Azucena “Azu” Ortiz serves in one of the most sacred roles in her town—teaching the next generation how to understand and live out God’s Word. A Manna University alumna from Real de Asientos, Aguascalientes, Mexico, Azu has spent over a decade working in sales, growing both professionally and spiritually in a place she now sees as her mission field.
Though naturally introverted, Azu has embraced roles that stretch her, including teaching children in her local church. What began as a hesitant start—teaching messages in a small congregation without proper training—soon became a call to deeper understanding. “I started to feel afraid I might be taking the Bible out of context,” she says. That concern led her to study through Manna University, where she found what she had been missing: clarity, context, and confidence.
Among her most formative experiences at Manna U was the Hermeneutics course. “After that, I never looked at God’s Word the same way again,” Azu shares. She now teaches children to ask, “What does God want to say to us through this passage?”—a question that has transformed how they, too, engage with Scripture.
"... I never looked at God's Word the same way again."
In a small but growing church community, Azu is laying a firm foundation for discipleship. The children’s ministry she leads has begun to grow organically as kids invite friends to the “Bible class”— where they not only hear about the Gospel—they learn how to read it for themselves.
For Azu, academic preparation has become an essential part of faithful service. “People prepare themselves for careers,” she says. “How much more should we do that for the Kingdom of God?” Her story reminds us that great leaders don’t just emerge in pulpits or platforms—they rise in quiet classrooms and small towns, equipped by the Word and committed to live it boldly.
