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BENITA'S STORY
As a Hispanic young woman, Benita had a difficult journey. She thought 23 year olds should be encouraged to follow their God-given dreams. They should be able to count on the support from those who matter most, but when Benita arrived in Manila, Philippines with a suitcase in hand, it was the memory of her pastor's disapproval that weighed her down.
During her entire flight, she had fought back tears as she remembered those 30 minutes–those moments that seemed like an eternity–where her spiritual leader, this grandfather figure in her life tore her down and dashed her hopes. "Why would he do this?" she thought. "He knows me. He loves me. He knows that all I want to do is to obey God's call on my life to become a missionary."
Carrying more than her suitcase with her, Benita started her missionary internship. She noticed immediately that the leaders were different. They didn't know her but they cared. How did they even know that she was hurting? Why would anybody want to invest in this broken girl? Totally unexpectedly, these leaders had created a safe space for Jesus to begin to heal the hurt from her past.
It was New Year's Day, 2024, and Benita was on her way to Jacksonville, Florida to serve out of Go To Nations World Headquarters. She didn't know what God was up to in her life, but she continued to just take one step at a time. Working with people that had been changing nations for longer than she had been alive, she thought, "I can never be like them. What am I even doing walking among them?" Deep inside, Benita was still broken–the words of her pastor still ringing in her ears. Fighting insecurities and uncertainty every day, Benita saw other missionaries coming and going from the World Headquarters doing what she could only dream of doing herself. As a matter of fact, her role was helping make sure that they were successful in the launch of their missions call.
With every new interaction, she remembered her travels and the faces of the orphaned children in Thailand and the lost and dead eyes of the prostitutes in the Indian brothels and the questions in her mind grew louder. Did she mis-hear God? Was she really on the correct path? Had she done something wrong to deserve to stay in the United States instead of in the nations as she had expected?
"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name." Psalm 91:14-15 NKJV
God was up to something...something big! Over the course of several years, God was giving Benita a heart for the nations in a different way than she had ever imagined. These leaders saw something in her and began to help her believe that she could, in fact, change not only herself, but that she could change the world. They became a new voice that countered the negative ones from her past. They became her mentors, and spiritual mothers and fathers. They awakened a real cry in her heart to see 1,000 Millennials just like her to be healed, equipped, and mobilized to take nations...bringing closure to the Great Commission in this generation.
During her entire flight, she had fought back tears as she remembered those 30 minutes–those moments that seemed like an eternity–where her spiritual leader, this grandfather figure in her life tore her down and dashed her hopes. "Why would he do this?" she thought. "He knows me. He loves me. He knows that all I want to do is to obey God's call on my life to become a missionary."
Carrying more than her suitcase with her, Benita started her missionary internship. She noticed immediately that the leaders were different. They didn't know her but they cared. How did they even know that she was hurting? Why would anybody want to invest in this broken girl? Totally unexpectedly, these leaders had created a safe space for Jesus to begin to heal the hurt from her past.
It was New Year's Day, 2024, and Benita was on her way to Jacksonville, Florida to serve out of Go To Nations World Headquarters. She didn't know what God was up to in her life, but she continued to just take one step at a time. Working with people that had been changing nations for longer than she had been alive, she thought, "I can never be like them. What am I even doing walking among them?" Deep inside, Benita was still broken–the words of her pastor still ringing in her ears. Fighting insecurities and uncertainty every day, Benita saw other missionaries coming and going from the World Headquarters doing what she could only dream of doing herself. As a matter of fact, her role was helping make sure that they were successful in the launch of their missions call.
With every new interaction, she remembered her travels and the faces of the orphaned children in Thailand and the lost and dead eyes of the prostitutes in the Indian brothels and the questions in her mind grew louder. Did she mis-hear God? Was she really on the correct path? Had she done something wrong to deserve to stay in the United States instead of in the nations as she had expected?
"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name." Psalm 91:14-15 NKJV
God was up to something...something big! Over the course of several years, God was giving Benita a heart for the nations in a different way than she had ever imagined. These leaders saw something in her and began to help her believe that she could, in fact, change not only herself, but that she could change the world. They became a new voice that countered the negative ones from her past. They became her mentors, and spiritual mothers and fathers. They awakened a real cry in her heart to see 1,000 Millennials just like her to be healed, equipped, and mobilized to take nations...bringing closure to the Great Commission in this generation.