Cedarville Magazine, Fall 2018

Global missions has always been the plan for Priscila (Pri) Gonzalez ’18, a nursing major with a cross-cultural minor from Quito, Ecuador. The way there hasn’t always been clear or simple, yet the Lord has provided through the generous, and sometimes unexpected, gifts of donors to ensure this future missionary gets on the field. Pri was born into a missionary family and, while she wanted to find her own place in ministry, she always imagined she would follow her parents’ example. Her parents, Daniel and Ana Gonzalez, met while attending Palabra de Vida Argentina, or Word of Life Argentina, a Bible and missions preparatory institute that is part of Word of Life Fellowship. “Most little girls want to be a princess; I wanted to be a missionary,” said Pri. “My plan was always to go to Word of Life Argentina, do the four- year program, and go straight into missions, but God’s plan was slightly different than mine.” Pri visited Word of Life Bible Institute (WOLBI) in New York her junior year of high school and became convinced she was meant to study there. Her dad needed a little more time accepting that God wanted his little girl to move thousands of miles from home, but he came around to the idea, and Pri applied and was accepted. However, even though the Gonzalez family received reduced tuition as Word of Life missionaries, the cost was still out of reach. Then Pri received her financial aid package from Word of Life. The paperwork revealed the expected WOLBI staff scholarship, equivalent to 70 percent of tuition, but there was something else: the remaining 30 percent was paid in full by an anonymous donor. One person’s generosity allowed Pri to attend WOLBI in New York, which set her up for God’s next amazing provision. While Pri studied in New York, intending to enter missions after the two-year program, she was introduced to Cedarville University. A close relationship between Cedarville and WOLBI meant a number of faculty, including Cedarville president Dr. Thomas White, taught Pri’s classes. “I didn’t really want to go to college, but God started moving my heart,” she explained. Though her mom was not a nurse, Pri saw how her care for people’s physical hurts was a powerful opportunity to express the love of Jesus. When a family in Michigan invited Pri to live with them between her first and second year at WOLBI, it looked like God was opening a door for her to stay in the U.S. and attend nursing school. S h e a p p l i e d t o s c h o o l s i n Michigan, but she also applied to Cedarville. Pri was guaranteed scholarships at Cedarville as an international student and WOLBI THE DONATIONS OF MANY PROVIDE EDUCATION FOR FUTURE MISSIONARY BY BETHANY PRIEST ’20 ADVANCING CEDARVILLE 32 | Cedarville Magazine