Seventeen-year-old Mateo* hated his parents for the years of physical and verbal abuse he suffered at their hands. His resentment toward his family coupled with the constant peer pressure from his friends weighed heavy on his shoulders, and the burden grew more difficult to carry each day. But on the day that he met a native missionary in his rural community, his life changed in a way he never could have imagined. The missionary told him about Jesus. About forgiveness and redemption and transformation. Mateo soaked up the truths the missionary taught him, and in return, the missionary listened to Mateo’s own troubling life story. Their conversation came exactly when Mateo needed it the most; and as the Holy Spirit moved, Mateo gave his life to Christ. After he chose to follow Jesus, Mateo received a Bible that he read all the time, and he visited the missionary each day to discuss the stories he’d learned about in Scripture. He even forgave his parents, and with that forgiveness, the burden he’d struggled with for so long was lifted. Now, his once bleak outlook on life has dramatically shifted: he hopes to become a missionary, preaching among indigenous communities and helping change lives as his own was changed.