Victor Araya, tireless fisher of men

Victor Araya, tireless fisher of men

After extending our hand of fellowship to Victor Araya six years ago, we were blessed as a church because along with him came his friends and others he evangelized, and I was blessed personally because he became a close friend in whom I can rely for spiritual advice and encouragement.

Victor and Aura

Firstly, Victor became a Christian 23 years ago, when he joined the movement of the International Churches of Christ in San José, Costa Rica. He did this when he was 37, while trying to succeed as a journalist and recovering from painful divorce. Once he was in the movement, he married Aura, 53, hair stylist from Nicaragua, and it turned out to be a great decision in the Lord, as their marriage has lasted for the last 17 years and it is always a joy to see them functioning as a happy couple. Eventually, the leadership within the ICOC congregation changed and they could not handle Victor’s intense love for lost souls, which led to Victor seeking membership in nearby churches of Christ. The churches he sought did not think that his ICOC baptism was scriptural, so he ended up accepting the invitation of Didier Rojas, from the same movement, who had earlier placed membership with us. Thankfully the Heredia church did not question his baptism and we all extended our hand of fellowship to Victor and Aura, which proved to be a great blessing for the ministry.

Secondly, the church has been blessed in many ways through Victor and Aura. The first blessing was Mauricio, 36, a young man Victor had evangelized at the ICOC, who followed Victor and joined this congregation. Mauricio lived with his mother and sisters because his parents had gotten divorced. Victor’s work with Mauricio led to him evangelizing Suzy, Mauricio’s mother. By the time Suzy was

Eugenio and Susy

baptized, Mauricio’s father got interested, so Victor undertook the task of evangelizing this man, whose name is Eugenio. Eugenio was then baptized and remarried Suzy! So, Eugenio, Suzy, and Mauricio are today a joyful family in the Lord. Victor has continued to evangelize and encourage spiritual growth in Heredia. He leads a Bible study group that meets near the church building. Results from his tireless work as a fisher of men include the conversion of Marcela and Sonia who were baptized at the end of 2019. Geovanny, the man who owns the home where the Bible study is held has also become a member of the Heredia church.

Finally, I have been blessed personally, as Victor has become a close friend in whom I can rely for spiritual advice and encouragement. Therefore, Victor and I meet regularly to have what we call a “power lunch” or a “power coffee.” Consequently, in these meetings we have learned to tell each other the things we

Eugenio's baptism

struggle with, and then pray for one another. Apart from this, Victor is no longer doing journalism, because of the technological changes that have affected the publication of newspapers. Thus, he is selling hair salon products, and to make ends meet, he has had to do coffee picking, a back breaking job that only immigrants do in Costa Rica. However, Victor is always sharing the gospel. Hence, he has had Bible study groups with the immigrants who are his coffee picking partners!

In conclusion, the fact that other churches in the area did not welcome Victor as a brother turned out to be a blessing for the church in Heredia, because through him others have become members of this congregation, and also a personal blessing for this missionary who has found in Victor a true friend with whom I find support in the form of prayer and spiritual encouragement.

Didier, Mauricio, and Victor