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“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” Psalm 23:1

Hello, my name is Rebeca Hernandez. I am from Guadalajara, Mexico. My story begins when Missionary Jose Ahn came to Mexico as a Korean embassy worker. He pioneered Unam University, in Mexico city. Then Missionary Timothy Lee joined him and in 1984 he fished my mom, Leticia, who was a law school student. She had a Catholic background and had basic faith but through one to one Bible study with Msn Timothy, she became a powerful disciple of Jesus. In 1991, Msn Amalia Guzman fished my dad on Unam campus. He was a new believer but right away he committed his life to Jesus. One year later in 1992, they married by faith and soon went to pioneer Guadalajara, Mexico with Msn Timothy. And I joined the pioneering team as a baby in a womb! My life began as a missionary from Mexico City to Guadalajara, Mexico. Amen!

The pioneering life in Guadalajara was not easy. My mom gave her job as a lawyer at the Attorney General’s office and my dad worked as a carpenter and street merchant to support the family. My parents were always serving God and sheep so I was left to take care of my two brothers. The situation was not the best but we were happy as a family and my parents always prayed for us to grow as mothers and fathers of faith. God also provided a good government job for my father so he could provide for us. Also, my brothers and I could attend an international school to get a good education. When I was 12 and my bothers 9 and 4, Mother Barry visited Mexico and encouraged the church to pioneer all the countries in Latin America. My parents who are very obedient decided to pioneer Puerto Rico. They could not take us so we went to live with my aunt for two years while my parents were pioneering Puerto Rico. God blessed their act of faith and raised a few believers but soon they had to return to Guadalajara, México. While they were gone, I was very sad. I missed them a lot and I cried a lot. I had to serve my brothers but I was not so humble. When I look back on this time, I realize that God blessed my parents' faith to help other members of their family to come to faith in Jesus. Also many disciples were raised in Guadalajara, until there were two common life houses for students. God also blessed our family when my parents obeyed world mission vision to go to Guadalajara and to Puerto Rico. Even though my parents could not take care of us, God was our shepherd and we lacked nothing.

Our family was reunited in 2008 and I was happy to be together with them. But things got progressively worse because my dad had a hard time getting a job. Sometimes my parents didn't eat so that they could save money to send us to school. I did not know about this until later because they never complained but always made a good environment for our family. When I was a freshman in college, my father suffered from diabetes but he did not have medical insurance so he only got worse until my uncle came and took him to the hospital. This was the hardest time for me. I doubted God’s love for my family and wondered when my family’s suffering would end. By this time, I had a traditional faith of going to church and obeying my parents but I did not have personal faith in Jesus. My family's difficulty made me close my heart to God and to people in the church. I became depressed and suicidal. I wondered why God would let my father suffer when he was such a faithful man of God? I also suffered from a sense of guilt and condemnation for my sins, because I tried to ease my suffering with with smoking tobacco, drinking at parties and looking for human love with boys and girls, though nobody ever paid attention to me and that made me feel even more empty and worthless. I did not know the mercy and grace of Jesus who died for my sins. Without knowing the grace of forgiveness, my heart only grew harder and harder because I found no way out of my situation. I realized how people hardened their heart because of sin and difficult situations. There is no one who is righteous. ALL people need to know the love of God and forgiveness of Jesus.

While I was rebellious, my mom asked me to listen to a life testimony by one young man on the internet. I thought she was crazy and being so annoying. But she was persistent and I had to listen to this life testimony. I don’t remember all the details of it but somehow the Holy Spirit convicted me of my sinfulness and my doubt and rebellion against God. I broke down and cried in repentance. I realize that God answered my mom’s persistent prayer for me to grow as an ancestor of faith. No one can get faith on his own. No one can give faith to another person. Faith comes from God through the working of the Holy Spirit. I believe that God had mercy on me while I was most rebellious. He also showed my parents that God was the shepherd of our family. God took care of my parents when they sacrificed so much for campus students. God took care of me and my brothers when my parents could not take care of us. God also healed my father and now he is working as a professor of economics at a catholic university. I never had a one to one Bible teacher and whenever I asked my mom, she said, “Jesus is your shepherd.” Yes, Jesus is my shepherd who knows me and loves me and takes care of me. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He walks with me through the valley of death. I fear no evil for Jesus is with me.

Last year I met Little Sarah at the Encounter Conference. We began a Skype one to one Bible study and she invited me to attend the ISBC. I am here to support and pray for God to bless His Kingdom Conference. I pray that many more missionaries may be raised to go OUT to the ENDS of the earth with the life saving Gospel of OUR Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 10:14-15 “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'” My personal prayer topic is to catch kingdom vision and missionary vision to go back to Guadalajara, Mexico as a second generation missionary. Thank you and God bless America.

One word: The Lord is my shepherd.