My name is Teresa Gutiérrez León. I was born in Tunajá, a village of Zacualpa, Quiché. I was born into a family that did not know God because my paternal grandparents did not believe in Him and they prohibited my parents to seek His Way.
One day, my mother heard about the feeding program in Tunajá and immediately she made the decision to send my oldest siblings to the feeding program so that they could be enrolled in it. When I grew up a little more, I started to attend the feeding program, too.
Those days were special days for me because at the feeding program we ate delicious dishes, totally different from what my mother could give us because of our low resources. At the feeding program, we ate meat, rice, black bean soup and other kinds of dishes.
I loved black bean soup with rice because we did not have this dish at home. My family did not have electricity much less a blender to blend the beans and prepare the soup. I still remember my child number for the feeding program: T-0542.
During that time, I walked for about one hour and thirty minutes to arrive at the feeding program. After my maternal grandmother passed away, however, we moved in with my maternal grandfather who lived only five minutes away from it.
I remember that I had the privilege to receive the best gift of my life during a Christmas activity at the feeding program. It was the gift of Eternal Life. I received Jesus as my personal Savior, and then, my mother started to attend Liberty Church in Tunajá.
When I was part of the feeding program as a child, I was very blessed because I had sponsors with big, loving, kind and generous hearts. They frequently sent me extra gifts. It impacted my life and I will never forget the big love that God showed me and my family through my sponsors.
I am sure God used my sponsors to bless us. Every gift that they sent me was a great blessing and saving for my parents and this not only gave me happiness, but also my siblings. We were so happy every time we heard from my sponsors.
I also had the blessing of meeting my sponsors in person. They used to come every year to visit me and my family. I still keep with much love a photo that I took with one of my sponsors.
The feeding program was like a lure for my family so that we would have a meeting with Jesus. It was not easy for us to follow His Way because my father had the same idea about God as his parents. In the beginning, my father did not want to attend a church, but over time, he accepted Jesus as his personal Savior. Everything got better because at that time my whole family was seeking God’s presence every day.
I was part of my church’s worship team and I was a collaborator in the Sunday school. I also attended the youth meetings and all of this helped me to grow spiritually.
Today, my husband and I continue serving our Lord and we attend a Living Water Church in Zacualpa called “Liberty.”
Living Water continues impacting my life in a very special way. In 2011, God opened the doors of ministry for me and since then I have been working as an evangelism teacher.
Previously, I was working in the local municipality of my town. I worked there for about two years, but God had better plans for my family and me. I understood that God had to act in my life so that I could quit that job. Living Water changed my life completely, and I am sure that this ministry will continue changing many lives through the years.
I pray God blesses all the people who allow Him to use their lives to bless and impact more and more people.
