“Sometimes, I wanted to take my life,” says Maria. Her father left when she was just 10 years old. Maria’s older brothers worked to support the family but two of them were lured into a life of crime. One died of a drug overdose.

Maria started working at a grocery store but soon found that she was distributing drugs without knowing it.

Her good friend Roberto supported her through these hard times. Later the two of them married. “I am so fortunate to have such a good man as my husband,” says Maria. Though on the surface her life was better, Maria was still haunted by her past. “My heart was not at peace. I felt there must be something more that would give me the happiness I craved.”

When Roberto brought home a portion of the Gospel of Luke, Maria was curious. The following week, a local champion gave Roberto another installment of Luke’s Gospel. Maria wanted one, too. “What that little book said was so impactful to me . . . When I read certain words, my heart was so touched that I cried.”

After three months of studying the Scriptures with a local champion supported by your gifts, Maria and Roberto put their faith in Christ.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost,” Maria quotes from the Bible. “I was a woman lost in sin, but I praise God because He sought me out and found me.”