By Kayla Willmann, Belmont University Amazon Mission Trip 2025
God began working in my heart before I even stepped on the plane to Brazil. Foolishly, I was worried about aesthetics and experience just as much as I was about serving. The novelty of the rainforest consumed as much time in my brain, if not more, as my prayers for the people of Brazil did. In a stressful passport debacle that was resolved only an hour and a half before takeoff, God reminded me that this life and this trip are only through Him and for His glory. Without Him, I have no faith to go, no heart to serve, and no joy to sustain.
The stress of the reality that I may not make it on the plane after months of prayer, fundraising, and build-up reminded me that I am desperately reliant on God, and I can hold on to nothing but Him. If He had not worked a miracle, my passport would not have been available for me to travel to Brazil, a much-needed reminder that there is nothing I can do without Him, tearing down the pride and selfish ambition in my heart once again.
How easy it was for me to be distracted from God until the Lord reminded me that this mission was about His heart and His heart alone. It wasn’t the location, the fun, or the friendships that meant the most—it was Him. His love for the people of the Amazon is why I was sent, not for my sake, but for His purpose. What an honor it is to carry His heart to a place as beautiful as the Amazon, to join with a people God loves so deeply who share in His love so well. How kind it was of Abba to position my heart before I had even arrived.
Humility is a shoe that blisters the prideful foot to walk in, yet is far too easy to forget to put on. Simple humility was the most profound lesson the journey in the Amazon taught me.
Upon arriving, a deep gratitude filled my heart, a gratitude only possible due to God’s repositioning of my heart. Thank you, Lord, for bringing me here. I am so thankful that He saturated my heart with a gratitude so deep that this was truly one of the best (if not the best) weeks of my life. I do not believe I have ever felt so full of purpose and love that only comes from God. This gratitude was a product of the awareness that comes with the humility to recognize that the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it (Psalm 24:1), a truth that is commonly neglected. This trip never belonged to me; it belongs to God.
One experience that laced up the boot of humility around my foot was when one of our leaders, Lucas, led worship, and the Brazilian team (whom we were so dependent on—they are amazing!) sang in Portuguese, while the American team sang in English. I am not sure that I have ever felt so close to what it may be to worship in heaven. This moment of worship reminded me that heaven is big, and bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth is a global effort. It also reminded me that I have family that spans across nations.
God’s kingdom is vaster and more diverse than I can imagine, yet He still allowed me to take part in making His heart known
The blood of Christ bonds beyond language barriers, cultural differences, and geographic lines (Galatians 3:28). What a beautiful honor it is to sing praises to the Lord in multiple languages, knowing that one day every nation will sing His praises together. This brought humility to my heart as I realized that God’s kingdom is vaster and more diverse than I can imagine, yet He still allowed me to take part in making His heart known. Who am I that You are mindful of me (Psalm 8:4)—what a privilege.
While I found immense beauty in the diversity of languages during my time in Brazil, the language barrier also brought about frustrations that bred humility. I realized how reliant I am on the body of Christ. I am so finite and limited in my ability, and had to rely on those around me to do a task as simple as communicating, something that I had previously taken for granted. Another aspect of the language barrier that surprised me was that, in many cases, it almost didn’t matter. Love that proceeds from God can transcend what separates man (Ephesians 3:19).
This was particularly apparent with the children. God has always cultivated a soft spot in my heart for kids, but this experience truly solidified my passion for them. Although they could not understand what I was saying in many cases, I have seldom felt as much love as I did from the kids in the villages we visited. Getting to share Jesus with them lit up my heart in a way that only reveals itself when you connect with God’s purpose for you. This feeling can only be described as a heart explosion.
The children we got to serve have such much love in their hearts that they treated us as if we were A-list celebrities, when we are just regular people. I am so inspired by this love. I hope that I can make people feel as important and loved as those children made us feel, and I pray they felt the same love from us.
One specific moment that stands out to me is when a child read my interpretation badge that had a few Portuguese and English phrases. She read each interpretation, and when she reached the last phrase, “te amo,” she looked up and me and said, “I love you.” My heart melted. With every “please don’t leave” and “when will you be back,” I felt a sorrow that is only born from love. This taught me humility because I must leave it to God. I must continue to pray for these kids, trusting that God will take care of them, prayer works, and He cares for them more than I ever could.
Another way God worked for this trip before I left for the Amazon was by stirring a faith in my heart for healing in Brazil. Throughout our home visits, He allowed me to pray for this several times. At the first home I had the opportunity to visit, we were greeted by a woman whose anointing was palpable. She had two tattered Bibles sitting on her table next to her, and she let me page through one. As we were speaking, her husband joined us on the porch and was noticeably ill. She shared with us that he was battling both Parkinson’s disease and cancer. Tears began to well up in my eyes—the two diseases I had been praying for healing from that week were Parkinson’s and cancer. The man next to me on the plane to Brazil shared with me that his sister was battling cancer, and a friend had recently shared with me that a member of his family was battling Parkinson’s, focusing my prayers on those two sicknesses. God is moving, even when we do not understand how He is working. I trust that He is. The man allowed us to pray for Him, and I asked the woman if she would pray for us as well. She released a prayer that my flesh did not understand (due to the language barrier), yet her words still encouraged my spirit.
There was another home visit where we had the opportunity to pray for a woman with a skin disease. As we laid hands on her, I felt God prompting me to not only pray for physical healing, but healing from rejection. To remind her that He loves her so dearly, and He will never leave her. As our team prayed, the woman cried. She told us no one in the village would touch her because they were scared of her disease, even though it was not contagious. We got to hug her, and she told us her community was too afraid to hug her. Jesus has a heart for that woman, and I am so thankful He lent it to me. These experiences brought me to a posture of humility once again, as I realized that God is sovereign in situations I cannot understand. Although I do not know every answer to suffering, I know that God is good. I do not know why He does not always heal our bodies, but I trust He is good. I lay down my definition of goodness for the reality that He is good.
One final house visit gave me the honor of sharing the Gospel with people who did not speak the same language as me, thanks to one of our incredible interpreters. Again, my heart lit up in the way it only can when you are walking in what God has created you for: a heart explosion. This is what my heart was made for, and my tongue was fashioned for. I thank God for the honor of sharing the best news there ever was with His creation who spoke another language.
As much as our team was gifted with the ability to minister in the villages, He gave us the capacity to minister to one another and encourage each other while on the boat. Through prayer, devotions, worship sets, and fellowship, God built us up by allowing us to show each other our pursuits after Him. I am inspired and humbled by the faithfulness of those who go. My prayer is that He would continue to send people who burn for the Gospel to every nation until everyone has heard the Good News, and I believe God has created you to take part in His mission of making disciples as well (Matthew 28).
Join us on a trip! Learn more at justiceandmercy.org/go.
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