The child of a
broken home, Paulina was sent to be raised by her
grandmother at an early age. She had little
relationship with her mother and virtually none at
all with her father. In the midst of such turmoil,
Paulina’s grandmother was one blessing she could
count on.
“She was a beautiful
mother for me,” recalls Paulina. “She was always
teaching me about the Lord and she taught me how to
pray. She really was a woman of so much love. Her
example was so amazing to me—her example of love for
Christ. She prayed a lot.”
New Trials
At the age of 15,
Paulina’s life took an unexpected and painful turn
when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. For the
next few years she battled the disease, enduring
numerous surgeries and radiation treatments. At 17
she left her home in Quito, Ecuador to go to the
UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California for
further treatment. It was nearly two years before
her cancer was in remission.
She returned to
Ecuador and though the doctors said she was not
totally cured, Paulina felt certain that she was.
A few years later
she met a man, fell in love and moved in with him.
But the relationship was not a healthy one.
"We had very
difficult times," says Paulina. "We never gave our
lives to the Lord. Nothing went right. Nothing."
Their rocky
relationship lasted for 16 years before they finally
gave up and he left her. About the same time,
Paulina’s beloved grandmother became ill and passed
away soon thereafter.
"Everything happened
so fast and almost at the same time. The illness of
my grandmother, my [romantic] relationship and my
family were a mess all at once."
New Life
In the midst of her
sorrows, Paulina’s sister reached out to her. Her
sister and family attended the La República
Church—an Encounter with God Church located in
Quito, Ecuador. One of the primary ministries of the
church is a small group program that serves as a
tool for outreach, evangelism and pastoral care.
Paulina’s sister was starting one of the small
groups in her home and invited Paulina to join them.
The group started
studying the book A Purpose Driven Life by Rick
Warren as part of a church-wide 40 Days of Purpose
campaign.
As the weeks went
by, Paulina’s relationship with her sister and
family began to grow. More importantly, the things
they studied together began to tug at her heart and
she began to feel the Lord calling to her. She
started reading the Bible and other books that the
church offered. Her sister encouraged her and became
a strong support on her spiritual journey.
In September 2004,
Paulina attended a women’s retreat offered by the
República Church. There she made the decision to
place her faith in Jesus Christ.
"I felt it was
definite. I knew I had to start a new life," she
says as she fights back tears from the memory. "It
is a shame that I lost so much time. So much of my
life has been so far away from my God."
But since trusting
in Christ, Paulina has begun to trace His hand at
work throughout her life—from a caring grandmother
to her recovery from cancer to the present day
restorations of her life and relationship with
family from whom she was so alienated.
"I have seen so many
miracles in my life. I have a job. I have money to
support myself. My family is so wonderful. They have
received me again with open arms. I have an amazing
relationship with my mother. I never talked to her
or lived with her, but after my grandmother’s death
I started a new relationship with her. Each day I
feel it is stronger and stronger."
New Purpose
Beyond these
miracles, God is opening doors for Paulina to
minister to others—primarily to children in the
church who suffer some of the same hurts that she
endured. Many of the children come from broken and
dysfunctional homes. She watches as they weep
because of their hurts in life and is moved to help
as she sees them turn in prayer to the Lord.
Given her own past,
Paulina longs to see these children find at a young
age the hope of Christ that she missed for 40 years.
More recently, she has been grieving, praying and
ministering with a family in the church that has a
young child with cancer.
The fact that God
uses her for such purposes is still a bit
overwhelming. Emotion grips her face as she thinks
of what God has done and is doing in her life.
She finds it all difficult to put
into words. Her eyes well up. She smiles and says,
"It’s just so beautiful."
