fall short would be a lie. We will, and we do every day. But when we do, He willingly picks up our chains and breaks them, takes our hands, and loves us in spite of us, with a constant whisper, “It is okay. Try again and again to live like Me. I love you always.” This is the love story of Jesus and His children. This is amazing grace. This is life change. This is hope.
The Lord, in His loving way, picked Andrea up and moved her. This once broken girl is broken no longer. It is our goal at Love Guatemala to make this saving grace and this glorious Chain-breaker as evident and undeniable as possible for our students, to give them hope.