Daughter of God

Discipleship is beautiful and so so strange. Especially our breed of discipleship on the mission field that always starts with building a friendship with a complete stranger. Our victory cries are “I got her number!!” “She texted me back!!” “She’s actually talking to me!!” Satan loves isolating us. Whether it’s with prideful lies of I don’t need help or depressing lies of I don’t deserve help, he will tell us whatever we need to hear in order to keep us from connecting with each other or God.

So it’s hard. We aren’t used to opening up to or trusting each other. Especially some weirdo from a different country who wants to pray with me and talk to me about God all the time. But discipleship is beautiful because God uses it to transform more people into weirdos who love Him and listen to Him and talk about Him and love others.

Discipleship breakfast with Pra Ericléia, missionaries, and church leaders
complete with secret sister gifts (I got a super cute shirt and earrings from Aline)

Because these discipleship relationships are so different from regular friendships, they can develop really fast. One week I can be praying for someone just to read my texts and the next week I can be in their home hearing all about their personal trauma and struggles. We pray and work for these relationships to develop from the person feeling and accepting our human love to feeling and accepting God’s saving, healing, perfect love for them.

I wanted to tell you about my friend, Elaine. Last October, she hit bottom. She realized that she had lost herself. Elaine had gone to church as a child, but her family fell apart when she was in high school. She left her family and the church and moved to Anapolis to attend college. Now eight years later, she was an uber driver with a law degree in a city full of uber drivers with law degrees. After a couple bad relationships, she felt completely alone and felt God calling her back to Him. She had no idea, but she was also two weeks pregnant at the time. God knew.

Elaine remembered that a woman she had met while working out at the park a few months earlier had invited her to church. She had turned her down initially, but now she called her back and asked when the next church service was. The woman from the park was Neia, one of my disciples whom I had met at that same park at an evangelism event. Neia brought her to church and we started meeting with her every week to study the Bible and pray together. Elaine remained committed but very reserved. She was always fine. Everything was always fine.

Me, Neia, and Elaine at Neia's house after a Bible study

We started preparing Elaine for the Encounter with God retreat towards the end of the year. She was planning on visiting family in December and January but was going to cut her trip short so she could be back in Anapolis in time for the retreat. Most people will let just about any minor inconvenience keep them from attending this retreat. Letting God in enough to actually touch our lives can be scary business.

Around New Years, Elaine went to the doctor with stomach flu symptoms. That’s when she found out they were actually pregnancy symptoms. A relationship with God is so securing. Everything had dropped out from under her, and yet nothing had actually changed. She was still okay. She called Neia, then called me. Two people she had only known for a couple months were now her support system.

The Encounter retreat ended up being pushed back to March 13. It was an important retreat because it was the last one before the missionaries went back home. Their last Encounter and a last chance to train church leaders before they would be on their own. As the date got closer, we were hearing more about the corona virus, but we had no idea how quickly everything would change.

Nine people attended the Encounter retreat. It was an intense weekend of emotional and spiritual healing and development. So many tears. And bigger smiles than we had ever seen on those faces. A freed people.

Elaine prays with the other Encounter retreat participants

We had a huge celebration church service Sunday evening. We didn’t know it would be our last Sunday in Anapolis, and the church’s last service in person before the quarantine. Each Encounter participant shared their testimony of conviction, healing, and transformation. Elaine stood up in front of everyone, now five months pregnant with her precious daughter, and shared that before the Encounter, Neia and I had told her every week that she was a daughter of God. She didn’t believe that could be true for her. Maybe she could be a Christian. Maybe she could learn about the Bible and have more faith in God. But she could never be a part of His family. She shared that during the Encounter God showed her that she was His precious daughter. He sees her as His, loves her, cherishes her, wants the best for her. She glowed, and not just because of the pregnancy.

Sunday evening service after the Encounter retreat
Scroll down for videos of this service!

I ask that you would pray for Elaine. She and I still video chat every week to pray and read the Bible together. Pray that she would continue to surrender herself to God's will and let Him love her. Pray for the church. We would love to have another Encounter retreat in a few months. Pray that God would continue to call the lost and isolated to Him. 

Encounter participants and leaders

Pr Marcos teaching at the Encounter, a pretty beautiful place to learn about Jesus

Missionary Alexsandra with church leaders Nicinha and Vilma working in the kitchen at the Encounter retreat

Church leader Bianca with missionary Aline, Encounter participant Biatriz,
and church leader Ludmilla at Biatriz's pre-Encounter Bible study

Missionaries Dave and TJ with Encounter participant Kevin
at Kevin's pre-Encounter Bible study with lots of açai

Missionary Dave with Encounter participants Pablo and Pablo Junior, church leader Raislan,
missionaries Bernard and Hannah, Encounter particpant Graciele, and missionary Sarah
at Pablo, Pablo Junior, and Graciele's pre-Encounter Bible study

Pr Marcos and Pra Ericléia with Encounter participants Erica and Marcelo
at Erica and Marcelo's pre-Encounter Bible study

Pr Marcos with church leader Rafael, Encounter participant Altair,
and church leader Daniel at Altair's pre-Encounter Bible study