I am Carmen Salleres, and I come from Peru.

 I divorced 18 years ago and have three wonderful children and six grandchildren.  I love them with all my heart.  I accepted God as my Savior 21 years ago during the worst time in my life.  He had mercy on me and was my strength, especially while I was divorcing and had to raise my children while they were teenagers.  He never left me and I saw in my life 2 Corinthians 4:8-9:

 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed.

I have always wanted to learn more from God and the Bible.

I was searching blogs, and I found some that led me to Ama a Dios Grandemente (Love God Greatly Spanish).  I was placed in a study group where, with God’s help, I learned to persevere and be consistent in my time with God.  I love to read what others write and to see how God speaks in a different way to each of us using the same verses.  I learned to have my quiet time every day, to think about the verses I was reading and to apply God’s truth to my life.

This was something that really helped my spiritual life.   

It was a big challenge, but God and LGGS helped me get the discipline of being in God’s Word on a daily basis.  The blog posts have been very useful to help me understand what I was reading and looking up the verses and writing them was like coming back to my first love when I came to know Christ.

When we studied Psalm 119 I was able to experience the same as the Psalmist; the Word has given life to my walk in the Lord, has answered me and taught me, has made me understand and meditate in His wonders and has sustained me when I couldn’t take anymore.  I am so thankful for that!

I pray for the ladies in my group, and I encourage and support them the best I can.  I want them to know that I am here to serve them.  We are so blessed for having all the materials LGGS provides.  I have watched them struggle and I have also watched God put order in their lives with His Word.

One of the ladies in my group is Lizette.  She comes from Honduras, and I remember she impressed me because she brought all her family to the group!  She came with her sisters, her daughter and daughters-in-law.  There came a time when I was the only one sharing my SOAP in my group.  Lizette felt sorry for me, and I could see her persevere and overcome many fears sharing and encouraging others to share their SOAP’s too.  That made a great difference in our group.  Now that she has a group of her own I see my “daughter,” as I call her, flying out of the nest ready to fly and spread the Word to others.

We continue to work together in our separate groups.  We support each other, pray for each other and share in each other’s groups.  We speak every day.

We never imagined God had a big surprise in store for us.

Lizette had to travel to Argentina to help her daughter and grandchildren go back to Honduras and she asked her husband to make a stop in Peru.  They prayed for a long time and finally, God provided for them to come to my country before going to Argentina.  The big day arrived!  I was so excited to finally be able to meet her in person.  We hugged, we cried, we praised God.  It is amazing that LGGS has joined women from so many countries, with different customs, but share the same God and the same passion to reach women and help them grow spiritually.  I spent three wonderful days showing her my hometown and having her at my home with my own family.

My blood children and my spiritual daughter finally together.

I know in my heart that God prepared this meeting because He was gloried in everything!  I thank LGGS for the opportunity to be a part of this ministry not only as a facilitator, but also as a part of the writer’s team in Spanish.  I feel blessed to be serving God this way.  I never saw myself as a writer, but sharing my SOAP on a daily basis started me in the habit of studying and writing God’s Word.  God bless this ministry and each of the women who make it possible.

I am Lizette Rodriquez de Castro, and I live in Honduras.

I have been married to Jose for 37 years.  We have five children and five grandchildren.  All of us serve God one way or another.  I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was a child, and He has always been my guide.  I had the privilege of marrying a godly man and together we have made a life of worship and praise to our Lord.

A friend shared a verse with me that said, “Ama a Dios Grandemente” (Love God Greatly in Spanish).  I was curious because I liked to study the Bible but couldn’t find online studies.  I signed up for their study and was placed in a group led by Carmen Salleres.  I never imaged that God would allow me to serve Him with a ministry like this.  I like how organized it is and that it draws me to God and His Word.  I was challenged to get involved in my group and was trained to lead my own group, something I did the next study.  I was a little afraid of facilitating a group, but I asked God for the help and wisdom I needed to serve Him with LGGS.  Carmen taught me diligently how to use the Internet to facilitate my online group and helped me avoid this fear that sometimes gets over us and doesn’t allow us to serve Him wholeheartedly.  Through my group I have seen women exposed to God’s Word.  It is amazing to have a place where we have the freedom of expressing our spiritual needs, trials and afflictions; a place where we can counsel and get advice, love and feel loved.

It is a beautiful thing.

I rejoice in the responsibility of facilitating a group, in studying and sharing God’s Word every day.  This is not our business, but God’s.  It is for Him we work.  I love how LGGS exists to reach women who need to know the love of the One who gave up His life for us; who need to know God’s eternal principles for their lives.

I became friends with Carmen even though we had never met in person before.  We became more than friends, we became real sisters, partners and family.  We counted the days to meet in Peru and, finally, we did!

Even my husband Joe got encouraged by our groups and testimony and has reunited with a group of fellow Christians to pray and study God’s Word.  He prays for an LGGS group for men!  He has seen how studying in fellowship with other women has blessed my life.

My goal is to continue to grow in the knowledge of the Lord in order that I may gain Christ and help others do the same.  May God continue to bless this ministry to reach others with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and help them grow in Him.  Philippians 37:8:

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

Post written by Joan, LGG Leadership Team Member

Click here to visit the Love God Greatly Spanish Blog Page!

Sarah

Saved by grace. Army wife. Mom to two amazing boys. Team member at #LoveGodGreatly