Ana’s mother, like so many indigenous women in Mexico, expected to suffer. When her husband was killed in a drunken fight, leaving her with six mouths to feed, she had to find a way to make money. Leaving her older children to care for the younger ones, she walked away from her Zapotec mountain village to look for work in the city. There, she was taken advantage of, and soon found herself pregnant. It was with a heavy heart that she decided to return home with her new baby, Ana.
Reaching the village, Ana’s mother was attacked. An angry sister-in-law accused her of infidelity, shoved her to the ground and stabbed repeatedly at both mother and child. Ana’s mother, although gravely injured, managed to protect her baby until other villagers intervened.
Ana survived.
In her weakened state, Ana’s mother knew she could not protect her baby. She decided to give Ana away, and began to make secret plans to do so. But when, late one night, she brought her baby to the man waiting by the fire, she came to her senses—Ana might be sold, abused, even killed. She tried to pull away, but the man was strong. Just then, one of her other children woke up and, crying out, woke the others. The man ran away, and Ana’s mother clutched Ana to her chest. “You must live,” she whispered.
For eight years, Ana’s mother struggled to feed her family, even with all of the children working. At age eight, Ana left school to begin grinding corn. On route to the market one day, she caught a ride in the back of a pick-up truck packed with people. As they neared town, the truck lost control, swerved off the narrow road and rolled down the mountainside. Many were killed but, incredibly, Ana survived again. This time, she wondered why.
“My mother is sick. I have no father. I have no hope,” she said to herself. “Why am I even alive?”
Her mother’s health continued to fail, and life felt bleak. Then, one day, a man came to visit the village. This man was a Christian. “God loves you,” he told them. “He gave his only Son so that you would have eternal life.” Hearing this, Ana suddenly knew why she was alive: it was to know and serve this God. Through this man, the entire family received Jesus as their Savior, and was baptized. Over time, others in their village also came to faith. Ana grew to be a young woman, and fell in love with another Christ-follower, whose name was Nacho. Life was full of promise and hope. Still, danger loomed.
When Ana and Nacho married, it provoked jealousy in another village girl, and the girl’s angry family plotted revenge. One night, as Ana and Nacho were walking home, Ana felt the Lord say, “Don’t go down that path!” Pausing, Nacho saw moonlight glinting off a rifle. The couple hurried to their house by another route, thankful for its thick, bulletproof adobe walls.
Ana was terrified, but Nacho was calm. “There is no need to fear death,’ he explained. “The scriptures tell us that we have already died in Christ. No matter what happens to us, we are safe.”
Hearing the scripture, Ana felt the fear leave her. Survive or not, she said to herself, I am destined for life. Praying together, Ana and Nacho asked God how he wanted them to invest that life, here on earth.
It was not long after that they had their answer. A white man came to their village, saying that he wanted to translate the Bible into Zapotec, and needed their help. Within months, Nacho was writing subtitles for the Jesus Film, while Ana listened and helped correct mistakes. “This is so crazy!” she would often laugh. “I don’t even know how to read or write!”
Years have now passed, the translation team has grown, and the work prospered. Nacho shares God’s Word in Zapotec through a radio broadcast, and more people in their village and beyond are believing in Jesus through their work. Their lives are rich and full, yet they continue to face danger. Many in their village ridicule them for wanting to preserve a primitive language. Others oppose their Christian faith because they fear it is angering the spirits. Ana and Nacho routinely face personal attacks that put their family, their ministry and even their lives in jeopardy, but they are not afraid.
“We are destined for eternal life,” Ana says. “In the meantime, we give our lives away.”
Destined for Life
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