Graciela: Grace of God

Kids’ Stories

• Her name means grace of God. Considering the contrast between her past and her present, “grace of God” fits her story perfectly. Graciela: Grace of God

Take one

Graciela arrived at Esperanza Viva-Puebla as an eight-year-old, who could not read or write. “I didn’t want to be anything when I grew up because I didn’t know how to do anything… those first years of school were the hardest,” she says.

It was in 6th grade when her distinct love for numbers began to emerge. Although oftentimes difficult, what she found most fascinating about her math classes was searching for the solution. Yet even when she began high school, she said she never really considered going to college. “I thought, ‘Okay, I’ll do what [schoolwork] they ask of me,’ but I never saw myself as capable of studying for a degree.”

Take two

Graciela, now 21, is halfway into her three-year Accounting and Finance degree. And not only is she doing great in school, she also helps with the accounting for Esperanza Viva Youth Home and Nations Church expenditures, which she’s been doing since the age of 18. She saw a need within the ministry and took the initiative to invest her God-given talents into His work.

By God’s grace, Graciela has been able to reach higher and achieve greater things than she ever believed possible, and likewise God is calling each one of us to greater things.

Will you take the initiative, like Graciela did, to invest what God has given you, and change the course of lives for generations?

• ​At Esperanza Viva Youth Home we currently have 15 young adults who, like Graciela, may have arrived with no hope of “being something” someday. With your help, these bright young people will have the opportunities they need to reach their potential through higher education. Consider giving to the Lasting Hope Career Scholarship Fund today and help young people like Graciela discover all they can become.