Anavella’s Testimony

Anavella’s Baptism

A new life is born.

Anavella was baptized this past May during our annual youth retreat. She has been part of the Esperanza de Ana Community since 2016, when she was about 11 years old. She is Hugo’s younger sister, and she and her seven siblings have all been part of EA through the years.

We have had the privilege of watching Anavella grow from a young girl into a mother. Her story has included pain, difficult relationships, and wounds that she is still learning to release. But in recent months, we have also seen God drawing her closer to Himself and giving her new hope for her life and for the home she is building for her son.

Today, Anavella shares how God is meeting her in motherhood, healing the wounds of her past, and teaching her to walk forward with hope.

Today, Anavella shares

how God is meeting her in motherhood, healing the wounds of her past, and teaching her to walk forward with hope.

Hello, my name is Anavella. I am 21 years old and a mother, and I want to share what God has been doing in my life.

Choosing to be baptized marked the beginning of a transformation in my heart. When I came out of the water, I felt the weight of my past, the guilt from my mistakes, and the burdens I carried being lifted. God was giving me the opportunity to begin again.

Becoming a mother made me recognize how wounded I still was. Because of painful experiences in my past, I often felt afraid and wondered whether I could guide my son well. But God heard my cry. He is giving me peace that does not depend on perfect circumstances, but on knowing He is in control.

God is giving me wisdom to forgive my son’s father and release the hurt I have carried. He is replacing bitterness with maturity and shaping me into a stronger, more compassionate woman.

I want my home to be a refuge of peace. I am learning to guide my son with patience, tenderness, and love, not in my own strength, but in God’s.

I know I will make mistakes, but guilt no longer controls my life because God’s forgiveness has made me free. He has rescued me, healed my wounds, restored my dignity, and shown me that my family and I have a future filled with hope.

Please pray that God will continue healing my heart and give my son’s father and me maturity and peace as we raise our child with love.

Young people who were baptized at past camps celebrate Anavella’s step of faith and obedience.

Anavella’s story reminds us why long-term presence matters. For nearly ten years, we have had the privilege of knowing her, loving her, and walking beside her as she has grown from a child into a young woman and mother. Her journey is not finished, but God is faithfully at work—bringing healing, forming her faith, and giving her hope for the future.

Thank you for making this kind of steady, relational discipleship possible. Please continue praying for Anavella, for healing within her family, and for wisdom and peace as she and her son’s father seek to raise their child with love.