Miguela’s Story

Miguela is one of the incredible chaplains that volunteers with Diaconía, GAiN’s partner organization in Paraguay. The chaplaincy program is designed to provide spiritual support and leadership to female clients who are enrolled in Diaconia’s microfinancing program. By meeting with these clients in both a Trust Group and one-on-one setting, Miguela encourages them that they are loved.

However, her journey as a chaplain hasn’t always been easy.

“When I became a chaplain at Diaconía, I was going through very painful processes in my personal life,” Miguela explained. “My marriage was struggling and my mother had recently passed away.”

Despite these personal hardships, Miguela still wanted to serve the women of Diaconía and walk alongside them as a source of mentorship and companionship.

“When I started going to the Trust Groups with the women, I felt a lot of empathy because they all go through different, difficult situations,” she said.

Although Miguela could emotionally connect with the women right away, she wasn’t able to engage the group on the spiritual level.

“The first group I went to was very reluctant to listen to me and, for a while, I wanted to give up…,” she shared.

Miguela’s perspective was transformed one day when she received a call from one of the group members, Miriam, who asked her to come and pray for her in person. This unexpected breakthrough in a time of disappointment and doubt served to majorly bolster Miguela’s faith.

“This filled my life with hope and once again I realized that God works even when we cannot see,” Miguela shared. “He makes a way even when all we can see is wilderness.”

Currently, there are 211 chaplains volunteering their time with Diaconía. Because of their steadfast and prayerful commitment to the women in their Trust Group, many of these women’s lives are being impacted. Miguela’s story is a powerful reminder that we will face trials and hardship, but we will never go through it alone. Even in moments of doubt, God already has an active hand in the lives of the women in Paraguay.