ECUADOR — Rominna’s entire demeanor changed the day she trusted in Christ. She used to stare at the ground in the presence of others, but now she looks them in the eye and smiles. Before, she hardly spoke, but now she laughs and joins in the conversation.

“You’ve lived a hard life,” said another believer to Rominna one day as they studied the Bible together. Indeed, Rominna’s life had been difficult. She was born in a small mountain village, sold as a servant girl at age six, widowed after giving birth to her third child, and she nearly lost her daughter to a heart condition she couldn’t afford to have treated. The job she did have paid barely enough to buy food and keep plastic over the windows of her unfinished house. Even so, Rominna’s friend wouldn’t let her hide from her responsibility as a disciple of Jesus.

“It’s time to forgive those who have hurt you, just as Christ has forgiven you.”

Rominna knew her friend was right, though she wasn’t sure what it would mean.

A few weeks later, Rominna got word that her father was ill. God must be giving me an opportunity to practice what He’s taught me, she decided.

“I’m taking some food and clothing to my father in the mountains; will you go with me?” Rominna asked Bethany, a Crossworld worker who had helped care for her daughter. “I haven’t seen him in 15 years. I’ve never forgiven him for abandoning me as a child, but I know God is asking me to do so. I want to love my father the way God has loved me.”

Being a disciple of Christ means taking His Word seriously. How are you seeking to obey Him, even when it hurts?

Italicized names were changed to protect identities.