Serving the Lord in Latin America3 min read

I serve as a missionary deaconess to Latin America alongside my husband, Jeancarlos. I started as a missionary in 2013 serving the Lord in Lima, Peru. Jeancarlos is finishing his final year of classes in seminary and serving his vicarage in the Dominican Republic. Upon graduation from seminary in May 2022, our family will return to Peru where Jeancarlos will be called as a national pastor of La Misión Luterana del Peru, and I will continue to serve as a deaconess with the LCMS Office of International Mission (LCMS-OIM). Jeancarlos and I have two children: Abraham, age 3, and Eliana, age 1.

As a deaconess, I work in the local congregation to help share the love and mercy of Jesus with our community. I work especially with the women of the congregation to encourage and equip them to share the Gospel with those outside of the church in their daily lives. Many of the church members are new Christians and their children, husbands, and neighbors don’t know the Good News of Christ. Through Bible study, prayer, and visitation, I work with Pastor to fill these women with the Gospel and help them learn how to show Christ to their neighbors. I teach Sunday school, youth group, and Christian Education in our Lutheran school. But more importantly, I train, organize, and lead the local Dominican ladies to be Sunday school and Christian Education teachers. I also work with the altar guild and accounting of the church. At every step, I include local members so that they learn how to do these activities without me.

Our youth group has 13 active girls. We meet twice a month for food, Bible study, service projects, and fun. The girls love to sing and study the Word together. It has been a joy to work with these young ladies to share the Gospel with them and encourage them to form new lifelong habits of Christian living, like daily devotions and prayers, living a chaste and honest life, being free from gossip, and always interpreting the actions of others in the kindest way.

Another area of my service as a deaconess is teaching at Seminario Concordia El Reformador. This seminary of the LCMS-OIM serves churches around Latin America training both pastors and deaconesses. I serve as a professor and mentor for the deaconess students. Additionally, I have worked on writing the course manuals for several classes. In May 2022 the first class of deaconesses will graduate—that is approximately 100 women from 5 different countries.

It is a joy to serve the people of Latin America bringing the light of Christ to shine in dark places. I am grateful and honored to be trusted as your missionary. Thank you for your prayers and support of our family and missionaries everywhere.

Through the Here We Stand campaign, Michigan District missionaries receive financial support as a result of the many gifts given to the International Missions initiative. We’re now in the home stretch of the Here We Stand campaign. There is still time to contribute. Will you help us reach our $10 million goal? 

_{Photos courtesy of Deac. Caitlin Worden de Ramirez}