“I was born into a Christian home that had little biblical knowledge.”
María Fernanda addressed the small congregation from the inflatable baptismal pool prepared at the front of the church. “During my adolescence, I made friends who influenced my life and led me to make many mistakes, distancing myself from the purpose God had for me. . . . While my parents were concerned about my rebellion, by the grace of the Lord, we had the great opportunity to get to know this church.”
Standing beside her in the pool, Pastor Peter Hudson, an ABWE missionary, recalled the first Sunday that María Fernanda, her brother, and their parents had visited the church. Feeling spiritually empty and confused, they had arrived searching for biblical truth.
“Ever since they walked through the church doors, they have become part of our everyday lives, together with the other families we work with” shared Peter’s wife, Jamie.
The Hudsons established Iglesia Esperanza Viva (Living Hope Church) in 2018, alongside ABWE missionaries Marissa Dickey and Heidi Gott, when their community-based ministry outgrew the Bible studies and discipleship meetings held in individual homes. They strategically planted the church within their neighborhood—a mountainous, gang-controlled sector of Medellín, Colombia—to reach families entrenched in poverty, skepticism, and broken relationships.
“We are grateful for what God is doing in the lives of the Colombians,” said Jamie, noting the several who have embraced Christ and been baptized—including María Fernanda and her brother, Jerónimo. With growing faith, María Fernanda recently enrolled in the ABWE-founded Baptist Seminary of Colombia for training in ministry.
As she was immersed into the water, she joyfully proclaimed, “Today, I can testify that my life belongs to the Lord, and that my deepest desire is to serve him every day and please him.”
