Hey friends!!
WOW!!! How the Lord has shown me himself the past 3 months!! I never anticipated what I would go through and how Jesus would change my heart and the trajectory of my life forever. Let me tell you how FAITHFUL He truly is. I just wanna sit at his feet and learn from him. I remember never believing I would get fully fundraised and I actually go on this missions trip. I remember doubting Gods direction several times. But He moved in that area and brought me incredibly generous people like you to support me. Without the generosity of my donators I never would’ve been able to go. I’m so grateful for all the support I received and I’m truly thankful for it. God is so good I can’t describe in words how this trip impacted me but I’ll try my best!
My journey of knowing God more intimately started at my training camp in Georgia before we left for South America. Jesus started to change my heart and showing me the father’s TRUE love. Yes I knew He “loved me” but I never actually KNEW. He started to heal my heart in ways I desperately needed. He showed me that my true purpose was to lay down my life and pick my cross and that there is fullness of joy in that surrender. He showed me true worth is in him and him ALONE. My joy is not in what I own or can do but it’s in living for Jesus. And He is always faithful to answer you when you call.
MY FIRST CONTRY BRAZIL and it was absolutely breathtaking. We climbed mountains and forged through jungles and via tired random beaches and shared the good news and our own testimonies with people along the way. We also partnered with the English Portuguese church we were staying at and helped them with the kids church. Me and my squad also led our own English service, and I had the privilege to help lead worship. It was incredible serving alongside my teammates. Another really amazing opportunity we had was to partner with YWAM Brazil and evangelize with them. We would go to a college campus and do prayer walks and ask the Lord who he wanted us to share his good news with. There were several people we got to pray and share the gospel with and also our personal testimonies. Most of them seemed open and welcomed prayer and some of them were already Christian’s and others had beliefs of their own and weren’t open to changing what they believed but were still open to hear our testimonies. I was encouraged by their curiosity and I know that we planted seeds in their hearts and I have faith that Christ will bring them to himself one day. Another way we served was with a government led after school program for all school ages. We were able to teach them Christian songs, make bracelets, and join their soccer games. We weren’t allowed to directly share the gospel but we had some opportunities when the kids would ask us about Jesus and we could then share our beliefs. The Lord used us to reach one boy named Cauwa and he was able to come to our church and get saved that Sunday. LRAISE JESUS!!! God will really leave the ninety nine to find the one. And I really believe he wanted us in Brazil just for Cauwa! Brazil was a beautiful place to start our journey and the Lord used it to grow our squad and opened my eyes to see my father more intimately.
MY SECOND COUNTRY ECUADOR!!
Definitely one of the hardest places to live because we were on top of a mountain and we delt with a lot of altitude sickness. But it was an incredible place with so much beauty. God softened my heart to listen to others and grew my patience with myself and others in my time in Ecuador. The ministry we partnered with was called Dunamis and they helped girls who had been sex trafficked or abused in families or relationships. They help girls ranging from 12 – 18 years old and they also provided support for several of the girls who had children. This ministry was definitely heavy with the reality of our broken world being the forefront of our daily lives. It was also a beautiful witness to see how they could have such joy and love with Jesus. The Lord worked in my heart by showing his strength and grace in each of these women. We had Several opportunities to serve the women and their children as well as the facility and their staff. We joined the girls in their horseback riding, gardening, sewing, movie nights, and even led them with worship and devotionals. Along with our ministry we were able to venture out into the Ecuadorian markets and experience some of their traditional foods like Guinea pig (which I didn’t try I was way too scared lol.) We also were able to hike a volcano and a cloud forest that had several beautiful waterfalls. It was such a beautiful country and I’m so grateful for the ways we were able to serve.
MY HEART NOW AND BIG NEWS!!
All along this journey the Lord opened my eyes to see more of him that he is MY father and my savior. He is always there for his children and is faithful to answer, we need only the confidence to ask. He really started a fire in my heart to reach the unreached and to show his grace that he’s given me. That’s why I’m sooo pumped to share that he’s opened yet another door for me to serve but this time in the Middle East. I get to backpack for 4 months with my new squad and share the gospel in the 10/40 region which is 2/3 of the worlds population. These people are so unreached, only 3% of missionary’s go, and so these people have never heard our saviors name. What a devastating thought that there are countries that are unreached. My heart has changed so much after hearing this and my desire is to go to every nation, tribe, and tongue and proclaim what Jesus has done for me and that he CAN do it for them!!! This opportunity was put on my heart during my time in Ecuador and the Lord spoke to me using Jeremiah 1 to bring truth to the doubts and fears I had of going on the trip. He doesn’t call the prepared he PREPARES the called. This change and new shift in my heart is nothing I’ve done but truly Christ in me. I cannot wait to see how he changes and grows me more in this next trip. I’m truly so grateful for your support and prayers as I step into this new season. If you want to partner with me again on this journey and support me financially I would be beyond grateful. It’s such a beautiful thing to be used by Christ and live your life for him wherever he calls you!! What an honor we get to live for him!!! Words cannot express how grateful I am for your support🤍🤍
Galatians 2: 19-20 🌸
With love,
Adelaide Eckles
