Life Guided by Faith

“When my mother was pregnant with me, a relative tried to kill her. but luckily the bullet didn’t get to her. If my mother would’ve died, I would’ve as well. My name is Maria Aguilar. I like to think that God always had a purpose in my life.”

Maria Aguilar is a resilient, determined woman who has taught her family to overcome hardships and to lead a life guided by faith. She was born on December 24, 1979, in the department of Santa Ana, Salvador, in the middle of the civil war of El Salvador.

In Spanish, Aguilar recounted her story: When I was a newborn my parents and my five siblings had to escape home in fear that they would be killed. We were constantly fleeing through the mountains and rivers. On one occasion we were going to hide because some soldiers were attacking. They would kill without reason, but on that occasion, my dad started hiding with everyone under a rock. Inside that rock, ants were biting and burning our skin. I, who was a newborn, could not understand any of that and as I began to cry from the bites of the ants my dad decided to sacrifice one person instead of the whole family dying, so he decided to sacrifice me. He covered my mouth so that I wouldn't cry anymore. At that moment he suffocated me. The soldier was standing on the rock where we were hiding, but he moved away from there when he didn't hear any more crying. When we got out, my Mom realized that I was completely purple. She didn't give up and did everything to revive me by giving me air my family was able to escape safely. That was one of the times God was protecting me and my family. I grew up and the Civil War ended. I became a young lady. My mom didn’t want me to go through the same suffering as them. The civil war impacted our lives in many ways and nothing went back to the same after because of how difficult life was. I was sent to the United States for a better life. Ever since then, I've been living here for the past 25 years.

Through her faith, she has conquered difficulties in adapting to a new environment and has been able to build a stable life in the United States. My mother has given us the best life she could ever give us.

“Now I say that I consider the states more like my home than my birth home”

I ask Maria some questions

What was the most difficult part about leaving home?

“ I would say the most difficult part was leaving my mom behind. Having to start a new life on my own without her and trying to find a way to communicate with her. You know because back then I couldn't just make a phone call to her phone because she didn't have one. We would have to schedule our phone calls”

Do you ever wish you hadn't left?

“ I mean there is this little girl inside of me that didn't want to leave because I did miss home but now that I see my life and the family I've built. This is my home now and I thank my mom and God for leading me down the right path.”

Maria Aguilar came to the United States with TPS (Temporary Protected Status) searching for a better life. She lives a normal life like everyone else. She is resilient, kind, and loyal. She built a family with her husband having six kids. She didn't understand or know English. She had to learn that people would look at us differently for speaking her native language. Her children saw the fear in her eyes when she went to any of our school events or when someone spoke to her in English but they never understood why. Even though she loved it here she was never able to go back to her birth home for 20+ years. She attended her mother's funeral through Facetime, never being able to say goodbye. Despite all the difficulties and the roller coaster her life has brought her, she remains strong and faithful. Her journey has shown her incredible resilience and the sacrifices many make for a better life.