High in the mountains of Peru, where Eladio lives, hope is scarce. Almost half of the population speaks Quechua, and many who live in remote villages have limited educational opportunities and cannot read, limiting their ability to understand God’s Word.

Without the comfort and direction of Scripture, the frustrations of poverty and hopelessness can lead to domestic violence.

Eladio, who lives with his wife and children in a small, adobe hut, did not always know how to deal with the pressures he faced. His family suffered. “I was always bad-tempered and made life difficult for my family. I didn’t understand my children,” he admits.

But things changed when Eladio received his first Bible in his own heart language of Quechua. Eladio not only found that God’s Word was helpful guidance for interacting with his family, but it also helped him learn to read!

The Bible Society’s “Read to Live” program offers the people of Peru hope for a better life through literacy programs. They also experience hope for eternity through the life-saving, life-changing words of the Bible.

“I thank God for the Bible because it’s a help, an answer, a change in my life,” he says. “I thank God that he has changed my life through his Word. My behavior and my attitudes are different. I’m a different person. Without God’s Word, my life would be a mess … empty and meaningless,” Eladio says.

Through God’s Word, literacy is improved and families like Eladio’s are blessed and strengthened.