Gricelda wasn’t raised in a Christian home. Her initial contact with “Christianity” was steeped in legalism, and brought nothing but fear into her life. It wasn’t until she was an adult that Gricelda connected with a church that wasn’t like any she had seen before.

“Their religion was very different. I saw a beautiful relationship,” Gricelda said. “As I listened and we had studies in the Bible, I finally understood grace.”

It was there that Gricelda was exposed to missionaries and personally challenged to become one. But the costs were great. Gricelda had a good job and it would mean giving that up. Even so, she picked up an application for New Tribes Bible Institute in Chihuahua, Mexico. She filled it out, but then filed it away instead of sending it in.

Time passed. The question of whether she was heading into missions kept resurfacing. Knowing a decision needed to be made, Gricelda looked hesitantly at the stack of folders.

“Okay,” she said, “I’m going to grab one of the folders. If it’s the application, then I’m going to go. If it’s not, I’m not going.” She held her breath and pulled out a folder — and then looked down. “It was the application,” Gricelda said. “Now I didn’t have any reason not to go.”

Fast forward 10 plus years and God has taken Gricelda to places she couldn’t have imagined, and allowed her the privilege of being part of a team reaching the Triqui people group in Baja California, Mexico.

Has it been easy? Not always. But Gricelda says, “I identify with the people here and I just love living with them. There are many necessary things that need to be done in the work here. And I can do them.”

Pray for Gricelda as she prepares literacy booklets and takes care of a myriad of sometimes seemingly insignificant tasks, while just loving on the people.