Mission Path to Spain, Part 3

By Andrew McChesney

Pastor Luis Paiva miraculously received U.S.$1,000 to pay off a debt, leading him to believe that God’s will was for him, his wife, and their three children to leave Venezuela. But they didn’t have any savings.

“Lord, how do I leave with no savings?” he prayed.

At home, his wife said a pastor in the United States had called, wanting to speak with him. The pastor was looking for volunteer missionary to work for a year in an area of Mexico without a Seventh-day Adventist presence. Luis went to Mexico, and his wife and children joined him two months later.

Over the next eight months, 35 people were baptized through Luis’ efforts. One new member donated a building, and a new church was opened.

But the authorities denied Luis a visa to stay in Mexico. He seemed to only have two options: move to the United States illegally or stay in Mexico illegally. He didn’t want to live anywhere illegally. Luis had become acquainted with a regional immigration official. When the official heard about Luis’ situation, he promised not to deport him. Luis believed him. But he believed God even more when God said, “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save” (Psalm 146:3, NIV).

Worried, Luis prayed. He also made phone calls to the United States and Canada, seeking legal advice on leaving Mexico. Only two churches replied — an Adventist church and another church, both in Canada — but Luis remained in Mexico. Then a church member visited his home. “What’s your biggest fear?” the man asked. “I don’t want to live illegally in Mexico, and I don’t want to travel illegally to the United States,” Luis replied. “I also don’t want to return to my country.”

“If you had the money, what would you do right now?” the man asked.

“I would buy a plane ticket a fly to Spain,” Luis said.

Luis had a same-age aunt who had immigrated to Spain 20 years earlier. If he moved, he would have a family member nearby. Also he had visited Spain three years earlier and felt comfortable there.

After listening to Luis, the church member said, “So, let’s buy the tickets and have you fly to Spain.”

After buying plane tickets for Luis and his family, he told Luis not to worry. “God is with you and is leading you,” he said.

Today, Luis and his wife are missionaries in Spain.

Andrew McChesney is editor of Adventist Mission.

World Church Prayer Requests

February 10 - 16, 2023

• Pray for Heather-Dawn Small (director of the General Conference Women’s Ministries Department), Nilde Itin (associate director), and all Women’s Ministries leaders worldwide, especially for those in your local church.
• Pray for the Men’s Ministries leaders worldwide and in your local congregation.
• Pray for God's children in Turkey and Syria, struggling with the aftermath of the earthquake!
• Please pray for Revive Café, an urban Center of Influence in Auckland, New Zealand, as they seek to help people eat healthfully.
• In New York City, the Bronx Food Pantry serves 7,000 people in a neighborhood where over 50% of the residents suffer extreme poverty. Volunteers pray with those who come. Please ask God to expand the pantry’s influence that even more people may be helped.
• Pray for God to open our hearts to how we can practically serve and minister to those around us. Pray for doors to open for more Centers of Influence, perhaps in our own churches.

To download this week's testimony and prayer requests, click here!