by Leticia Shimizu
Table of Contents
Context: Youth on Fire
Two months ago, Mikeiya and I (both members of SEAPC’s residency program) helped facilitate a mission trip to Brazil, from July 13th – 22nd. Starting in June, one month before the trip, we ran 13 meetings for the teenagers and young adults who joined our team. We affectionately called them “Youth on Fire”. During our sessions, we covered topics including identity, the importance of praise and worship, the purpose of missions, evangelism, the gifts of the Spirit, intercessory prayer, and SEAPC’s Attack Lambs (prayer walking). They were well-prepared.
When we got to Brazil, we partnered with six ministries through Biblica da Paz, my sending church in Sao Paulo. Those were: 1) medical missions, 2) special needs ministry, 3) youth ministry, 4) the Christian military police alliance, 5) VBI (a Bible school the church runs), and 6) a program for students in full-time ministry training at the church (many of them joined our US team, and we involved them as much as we could).
God's Supernatural Provision
A common theme on this mission trip for me was God’s provision: knowing He was in control and would do much more than we could think or imagine. In one of the tribes we visited, for instance, the chief saw a Bible we had brought and asked, “Hey, can I grab this?” And of course, we said, “Yes, please!” We were going to distribute them anyway, but he didn’t want to wait; he just wanted to have one for himself, there and then. As soon as he got it, he held it tight. I think about that episode and I know that God does above and beyond: He moves people’s hearts. We just need to be available and open, and to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. And I see in all of the following testimonies God’s supernatural provision: God moving in ways we could not imagine, completely out of our control.
Before the trip, God would always tell me exactly that: “I’ve got this. I’m in control. You’re not alone. Give me the burden; I’ll carry it.” While we were there, I could see that happening, and I could feel it. I had moments when I was exhausted and I would feel His comfort, or He would send me someone to talk to me and speak exactly what I needed at that time. I saw His care and His hand over all the small details.
Once we were on the ground, we felt like a team of people I knew very well: like I’d worked with them for a long time. At that time, I told God, “Everything I could do before today, I did. Now I surrender to you and with you and for you. Please take control and change whatever you want. If you want to change things while we are here, please do, because I don’t want to run a mission according to my plans.” And the whole time, I thought about the phrase, “God is doing amazing things in us, through us, and more often than not, in spite of us.” I kept that quote in my mind throughout the whole preparation and during the trip and now, looking back and thinking about all these stories, the truth in those words could not be more obvious.
"God does amazing things in us, through us, and, more often than not, in spite of us!"
The Chief’s Son
We visited two indigenous tribes. One of them just went through a huge change, because they replaced their chief; apparently, it wasn’t amicable. The previous chief was our friend and partner in ministry. We didn’t know this new chief. It felt like a step back: like we needed to rebuild a relationship that had taken six years to get to. Even so, we trusted that God was in control.
When we went to this tribe, the new chief asked us to pray for his son. This was a big deal, as the chief did not yet believe in Jesus. Jewel and Jeremy, two of the members of our US team, were asked to pray for his son, and I helped translate. As I was asking him stuff, we noticed that either he couldn’t respond or he wouldn’t respond: his face stayed the same. Then the chief said, “He can’t hear you very well. He has a lot of pain and anxiety.” So then, as Jeremy and Jewel were praying, and I was translating, Jumar, who is part of the leadership team in Brazil, stood behind the boy, because he felt that it wasn’t just about healing but about deliverance too (he believed the boy might be demon-possessed).
As soon as we finished the prayer, the chief’s son fell backward. We caught and held him, and he was fine. I then whispered in his ear, “Can you hear me?” And he said, “Yes.” He was completely healed, inside and out.
The Gift of Speech
There was an autistic boy who lived in the community where we were running the medical mission. He had learned English by himself. In fact, he would only communicate in English, which was a challenge, because his mom did not speak English… But guess what? We went with a team of Americans, who were able to speak with him and have a nice conversation. They ministered to him and told him about Jesus.
Another kid had a ‘level 3’ autistic diagnosis, which is very severe and requires a lot of assistance. During the worship time, he was so moved and, like a lot of the people we met throughout our outreach and service times that day, he was baptized by the Holy Spirit. He spontaneously grabbed the microphone and started to praise God by singing worship songs. Everyone in the community started crying when they saw him do that. It was a miracle. That boy wasn’t even able to speak, let alone sing: he was non-verbal up to that point.
We had run a community training just before that night’s worship time with the parents and the kids who had autism, including this boy. Even so, when I think about that moment from a medical perspective, I know it’s not possible for a kid who was previously non-verbal to boldly grab the microphone and start singing in that time frame; that was a true breakthrough. Pastor Renata and her team are helping to follow up with this family and all the others we served through that training.
Opening Up
There was another boy in that community, a four-year-old. A missionary came up to me and said, “Hey, can you come with me for a second? I think there’s something wrong with this boy.” I followed her over, and we talked to the boy. I saw his face. It was covered in hematomas, but they were in different stages of healing, so I knew there were probably different traumatic episodes.
When we started chatting with him, he was very shy. His grandma was there too. A little later, I was able to bring this boy to the place we were seeing and treating patients. I asked him directly, “Who did this to you?” He didn’t say. I then asked, “Did your dad do this to you?” He nodded. “Does your dad hit you?” He nodded again. “Does he hit your mom?” He nodded yes. “Does he hit your sister?” He said, “Yes.” So we were dealing with a case of physical abuse on a four-year-old boy.
My friend is a psychiatrist, and she also had a conversation with him afterward. In that conversation, we found out that he wasn’t just physically abused, but sexually abused, too. At that point, we took all the legal measures we needed to. We had lawyers with us as well, and we got in touch with Child Protective Services, so we could protect this kid from his dad. Everyone on the team reflected: “If that was the only life we touched on this trip, then it would be worth it.
Losing My Voice
Eight years ago, we visited the same community on a different mission trip, and I lost my voice completely. I was supposed to speak publicly on one of the days of our trip. A lot of people prayed for me. I drank a lot of medicine. Nothing happened. I remember that I went to the worship leader and asked to be taken off the schedule because I couldn’t even speak. She said no: “If God told you that you’re supposed to minister, then you’re supposed to minister.” So I waited and prayed. By that Sunday evening, I was still voiceless. Still, I grabbed the microphone, and as soon as I did, my voice came back. It was awesome. Right after I was finished, my voice was gone again.
This time around, it was no different: I started to lose my voice on the Friday of our trip. Little by little, I kept losing more and more of it. By the time it was Sunday evening, and I was supposed to minister, it was completely gone. I prayed and told God, “You did it once before, and if you want to, you can do it again.” This time, I didn’t take any medication; I didn’t want to give it any credit. If I was healed, it would be God. Five minutes before the service started, I went over to the worship team and asked, perfectly normally, “Hey, how are you?” My voice was completely fine.
We ministered as planned. It was wonderful because God gave me a very different strategy for that ministry time: we made space to pray for the people. “Does anyone here want prayer? We are here on this mission. We’ve been here before, but it’s a completely different team. Each mission is unique. You’re never going to have the exact same team, in the exact same place, in the exact same community. So we want to take this time to pray for you guys.” Everyone wanted prayer. Right after the service, after we had prayed for everyone, my voice was gone again. It took a week to recover.
The Group on Fire
On the Sunday morning of our trip, we had devotions. After that, Pastor Campos asked, “If you are new to missions, and you feel like God is calling you to this — whether that is in your country or the nations — then I am inviting you today to make a commitment before God. We want to pray for you, and to send you out.” As he said that, and the other translator translated his words (I had lost my voice at that time), he asked me to pray for the US team — for anyone who wanted to step forward.
Almost everyone stepped forward and received prayer. Many of the kids, and even some of the adults on the team, received prayer. This was really powerful because Mikeiya and I wanted this mission to be fruitful, to be impactful in their lives so that they could go back to change their churches and cities. I prayed for seven or eight people (quietly). Molly, Esther, Rebekah, Kamera, and many others stepped forward to say, “I want to make this commitment. Lord, send me!”
As we were debriefing at the end of the trip, we heard some testimonies from a few of them. I know there will be a lot more (look out for future stories on this blog and on SEAPC’s Instagram). I saw their lives change forever when they consecrated themselves that day, and for me, that moment — seeing them realize what God’s plan for their life was, and seeing them be willing to say yes to that calling — was worth the whole trip.
Short-Term Seeds, Long-Term Harvest
I am so grateful for all of these ‘little’ stories because, on short-term trips, you have to hit the ground running. You don’t have a lot of time; time is not in your favor. Everything is intense. Every day counts. Every hour counts. So you never want this kind of trip to be a one-time event and then you’re done; you want it to be fruitful, even if that means you’re planting seeds someone else will water, or even if you’re just watering, and you don’t see the final fruit. That’s what these short-term trips are all about.
I was privileged to stay behind in Brazil for a few extra days to hear about some of the fruit. Every day I was there, I met with the pastors and leaders of the six ministries we worked with on the trip to ask for their feedback. They all said the same thing: they were excited, humbled, and honored by everything we got to do together, and they can’t wait for the next opportunities we have lined up.
I also had the chance to talk with Pastor Edson Rebustini, Biblica da Paz’s senior pastor. He too opened the doors wide open for us: “You should definitely come back. Next time, do things with some of the other ministries as well.” We don’t need to be told twice, and I can report that we are already helping to organize a medical mission with their church to serve SEAPC’s friends in Cambodia, planned for 2025.
God is faithful, and the best is yet to come. He will do even more than we can ask or imagine. To Him be the glory!
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
