In the book, Against All Hope, there is a story about Armando Valladares who was imprisoned for thirteen years of “hard labor” because he refused to place a pro-communism sign on his desk at his workplace. He disappeared to a prison called the Isle of Pines off the cost of Cuba. 

For Valladares it meant almost 5,000 days of hunger, beatings, harsh labor, solitary confinement, solitude, struggling to prove he was human, and of testing his faith in Christ. Every day he watched prisoners (pastors and priests) taken before a firing squad and shot to death. But just before their death they shouted, “Viva Cristo Rey!” – “Long Live Christ the King!” All the prisoners remaining alive in the cells would shout in return, “Viva Cristo Ray!”

After years of suffering so inhumanly, Armando was released, and he found his way to the United States where he would begin a new life sharing his story and serving his Lord.

As humans we can do without a lot of things, but we can never lose hope. Someone once said that God’s people, no matter the circumstances, may be helpless [at times], but never hopeless.

*This blog is dedicated to the tireless efforts of Charlie Kirk and his love for his Savior. Thank you, Charlie, for believing that this nation and the youth of this nation are not hopeless.

The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. Psalms 147:11