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Making Sense of the World

Making Sense of the World

SPRING/SUMMER 2021    |    3.5 MINUTE READ
KATELAND VERNON, STAFF WRITER


Science has always been the way Ruth Bordallo makes sense of the world. Proof of this is that she has her master’s in physics and is currently pursuing a doctorate in economics. She loves seeing God’s handiwork all over creation. “He put all the laws of the universe into place,” she said. “He created math, He created biology, He created physics. He created the whole world.” Ruth hasn’t always seen God this way, though.

While she now believes in what God has done, there was a point in Ruth’s life when she couldn’t feel His presence. “I was devastated,” she said. Her infant son, Rafael, had died from a genetic defect (Trisomy 18), her marriage had dissolved, and she didn’t have a job. “I felt totally lonely,” Ruth said. “My world had come apart.” In 2019, she moved eight hours away to Saltillo, Mexico, for a fresh start. That’s when, she claimed, “God transformed me inside. And, of course, He transformed my life outside.”

Ruth standing outside a large, modern building

A year after being transformed by God, Ruth is at peace.

In Saltillo, Ruth joined Work4aLiving, a program led by WGM missionaries Mark and Serena Dunbar. In these classes, Ruth learned both business skills and a biblical worldview that changed the way she saw other people. The program encourages students to do something good for someone else each day, something that helped Ruth see other people through God’s eyes. She began to recognize that God had created each person she encountered and loved them deeply. “This changed everything in my life,” she said. After finishing the program, it was a natural transition for Ruth to join the Bible study that Serena was starting up. Through God’s Word—and exploring the Word with the other women in the study—Ruth started to see God Himself, not just His creation, in a completely new way.

Ruth had always thought of God as distant. “Before, in my life, I always felt like God was so far away that I couldn’t really get close to Him,” she said. She’s always been passionate about science, and while she was aware of the doubts some scientists have about the existence of God, she found the Bible to be consistent, concise, and constant. She learned about a Jesus who was personal and who really cared about her, and she realized that it was possible to have a personal relationship with Him.


“Before, in my life, I always felt like God was so far away that I couldn’t really get close to Him.”


While studying the Bible, Ruth realized that God had watched His Son die. He knew what she had walked through with her own son. Nothing had filled Ruth with more love and life than Rafael's brief stay in her life. Until now, she didn’t know that the moment he left her was the moment God took his hand. “Through the pain and the loss of my baby,” Ruth said, “I finally understood that God gave His Son because of love.” That’s when she decided to surrender her life to God.

As she continued studying the Bible, Ruth’s excitement grew. “I just started wanting to know more and more,” Ruth said. “I am so thankful to God that He has helped me come to know Him through His Word. I’m just amazed at every passage, how He reveals Himself in so many different ways through so much wisdom and love.”

She’s so excited about what she’s learning that Ruth can’t help herself—she’s inviting everyone she can think of to these Bible studies. Her mom, sister-in-law, niece, and at least one friend have all accepted her invitation and joined the group. Ruth even urged Mark to start a men’s Bible study because she had friends who were interested. “She has an incredible ability to share with people,” Serena said. “God has just transformed her into a woman that He is using in so many, many ways.”

A Mark and Serena Dunbar standing with Ruth and another women who have graduated from their program.

After graduating from Work4aLiving, Ruth started thinking about her next steps.

Like Ruth, the other members of these Bible studies are excited about what they’re learning and how they’re growing in community, and their excitement is contagious. God is truly bringing His Word to life for these women and using it to transform them.

“We all read the same passage,” Serena said, “but each of us have a different perspective. It’s just amazing how one passage can speak to each of us differently, depending on where we are.” Serena, Ruth, and the others in these groups are seeing proof every time they gather that God sees them and that His Word holds truth, no matter the situation they’re in.

Ruth has big goals for her future. “I would like to be the Secretary of Energy in Mexico,” she stated, “the Minister of Energy in the cabinet for the whole country. I want to be a servant for the country, but also for God’s kingdom.” She knows that God has given her a love of science for a reason. “My thesis is about light,” she said, smiling, “and I want to be a light for the people around me.”

A screenshot of the Women's Bible Study Zoom call

Ruth, Serena, and women in locations from Mexico City to the U.S. participating in their online Bible study.

ACTION STEPS

PRAY: Lift up Ruth as she continues to look for ways to use her passion for science and God’s Word to impact others. Pray for the Work4aLiving program and both Mark and Serena’s Bible studies, asking God to continue using them to transform lives.

GIVE: Do you want to help people gain business skills with a biblical worldview? Partner with Work4aLiving today.


Missionary Bio: Mark and Serena Dunbar have spread God’s love—first in Honduras, and now in Mexico—for thirty-two years. They particularly enjoy getting to share the wisdom and experience they have garnered over the years to help others who are passionate about changing the world for Christ.

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