A Legacy Beyond Brick & Mortar

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

It's one of the most read and repeated verses of the Bible, and although it sounds hopeful, it is sometimes hard to truly believe.

Yet when we have young ladies living at Casa de Gracia, this will be a verse we would like our girls to study so that they can come to understand and believe the fact that God's thoughts for their lives are good, and their past- no matter how painful it has been - does not define them, but rather the thoughts that God has toward them are those of peace.

We can only truly understand this peace by being close to God: the perfect God, the loving God, the God who gave his life out of love for his children, a God who redeems our pain and gives it purpose.

At Casa de Gracia, our desire is to see our young ladies physically well, enjoying good health, academically fulfilled, successfully reintegrated into society, and enjoying life to the fullest.

But we're also aware that merely helping to make that possible is not enough.

Our legacy must go beyond the roof over their heads, the walls that protect them, and the support we offer.

The best thing we can do is to guide them with love and grace to the Gospel and finding their identity in Christ.

May that be our legacy.

—Written by Edwin Aguilar Smith, April 2025