Jovelyn was born with a disability.
“I hated myself so much,” says the 10 year old. “I was always embarrassed to be around people and so miserable. I tried so hard to just accept who I am but I couldn’t.”
This pain ate away at Jovelyn until this past summer when a volunteer teacher was sent to Jovelyn’s classroom in the Philippines. “The teacher explained to us about the creation and how wonderfully God created us in His image,” says Jovelyn.
“At first I thought maybe I am not created in His own image because I don’t look nice like the others, but she made clear that whatever we look like, we are still precious in God’s sight.”
Then, the teacher looked straight at Jovelyn. “Something pierced my heart and I started to cry. Our volunteer was looking at me as if God was looking at me saying, ‘I love you dearly no matter what you look like. I created you with a purpose.’”
For the first time, Jovelyn felt the heaviness and depression lift, replaced with a sense of joy and lightness. “I want to thank you for sending our volunteer teacher Magdalena,” says Jovelyn. “She is such a blessing to me personally for helping me understand God’s love for me. And I want to thank you for this program that came to our school.”