[ FROM PERU TO NEW YORK ]
“I don’t want to see the Bible as just a textbook, I need to enjoy the Lord. Being here has shown me how wonderful God is, and I can’t get used to it.”
WHILE
passion for the Lord, their passion for Peruvians, it was unbelievable. I want to be like that. It was very encourag- ing to meet them!They were very sick because of the food and everything, but they continued. I was afraid because it was my first time translating in my city, and they told me ‘We can do this! We have the Holy Spirit’, and it was just so encouraging.”Now that Gina is a student, she is soaking up everything she can learn about God’s Word and minis - try. She grew up doing “Hora Silencio”, the Word of Life Quiet Time Diary that is used around the world. “Word of Life is a place for someone who wants to be challenged, and for someone who really wants to know the Lord bet- ter and better, no matter if you become a missionary or a lawyer, I think this year is essential. I came to deepen my faith. How can you serve a God if you don’t really know Him?” Now, as she sits through five hours of Bible teach - ing each day, she is seeing Scripture in a whole new way. “I don’t want to see the Bible as just a textbook, I need to enjoy the Lord. Being here has shown me how wonder- ful God is, and I can’t get used to it.”Pure joy overflows into everything Gina does, from her job washing dishes to evangelizing on the streets of New York City. “This year has been a crazy, wild, wonderful adventure. It has been amazing. God has taught me through every single class, every single teacher, every friendship, every book, and through His creation. It is so much more than I expected.
this is Gina’s first time at the New York Bible Institute, she is no stranger to Word of Life. The directors of the Word of Life property in Peru are close friends of hers, and they often spend holidays and quality time together as a family. She grew up going to Word of Life camps and conferences in Peru, and when she was a senior in high school, decided to look into attending the Bible Institute. “I grew up in a Christian environment, I had a Christian home and Christian school, and when I was 4 years old I realized the magnitude of sin. I realized it was a problem and that Jesus paid it all, and I knew I really wanted that in my life, but my life was good. It was through different trials and difficulties in my life that I experienced God’s love and comfort in amazing ways. Alejandro, he is the director’s son, studied at the Bible Institute in Argentina, but he passed away in 2011, so that was very hard for our family. He had such a relationship with God and intimacy with Him, he walked with the Lord and was so passionate about God and His people, and I thought ‘Wow, I want to be like that’, so he was one reason [that I wanted to study God’s Word].” Then, last April, a group of students from the New York Bible Institute came to Peru on a missions trip. “When that group came, I had the privilege to translate for them. They are really one of the reasons I’m here. Their
37
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker