John 10:7-10 describes one of my favorite images of Christ and the Good News for us. It reads:
7 So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

I was reminded of this passage after hearing the story of Eunice, a 19 year old mother of three who is currently living at Casa Hogar, a refuge for children who have been emotionally, physically or sexually exploited. Eunice told us of her childhood in which she was forced to sell her body on the street in order to help provide an income for her mother. On some evenings, she would have to stand outside of the gate to her home and if she did not have money in her hand she would not be allowed in. Though she hated having to live like this, she felt as if she had no other options. One night after being attacked and nearly killed by a group of men in a car, she was thrown down a cliff. She told us that she doesn't know exactly how it happened, but that she was miraculously stopped from plummeting to the bottom by some force and was able to climb out of the ravine to the road where she fainted and later woke up in the hospital. Her attending doctor told her that there must be some special reason that she survived because he couldn't find any logical reason for her to still be alive. This began her journey of discovering why God had saved her. Through a number of other difficult events she eventually found herself at Casa Hogar where she met Mara, the director. Mara sees her work at Casa Hogar as a ministry of the love of Christ lived out in tangible ways. Through the witness of Mara and the safety of Casa Hogar, Eunice has met the Good Shepherd who always welcomes her home. She no longer sits outside of the gate; she has entered in and found new life.

As an American Baptist missionary working in Costa Rica, I have had the privilege of hearing many stories of changed lives through Christ. While standing alongside some of our brothers and sisters in Christ and encouraging their ministries, I have grown in my own.

Mylinda Baits