Iveth Gaona
Iveth Gaona is a first year Bible Institute student and a second generation Christian. She is also able to fluently speak Spanish.
Her family is originally from Mexico and moved to the US in 2000 for a better life. Iveth’s mom was the first in the family to get saved through a faithful Christian neighbor. The neighbor would consistently invite Iveth’s mom to church. Her mom eventually said “yes” to get her to stop asking. She trusted Christ as her Savior almost immediately, and the rest is history for the Gaona family! Iveth trusted Christ for her rescue when she was in third grade, yet she didn’t actually take her faith very seriously until she was in middle school. This stage of life made it clear that she needed to make faith more than a single prayer, but a lifestyle. Iveth wasn’t a “bad kid.” She didn’t use drugs or drink, but we all have our own agenda. Iveth is no different and, thankfully, God brought her to a place of understanding and committing herself to surrender to His plans. Iveth desired to build a career around a more worldly motive: success. As she puts it, “I was so hardheaded...building a life full of success...my mindset was so different.” The central focus of her high school years was making sure her grades were excellent. Thank God, He always has the best plan laid out for His children, even when they don’t recognize it. The Lord sometimes uses unexpected ways to create in us a heart of dedication unto Him. For Iveth and her sister, that “unexpected way” was their older brother. Her older brother has a more troubled past. He had a history of getting himself into some garbage. Thankfully, once again, God is in control and He had other plans. God used their pastor, who had previously attended Word of Life Argentina, to convince him that some time spent at Word of Life New York would do him some good. Over Christmas break, Iveth’s family noticed a difference. He had a drive in pushing his sisters to follow in his positive steps and attend the BI for a year. Because Iveth had not yet surrendered her goals to the Lord, the thought of taking a year off was not in her plan. Unwilling to come to school here, she continually rejected him. Much like her mom wanted to get their neighbor “off her back,” Iveth decided to attend Campus Preview Days in order to get “Big Brother” off her back. To her surprise, she fell in love with the Christ-centered atmosphere. So much so, she came three other times. The following steps of her journey here are powerful in the sense of seeing God’s ability to provide for His children in an up-close and personal way. Iveth’s parents are factory workers, and she wasn’t able to receive government aid. While she’s legally allowed to be here, she is not a technical citizen. Due to her situation, for her and her sister, finances were the next hurdle in attending Word of Life. But they were enabled to overcome that hurdle, thanks to the body of Christ working together. For the longest time, she didn’t know whether or not she would come, but just a week before attending,
after many miraculous and wonderful people of God gave of their personal finances, she and her sister were informed that they would be able to come to Word of Life that coming week. Often, we don’t want to let go. Much like Iveth expressed, we are hardheaded too. Thankfully, the Lord uses all sorts of situations in order to show us His might. Most frequently it’s in the mundane everyday that the Lord likes to work. Iveth has been challenged in her time here, but she is absolutely loving this experience of making eternal investments while spending a year growing deeper into the Word of God. She and her sister wouldn’t be here without the support of Christian community too. Praise the Lord for those faithful saints, willing to pray and give generously for the cause of bettering the body. Most frequently it’s in the mundane everyday that the Lord likes to work.
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Word of Life Bible Institute
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