God is at work in the lives of those around us. How encouraging it is to hear the unique stories of God at work in the lives of individuals!

It was a privilege and a joy to interview Virginia and to hear how she came into relationship with the Lord.

Virginia is a valuable part of our MORE Network Team, working in IT & Communications. Originally from Argentina, Virginia’s passion for life, people and technology, overflow into everything she touches.

Currently living in the greater Vancouver area of British Columbia with her husband and children, Virginia still cannot believe the amount of rain folks get here!

This is Virginia’s Story…

Growing Up…

Virginia grew up Catholic and would go to church regularly. She was okay with God and it seemed like He was supposed to be there. At Sunday school, Virginia heard stories about the Bible, but no one ever taught how they could change her life. There was a disconnect between God and the stories she was told.

Many situations around the Catholic church she attended while growing up in Argentina were not positive. Priests accused people from the pulpit. Virginia was not taught of a loving God, and her concept of Him was that of a punishing God.

Anger she was experiencing brought her to the priest to ask for help. She was dismissed and laughed at for thinking that there could be evil at work and was directed to psychological help.

Virginia blamed God for the priest’s response and out of a hurting heart asked Him to leave her alone.

“It felt like the umbilical cord had been cut” between herself and God.

Virginia knows now that God never went away, but the hurt she felt, thinking that God had answered her prayer to leave without answering her prayer for help, drove her to atheism.

A Scientific Approach

Virginia was empowered by the pain she felt and liked feeling “in control”.

Besides the fact that there was no hope and she felt like it was up to her to fix everything (justice, the planet, the environment, etc.), Virginia spent 10 years as an atheist, considering believers to be delusional and even tried to persuade them to come to their senses.

Virginia discovered who God was through her study of science, specifically, Astronomy.

As she considered what she read in science about the earth forming and being where it is in the solar system, along with consideration of other scientific data, it was hard for her to believe that this could be a coincidence.

It was a high level of insult to someone like her who had scientific knowledge, to be expected to believe that ALL had happened coincidentally versus careful planning.

It was then when she began to doubt her beliefs.

Discovering God

With this little bit of faith, she began to discover God. Her relationship with Him grew from there.

She first saw God as Creator; she saw Him in nature through her camera lens and later everywhere! By looking at creation she saw glimpses of God’s mind, how He created the laws of physics before creation and how strategic He was to orchestrate all the details involved. Virginia fell in love with God’s “programmers mind” and the beauty of all of that.

Because she was in love with God, Virginia was now more willing to listen to people talk about God.

She discarded her former idea of God as a punisher and harsh being and began with a blank slate of who He was.

While living in the US, Virginia began listening to a well-known preacher, Joel Osteen, talk about God loving people. The idea of a loving God blew her mind. As Virginia got to know this part of God’s character, the door was opened for her to have a relationship with God.

Virginia began church hopping randomly looking for answers. At one church she was pressured to receive Jesus and was asked if she felt something after she did. She felt there was something wrong because she did not feel anything.

Looking back, feels she fully and completely received God when she SAW Him at the core of everything.

Surrendering to Jesus

Several years later Virginia surrendered her life to God and accepted Jesus, knowing that He was the Son of God and had died for her.

From the churches in Canada, Virginia has learned the concept of following God and needing community, going beyond Sunday attendance.

She keeps accepting the invitation to surrender and recognizing her need for forgiveness.

Virginia has found a church that teaches the Word of the Lord in an engaging way. Virigina is thankful for her church, Kingdom Life Community Church, and for Pastor Josh Buys and Pastor Carol Griffiths.

Her pastor’s approach of investigating the truth of the Bible is similar to her scientific method of approaching the world. She now enjoys learning from God’s Word and it has become her “go-to” resource when in doubt about anything and everything.

Impacted to Impact Others

First Virginia had to come to grips with God existing and then has grown more recently to understand what Jesus’ sacrifice means to her. Now she easily talks to others about God and tries to bring people to Him. God has taken away the fear and shame of sharing Him.

As Virginia has spoken with her family in Argentina about God, she has seen them change. God has been lifting the veil off their eyes too, allowing them to see things differently and live accordingly. She has seen many miracles occur in every member of her family and in her friends, including her homeless friends, thanks to God using her to reach out to them with His word.

Virginia has learned the power of love and forgiveness from receiving it and extending it to others.

Virginia Ramunda provides technology and communications support and training to the MORE Network team. Originally from Argentina, Virginia's passion for life , people and technology, overflow into everything she touches. Living in the greater Vancouver area of British Columbia with her husband and children, she still CANNOT believe the amount of rain folks get here.