She stands no taller than 5’5″. Her build is small, her nature unassuming. She looks like one of us, my team that is. She is not much older than most of us and with her tank tops, jeans and sunglasses, she blends right in. Her smile is big and vibrant and her heart is even bigger and full of life. Her name means favor or grace and that she exemplifies. Her story is one of God’s relentless grace.
Born and raised in Nicaragua, Ana had a tough life and struggled with low self worth and a negative perception of God that led her to drugs and prostitution. After seeing amazing change in one of her friends who had been a Christian for many years, but had an encounter with God that caused her to have a new revelation of His love and how He views her, Ana decided that she wanted that same conviction. Her friend introduced her to YWAM (Youth With A Mission) and she began her journey, propelled by the love of God, to freedom from the life she had been living. This journey took her to Thailand where she experienced an encounter that would forever change the course of her life.
In Thailand, Ana met a 7 year old girl named, *Emma, in one of the bars. Emma had been forced into prostitution by her parents. She immediately took a liking to Ana and started confiding in her about her life and her family. Ana decided that she wanted to help Emma and went to the police concerning the abuse and work of the streets the child was being forced to endure. Soon after Ana’s attempts to free her, Emma’s father found out about what was taking place and began to threaten Ana. He was a very powerful man and the authorities advised Ana, for her very life’s sake, to leave the country quickly and secretly. They arranged for her swift, clandestine exit. Ana was heartbroken. She had to leave Emma behind. She cried in the airport and on the entire flight back to Nicaragua.
A few months later, while jogging a little further past her neighborhood than she was used to, Ana stumbled upon her local city dump. As she looked in, she noticed several people “working” in the dump. She peered closer and realized that many of the “workers” were children. These families were poor and they scavenged the dump for anything of value that they could use, sell or eat. Ana felt that familiar tug on her heart that she felt when she met Emma and knew that God was calling her to not just empathize with these people in the dump but to take action. She began preparing meals, taking them to the dump and distributing them out of the back of her trunk to the families that work in the dump. She was limited in how much she could do. There were times during the rainy season when the rain was so violent that neither she nor the men and women who came to her car for food could stand out in the elements any longer, and she would have to cut the food distribution time short. It was at that time that she prayed and asked God to provide a home and a center for her close to the dump so she could serve the people there better.
God answered her prayer. Merely 200 meters outside the dump, Ana was able to purchase a home that had a building that was perfect for her feeding program. At barely 30 years old, Ana has been through so much and now she abandons her life to the service of others. She founded an organization called Bethel Center of Hope. Through the support of generous donors, Bethel is able to provide school uniforms and supplies for all the children who previously worked at the dump. They now all attend school. Ana also has a feeding program everyday after school and bible study two days a week. Over 70 children come to the center daily where they play and receive dinner before they head home. Ana still visits the dump periodically and feeds and prays for the men and women who still work there. We had the amazing opportunity to accompany and serve with her this month. She continues to have big dreams to provide opportunities for the men and women to provide for their families without having to dig through trash at the dump. God’s grace and favor is on her and her ministry. She is truly an unsung hero. Check out her ministry site: www.bethelcenterofhope.org
*Name changed to protect privacy
