Meet Raquel, My friend from Brazil.
She has been an inspiration to me ever since I met her almost three years ago. Originally from Venezuela, Raquel has worked and ministered in many other countries and uses her gift of languages in translating and sharing God's love with the people around her. I will let her describe what she does in her own words...
Raquel: I have been working here for many years, so I have
worked in many different areas. But, you know, the focus is mainly on training
and evangelism, and I love that. So, any activity involving training and
evangelism, I really like that.
This (evangelism and training) is the work, the calling, in Brazil, but I am sure that it is first the calling in my life. And the work here is the consequence. God already started a process in my life, and I work out of that.
So, I help with mission training and evangelism and in doing
this we have many different kinds of activities. We do evangelism with drama,
theatre. I teach a lot of different groups and there are different categories.
We do the training, prepare the groups for mission work, and then send them to
do outreach. There are some who do a short term and others who do a longer term. And
there are different places we send them in Brazil: in the city, in the
province, and even out of Brazil, it just depends on the different training.
Some are short times like a weekend, one week, a month, the longer ones are 5
months, that is the DTS(Discipleship Training School).
But also, I have worked in different areas, with other
organizations, not just YWAM. I work with American organizations who are
working with communities by the river. I
work with those people with YWAM, but also through other organizations like Amazon
Outreach, an American organization, and Justice and Mercy is another American
organization that works in Brazil. They do a lot of different activities and
projects in Brazil. They have small boats, and big boats and we work together. Because they bring a lot of people from other
countries who only speak English, I travel with them to translate. I really enjoy that, not just because of the
translating, but also because they work in the communities where I have worked
in the past. So, for me, it’s an amazing experience.
I also work in the orphanage. When it started, I would go
there more. Just last week I spent two days with the children because they needed
help. So sometimes I have specific activities
I do, but if help is needed at the orphanage, on the base, or on other projects,
if I have time, I help.
Jesus came to the earth to save us, but he also came for
another purpose, serving. He did not just come for the people to serve Him,
but to serve other people and so our calling is also to serve. Wherever you
work you have to be ready to serve.
Vanessa: What is your vision for what you’re doing?
Raquel: There is a verse in the Bible that says, “Whatsoever
you do, do for the glory of God.” My
life is for the glory of God, not for saving myself. It’s not for glory for myself. My vision is
that anything I do is what is pleasing to God.
Vanessa: How long have you been serving the Lord in this
area?
Raquel: 100%, full time is since 1998, so 26 years. In different areas. I have done many different things. There are some things that I feel more comfortable doing, but I’m also not afraid to take on new challenges. Before, I was nervous about doing things outside of my comfort zone, but now, if I know that God really wants me to do something I will do it. It’s hard, but worth it.
Vanessa: Why did you start doing this?
Raquel: I had “normal” work before. I worked for a computer
company in marketing or something like this. I worked in different companies
and at the same time I was involved in other activities. Like working with the
deaf people in my church. Our church had a special group with the deaf and we
would meet every week. On Sunday we would translate the service for them and
during the holidays we would take the group to a camp.
We also worked with the teenagers and had different programs
for discipleship in the church. I always liked doing this kind of work. But
eventually, I came to a point where I really wanted to do more. I wasn’t
satisfied with the things I was doing in my job. I thought to myself, “I want
to do something more, but then I will have to quit my job. How will I make
money?” I felt in my heart that God was calling me to something bigger, not
just work. But for many years I was afraid. I spent many years thinking about
this until one day I decided I want to do this, and I did because I felt God
calling me to something.
So that is the reason, because I felt God really wanted more
from me. Why? Because, when you look more for God’s presence God is going to
give the answer. It is a process: I look for God, pray more, focus on spiritual
things and then I start to hear God’s voice more clearly.
Vanessa: What keeps you going?
Raquel: For the same reason mentioned above. When you look for
God, you can’t stop. God will continue to guide you.
Vanessa: Do you ever feel discouraged?
Raquel: Yes, yes. Do you know why? Because I’m human…. It’s
normal. Sometimes you wake up and you feel blue. It’s normal. But when you keep
in that state of mind, it is bad. You may feel like this for a few hours, maybe
one day, maybe two days. It’s possible, but if you keep it that long, it’s not
good. That is a different thing. But it’s normal because I’m human. Sometimes
when something is going on in my family, I want to go to them and be with them
longer and support them (most of them are in Venezuela). So, I feel sad because
I can’t go there. But it’s not because I don’t like my job. It’s not because I don’t
like where I am. It’s because something’s going on with my family or a relationship
that makes me feel sad, you know. And sometimes
I can let the enemy put something bad in my head. But it’s for one day, two
days, then it passes, right? That is important. You remember Nehemiah? When he
heard about the destruction, he was sad. He cried and then he prayed. Then he
stood up and went to the king. So, when I face hard things, it is ok. First cry,
then pray for strategy.
Vanessa: What is it that encourages you in those times?
Raquel: What is it that I do when I feel discouraged? I take
time. Take time for fighting a little
bit with God. Yeah, sometimes I’m
fighting with Him. Asking questions. And he knows. He hears me and it is
important to talk with Him. Sometimes I complain. But yeah, it makes me feel
better. He’s my father and I have to be honest with him. Sometimes I say, “I don’t like it. “When I don’t
agree with Him, I have to say I don’t agree.
But the Holy Spirit calms me and gives me comfort. Sometimes I have to take time to listen to music,
take time just for myself. Just be in a
quiet place with nobody around. I need to be alone. Some people, when they are in this situation,
need people around. They call their friends and tell them about their problems
and ask them to pray. But for me, it’s not that way. I need to be alone. I have
to process what is going on and pray. So,
probably the most important thing for me is time.
Vanessa: What is a verse that has been a blessing to you?
Raquel: There are many, many verses. But one that I always think of, and I really like
it every time I have the opportunity to say it. It might seem a little strange,
this verse: “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” Why? Why is it the joy? Because,
you see, with joy it’s possible, the joy will be your strength. If you look at,
if you know God, you’re going to move closer to Him. And that is going to
influence your life. When you are talking to somebody you really like, that
attitude, that example is going to influence your life because you like that
person. It’s the same with God. The joy from God is going to make a difference.
If I keep connected with His presence, God’s going to give me strength. That is
one verse I love.
And another one is John 3:16. This is amazing, amazing,
because it doesn’t just talk about salvation. No, it talks about the essence of
God, love. “For God so loved the world that
he gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish
but have eternal life.” The question is, ok, God loved me so much, he gave up
the most important thing to Him for me. So, the question for me is “If I say I
love God so much, what am I doing for Him? What am I giving up for him? You
know? If I love God, I don’t have to do anything, but I want to do something
for Him. I want to do something
special. Love is not an obligation. It’s
automatic. If you love someone, for you, it’s not mandatory to do something.
You do something because you want to show the love and it’s important to
you. There are many, many different
teachings in this verse.
Vanessa: What encouragement would you share with other
people?
Raquel: Ok, this is another verse I like. I’m going to answer with this verse, “Everything is possible if you believe.” This has encouraged me. If I believe in God everything, not just some things, everything is possible. Even the things that we humans think are impossible. There is a song that says, “If you believe, you can move the mountains.” And we would say, “That is impossible.” But with God all things are possible, because the Bible says so. The Bible says if you have faith like a small seed, you can do many things. So that’s how I want to encourage other people. Believe, believe more in God and you can see many different things. If you believe, you are going to see the glory of God in your life. Amen.
Vanessa: Share a story of God’s faithfulness for you
Raquel: Ok, it was my
first experience with God in financing. My first international trip, like long,
far away from here was in India. Many years ago. So, I didn’t really want to go
there, but God asked me to go. I said, “I don’t like India, I don’t have a
calling for India” But I felt that God was telling me to go there.
Okay. So, I remember I didn’t have money. One week before
the trip we were supposed to pay for our tickets. But I just had $400, and I needed
$1400 or something like this. So, I got angry with God, and I said, “God, I
didn’t even want to go on this trip, and you told me to go so, give me the
money, because I didn’t want to go!”
And I felt God say again, “You go. I am going to test you. Trust
me.”
So, I said in my heart, “What?! Okay, I will wait.”
To make a long story short two days later someone called my
leader and said, “I want to pay Raquel’s ticket to India. So don’t worry about
it.”
That was an experience that increased my faith, because it
was the first in my mission life.
I have many stories* but that is one I wanted to share from
my time in Brazil. God has called you. God cares about you. When God has
promised, He is going to provide.
Vanessa: What is a funny story about life on the base?
Raquel: Because I’m from Venezuela, at the beginning, the people
really liked to laugh at me because of my accent. I made a lot of mistakes
talking, you know, many, many things. So,
there are many funny stories here at the base about my accent. For my Portunal,
you know Portuguese and Spanish (Espanol).
When you mix Portuese and Spanish, Portunal. So, a lot of stories about
that.
A lot happened, but this is important. Don’t let this kind of thing affect you, because it’s normal. If someone American, Canadian, Brazilian would go to Venezuela and start to learn Spanish it would be funny, you know? So, the people are not laughing at you, they are laughing at the way you talk. So, that is that. 😊
Raquel has overcome many challenges in learning new cultures, new languages, and just plain old trust in God, and so have every one of the rest of us. Later on in our phone call she told me, "There are some people who everyone knows about. Their lives are on display to the world. And there are some people who quietly serve and no one even knows their name. But everyone is leaving a legacy. Everyone will live on in some way in the people they have interacted with."
🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯
Thank you for the difference you are making in the lives of the people around you.
*Raquel shared another story that I hope to share later.
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