Institute Alum Marco Arroyo learns the Bible in his second language to serve people in his first language.

If you observe Marco Arroyo on the campus of G.O.D. International, you might find him fixing a door or maintenancing an HVAC unit while simultaneously carrying on witty exchanges with passers-by working in the offices. He has that gift of simultaneously inspiring productivity and laughter among students and staff around campus.  

What you will learn about Marco if you hang around a little longer is that behind the joyful, hardworking surface is also a wealth of life experience in overcoming various challenges and doing it with steady contentment along the way. 

From Puebla, Mexico to Morristown, TN

Marco emigrated to the United States when he was 15 years old. He started his high school years in Morristown, Tennessee, a rural farming community almost 2000 miles from his hometown of Puebla, Mexico. 

There were few ELL supports or resources at the time. Marco spoke no English and was the only Spanish speaker and only Mexican at Morristown East High School. The language was more than "a barrier," it was a source of hostility between him and other students. 

With no formal language program, Marco worked hard to learn English through watching movies with subtitles, listening to music and following along with the lyrics that he had written on paper, and reading whatever books he could get his hands on. 

While navigating through high school, Marco began working in a restaurant where he met Rafael Reyes. Rafael's family had recently started a church in Morristown, inviting Marco to come. After getting more involved, Marco soon developed the desire to be involved in more full-time ministry.  

In 2001, Marco’s and Rafa’s church hosted a mission team from Students Living A Mission (SLAM), a youth service program led by Gregg Garner. The team facilitated a health clinic for the Hispanic population in Morristown and a Bible conference for students on the trip and the youth from the church. As Marco participated, he began to consider the possibility of this kind of quality biblical education being more accessible to people in Latin America.  

He planned on moving back to Latin America to seek out opportunities for ministry. In 2004, however, Marco learned that those same people who had served his community through health clinics and Bible teaching had started a Bible college with a missions emphasis in Nashville, Tennessee - The Institute for G.O.D. 

A New Start at The Institute for G.O.D.

Marco packed his bags alongside Rafa, and moved to Nashville to attend the Institute in the fall of 2005. He tells me he was eager to learn the Bible to teach people in Latin America how to apply it in practical ways to meet needs in their everyday lives. 

This time, Marco’s education wouldn’t be clouded by social hostility, but enhanced by the love and patience of faculty at The Institute. 

This care, however, would not eliminate the challenges Marco faced in getting a college education in his second language. To comprehend the content, Marco recorded each class that he attended. When he went home, he listened to each lecture again to understand the material. He would sometimes write his papers in Spanish and then translate them into English. He often completed double the course work as his fellow students for his first few years. Reasonably, it was probably triple.

Marco studied and served diligently, and in 2010, he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies. Plus, he met his wife Jaimee at The Institute. Jaimee grew up going on mission trips to Mexico and shared Marco’s passion to minister in Latin America. The two began a family and became more involved in G.O.D.’s third world development efforts in Latin America.

Graduating into a Life of Service

Upon graduating, Marco continued to volunteer his time with G.O.D.'s ministry efforts in Mexico, then Guatemala, then El Salvador. His intimate knowledge of the culture was a great help in G.O.D.'s search for and acquisition of land to develop a hub for service in the region. 

Marco has also served as a project manager for various building and land development projects on the land. He's served as a translator for various events over the years, including multiple educational conferences for rural teachers in El Salvador and youth Bible conferences in the same area. 

Reflecting on how he incorporates his biblical education into his current work, Marco remarked, "Recently, when we were building the new student center in El Salvador, I worked alongside one of our students, Amilcar. I was able to incorporate the word of God every time we had a chance to talk about the project. The word of God has importance in everything we do. I emphasized that the word has to inform why we do certain projects."

“In this case, I reminded Amilcar that though this was just a simple structure, we need to do a very good job because it is going to serve for others to come and learn and grow the desire in them to serve the Lord,” Marco said. 

Today, as the Institute has begun translating Bible classes into Spanish for cooperatives and students throughout Latin America, Marco is seeing what he got a glimpse of nearly 20 years ago come to fruition. 

Marco was truly a model of commitment as a student at the Institute. And that same work ethic he showed in learning is the same energy he puts forth both in ministry and in his consistent care for others. He’s a gift! 

End Note:

Marco is one of many Spanish-speakers who have found a home at The Institute, and benefit from a theological education that includes consideration of the poor and marginalized. This holiday season, we need your help making biblical education more feasible for students throughout Latin America. Please help us provide biblical education to more Spanish-speaking students like Marco, alleviating them from having to do triple the work. Your help provides a way forward for biblically-informed ministry throughout Latin America.