Beca 2 Brazil

Go to the ant… Yeah, ok I took that verse out of context, but it made a good title, ok? In actuality, what the Lord placed on my heart this morning has nothing to do with that verse, but He did use ants to bring another passage to my attention:  1 9 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serv...

       It is surreal to think that I have been in country, as a missionary, for one year already. In many ways I feel as though I just arrived, and in many others, it is almost as if I was always here. God has been so good to teach me so much in this year and I would like to take moment and share just a few of my thoughts.       I remember on deputation, particularly towards the end, I had several pastors and church people ask the question,  ‘ What do you foresee being your greatest difficulty on the field?’      Well, to be frank, it was never something that crossed my mind all that often. Sure, I wasn’t naive to think I would have no troubles, but all of the things that ‘other people’ struggled with when they arrived on the field, I surely would not. After all, I had done language school already. I grew up with a very broad sense of culture due to living on the mission field. I had lived on my own already. My parents were mis...

 As I am starting through these first holidays spent here in Brazil, I have spent quite a bit of time pondering ALL that I have to be thankful for, this year in particular. God has been so very good to me and as I inch closer and closer to completing my first year on the mission field, I can look back and remember the numerous blessings, large and small that have been bestowed on me.  First of all, I am here! February 19, 2024, God brought me here to Brazil to start living this adventure of a lifetime! Every day I wake up and am overjoyed that God saw fit to call me into the ministry, and I am so grateful for His presence which has sustained me here so far. To me it seems like another lifetime ago that I was called to the field, another lifetime ago that I was in college preparing to come, even deputation feels like ages ago. But with all of the changes, all of the adaptions and difficulties, I have seen God be faithful and continue to work on my behalf. Truly so many things h...

  Hey friends!       This month I reached my 6 month mark since moving to Brazil! I can honestly say that this experience has, so far, been so much more than I could have ever dreamed it would be! I have fallen more and more in love with the life God has blessed me with, with every passing day. The people I get to minister with and to, have come to mean so much to me. The Deaf church and the hearing church alike have become my family here in Brazil and I could not love it any more than I do! The Lord has brought me some amazing friends these last several months. Friends who would laugh and cry with me, support me when I needed it and help me as I continue to adjust to life and ministry here in Brazil. Thank you so much for praying for me that God would make this a smooth transition process.      The last few months I have had many many ministry opportunities! I have loved everything I have gotten to be a part of! I have had opportunities to be a p...

Hey friends!  I wanted to share a dumb story of something that happened to me today, that I thought you may enjoy laughing at.        W e all do stupid things, and the faster you can laugh at yourself the quicker you will be able to not die of embarrassment at the first sign of trouble.      I had to come and get bloodwork done this morning. Not something I was looking forward to just as the process was one I knew nothing about and I was going to need to figure out. I waited about an hour just to start the registration process, once I was at the counter registering there was some issue with my insurance so the teller took my card to the back to resolve it. She was gone a while. While she was gone I pulled out my earbuds to listen to a message before putting them back in their case and ATTEMPTING to replace them in my bag. I missed…. I dropped them on the floor and both earbuds flew out of the case and under the desk in front of me. The desk was a ...

 "There is nothing quite like being in the center of God's will." I've heard it said time, and time, and time again. And so have you. Did you know that it's true?       I have been on the field here in Brazil, for 5 months now. While I am aware, that is not a long time, I have come to realize just how awesome it is to be living the dream God put in my heart and mind so very long ago. While the steps to get me here were also a part of God's will, it is a pretty surreal thing to realize that each step was taken with this goal in mind.       These last couple weeks I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the different trials and hardships God has brought me through to get me to where I am today. Each trial, each heartache and difficulty was part of the shaping and molding process to get me to be who I am and bring me here, to Brazil. I will be honest with you and tell you that the last several years of my life have been anything but easy, and I...

 You moved to another country?  Alone?  At 23?  But... why?       Well, you see my friend, I wouldn't want it any other way. What an incredible blessing to spend my 20s on the mission field serving in the ministry full-time. I think I have spent too much time giving the diplomatic answer, 'Well, God called me...' which is 100% true! But what about the other answer, the part where it's JUST AWESOME! I get to wake up every day and live my true adventure, service to the Lord here in Brazil.  Some think I’m nuts, others that my parents are, but I know that God is my leader and I couldn’t be any safer, happier or more fulfilled doing anything else -Beca

 Righteousness?  Ephesians 6:12-14  'For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.'  The Noah Webster 1828 dictionary says: Righteousness:  Purity of heart and rectitude of life; conformity of heart and life to the divine law.   The active and passive obedience of Christ           The above three verses are very familiar to most of us, they make up the first part of the armor of God which most of us have known since attending VBS as children, they are very familiar to us. I recently was part of a Bible study, during which the armor of God was the main...

     It is incredible to think that I have been on the field for two months already! It’s been awesome to see all that God has done just in this short time. I want to thank all of you for all your continued prayers! It is only because of the prayers of faithful Christians that I am able to be here and live here. The Lord has allowed me to accomplish much in the short time that I have been here, and I have been able to start getting involved in a small part, in the ministry here in Ribeirão. The last two weeks, my mom has been in town. It has been a blessing and encouragement to me to have her here for this short time, I am so thankful that God worked it out for her to come and spend some time with me.       In the time I have been here, the Lord has opened the door for me to start getting to know, and begin building relationships with several of the young people in the church as well as meet people driving Ubers and out in the community. There is one y...

  Three weeks!  How it’s been only three weeks since I arrived in Brazil, I have no idea. These last three weeks have been so full,   so exciting, and I have learned so much. Since arriving on the field, I have learned much about the people here, the culture, the language, all of that was expected. I was not expecting just how much I would learn about myself. Though it’s only been a short time, I have had my share of absolutely amazing days, and some extremely difficult ones. I have seen myself react correctly to difficult situations and react quite poorly as well. The Lord (as well as those close to me) have certainly given much grace, for which I am thankful.   One of the things I have seen repeatedly in myself, is just how much I need to learn to depend on God alone. This was a lesson I began to learn on deputation, but I am seeing now just how much more it must be learned and acted upon. Moving to the mission field, single, at 23 years old sounds absolut...

One week down, forever to go!     Thank you all so very much for ALL your prayers, kind words and for reaching out! I have heard from so so many of you that you are praying for me and so many who have reached out to see how I am doing. I am so incredible thankful for your friendship and encouragement! I am SO thankful to say that my moving day was incredibly uneventful! I did not have anything stolen, lost, broken or even  taxed! Everything arrived when and how it should have. Praise the Lord! Thank you so much for all your prayers.  This first week on the field has been absolutely amazing! It has been so surreal to be here and I have felt the summation of the last 11 years of my life. I was called to missions 11 years ago, and began serious preparation for missions in Brazil 9 years ago, at this point that feels like another lifetime ago.      This week, I have moved into a temporary living space, God provided me a FREE apartment for these first ...

       The hesitancy to add the word ‘finally’ to that title… That is kinda how I feel today, yet, I am so immensely aware of how perfect Gods timing has been every single step of the way. He really has ordered my steps and illuminated my path. Alongside the overwhelming crash of emotions that today has brought is the knowledge that THIS is Gods perfect will for me RIGHT NOW! From finishing high school, to college, to teaching, to deputation, I can see Gods sovereign hand leading and guiding me to this exact moment. There have been many trials and obstacles, but God has given the strength and endurance to overcome each one and grant victory. I can walk into this next step with the assurance that God has brought me here and will continue to guide, continue to bless and will continue to sustain.      I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity afforded to me to serve God in such an amazing capacity!  Please pray with and for me today, that all of m...

       Have you ever gotten news that made you feel as though your feet would leave the ground and lift you away? As though you would simply float off of planet earth and live amongst the stars? That’s exactly the way I felt on Friday, January 19, 2024 at 11:49am; like if I could, I would fly away.  My visa had been approved.       Knowing know how it all played out, I suppose I feel a little silly remembering the ways I doubted. I knew God was in control, and I knew His will would be accomplished, in fact, I was even certain that I would, eventually, attain my visa. But I was near certain, without doubt, it would not be this time.      My first visa application had been with the Atlanta consulate, that was the appropriate consulate for a resident of Tennessee. For reasons unknown, they rejected my application and told me I could reapply if I wanted to. I was next advised to try applying with the DC consulate. Because of the ti...

     I am still waiting for word on my visa. I was never informed as to why it was not  approved, but the advice I was given was to resubmit the same paperwork but to a different consulate. So that is the course of action I took about a week and a half ago. I am waiting and praying for a positive response this time.      During this time the Lord has allowed me to stay busy. I’ve spent some time with my parents church (my sending church). I’ve been able to teach Sunday School, sing in church and help with a conference they had several weeks ago.   I’ve also been busy traveling to some of my supporting churches in NH and SC. It has been such a blessing to see friends again and let them know what God has been doing. It’s been such an encouragement to see people who I haven’t seen in so long and hear how they have kept up with my ministry and how they are praying so specifically for me. It is such a blessing! I have been convicted to reorganize...