text: ACECEN had the privilege of meeting with Olga Romero and hearing her story of faith. Olga is married, has a son, and is a graduate from Colegio Bautista Emanuel in the city of Diriamba. She went on to graduate from UNAN with a degree in Business Administration in Jinotepe. With the help of the school Bautista Emanuel and the church Bautista Emanuel, Olga has overcome great challenges with faith and with strength.
  With her siblings, Olga was abandoned by her mom when she was 5 years old. Olga’s grandmother took care of her and her sister, but her brother was separated from them. Olga’s grandmother worked very hard to put her and her sister through school. Olga studied at Escuela Bautista Emanuel until high school. The community that Olga found at Escuela Bautista Emanuel helped get her through the hard times that she had when her mother abandoned her. The school had great teachers that she learned from, that protected her, and that encouraged her to have faith. Escuela Bautista Emanuel was a place for Olga to feel safe in the midst of such hardship and pain.
  At the time, Escuela Bautista Emanuel did not have a high school, so Olga continued her education at a well-known public institution in Diriamba named Instituto Nacional Diriangen. Although she did not attend the school, she never left the church Bautista Emanuel. Olga found time to work with the youth in the church and to be a part of the worship ministry.
  Olga graduated from high school and went on to study Business Administration at UNAN (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua) in Jinotepe, where she graduated in 2009. She had to work through school to help her grandmother pay for the expenses. When she graduated, she worked at a cooperative for a couple of years before a position opened up at Escuela Bautista Emanuel.
  Olga received a job offer from the school and ever since then she has worked in the administrative office. Arlen Castro, the principle of Escuela Bautista Emanuel, shared with us about Olga. Castro said, “She is an excellent person, dedicated, strong, trustworthy, and puts a lot of love into what she does. It has been 4 years that she has been working in the school in administration and she has been a great help to us.”
  Through her hardships, Olga has been able to hold onto her faith and has now forgiven her mother for abandoning her and her siblings, and she continuously prays for her. She would not have been at this point spiritually or career-wise if it weren’t for the school and the church Bautista Emanuel.
  Along with working in the school, Olga is currently serving in the worship ministry at the Iglesia Bautista Emanuel and attends with her husband and her son.
  Olga said, “I can say with much joy and happiness that I feel at home, I like what I do, and the experience that I had in the Escuela Bautista Emanuel from the time I was a little girl until now has impacted me. I feel that the fact that I have grown up in a place where the educative community plays an integral role in the education of the students has given me a lot of strength.”
  Olga’s story shows us how much of an impact education can have in someone’s life.