By Julie Reneslacis, JMI Logistics & Events Coordinator
If you had asked me when I started interning with Justice & Mercy International in the summer of 2022 which of the two countries we work in I’d like to visit first, I would have said Moldova without batting an eyelash. If you had asked me the same question when I started working full-time with JMI in January 2024, I would have given the same answer. Honestly, if you’d asked me while boarding the plane to Brazil, I probably still would have said Moldova.
On the total opposite end of the spectrum, my mom was ecstatic to be traveling to the Amazon. A few months prior, I remember sending her a text that read something like this: “Any chance you’d want to come to the Amazon with us? We have a few extra spots on our team.” It was a very half-hearted text because I didn’t expect her to actually say yes. You can imagine my surprise when an all-caps message pinged my phone, which said, “YES!”
In the two months leading up to the trip this summer, my mom peppered me with all sorts of questions, along with updates on how her packing was going. I was excited but honestly pretty nervous. The ministry part of the Amazon, of course, was exciting, but the wildlife part? Not so much. If you know me, you probably know that snakes are my biggest fear. The pictures of people in the Amazon with anacondas draped over their shoulders make me physically ill. Perhaps what excited me most about my mom coming to the Amazon was that she could keep an eye out and protect me from snakes that could swallow me whole.
Once we were actually in Brazil, both of our nerves calmed. We picked hammocks right next to each other, so we were close by if anything went wrong, but more importantly, we could laugh at each other when we struggled to get out of them. We reminded each other to bring our filtered water each morning and night when brushing our teeth. It was fun to have someone to try new foods with, as well. We loved watching the gorgeous sunsets each evening, and when we went on nighttime nature excursions to look for wildlife, my mom let me hold on to her (probably too tightly, sorry, Mom).
If the Lord can take our insecurities and use them to glorify Him, what is there He can’t do?
I remember telling my mom ahead of time that she would probably be asked to pray out loud at some point during the trip and that she needed to be prepared. This has always been something that stressed her out. More often than not, she would volunteer me to pray in her place if she ever got asked. It came as an absolute shock when she volunteered to lead the team’s devotional one morning. She shared what the Lord was teaching her through a passage in the book of Acts, and I so clearly remember feeling the Holy Spirit at work. This part of my mom’s life that she considered a weakness was a blank canvas on which the Lord displayed His strength and goodness. If the Lord can take our insecurities and use them to glorify Him, what is there He can’t do?
Even now, months after we returned from Brazil, my mom and I so fondly look back at our time together. We still send each other pictures of the sweet little kiddos who joined us at VBS, the breathtaking nature scenes, and inside jokes from the trip. The new ways we saw and encountered the Lord brought us closer. And, believe it or not, we’re both chomping at the bit to go back! Who would’ve thought? My worries about the Amazon jungle were replaced with the profound joy of the kids at VBS, the friendships I made, and the amazing team of Brazilians we worked with. Isn’t it just like our God to take our fears and doubts and flip them on their heads?
The Lord sure does work in ways that are above us and our understanding, but what a privilege to see the fruits of the Holy Spirit working in our hearts and our lives. If you have the chance to go to the Amazon, go. Even better, if you have the chance to go to the Amazon, bring your mom, and don’t be surprised if the Lord does immeasurably more than you expected!
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