Hector spent his life trying to get his father’s approval, but nothing he did ever seemed to measure up.
If you came to one of our Friends Events last month, you got a chance to hear Hector’s story. How as a child, he saw his brothers brow-beaten by an overly-demanding father. How he said to himself, “I want to be the son my father has been hoping for.”
Sadly, Hector didn’t succeed. His father took all he had to offer, and demanded even more.
But thankfully, others stepped in to provide Hector with the approval that his father couldn’t give him. An older brother became a father-figure while he was around. And the Vida Schools became a place of refuge and hope for him, where he experienced the love of his heavenly Father – love that didn’t have to be earned.
After graduation, Les & Rita invited Hector to be a teacher in the Vida schools, and then a principal. And Hector began to learn what it meant to share God’s father-love with the students in his care.
Today, as the pastor, he continues to show the love of God to children and adults who are lacking the approval of their earthly father. And he is seeing how God heals their hearts.
Hector has seen healing in his own heart too. “I forgave my father” says Hector, acknowledging that “it was hard.” But God is a worker of miracles, and Hector and his father have been reconciled and now have a positive relationship.
God is continuing to heal hearts in Guatemala. Through godly leaders like Hector, through teachers in the Vida Schools, through hugs and prayers and words of encouragement.
“Thank you,” Hector kept saying:
- Thank you for believing in us
- Thank you for loving my people
- Thank you for loving these children
We want to reiterate Hector’s thank yous. Thank you for building a brighter future for children in Guatemala.