Archives December 2015

One reason I forget God’s grace in my life or how He has come through for me is fear. I start to believe God no longer cares about me because of my failures or that I have somehow stepped out of His will for my life. One day I hear one of my friends has cancer, or one of my family members are in the hospital. I get sick and have to stop serving on mission. Then I begin to ask “Why God?” “What did I do or not do?” “Why are my prayers bouncing off of the ceiling?” Then I start to believe God is not the good God He said He is.

But why do I do this? Because I am allowing myself to live in fear and I stop trusting in God. Trusting God means I believe He is who He says He is no matter what I see in my life. Trust means I believe I am who God says I am, no matter the mistakes I make. I have to believe that God feels about me what He said He feels, that God loves me and wants me as His bride, no matter what I feel like on any given day.

 
[quote] “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” Matthew 6:28-33 [/quote]
 

Do I really believe this passage when that job falls through or the rent is due and I don’t know where the money is coming from? Do I truly believe and trust that God loves me more than the flowers or birds of the air? Sure it’s easy to believe God loves and cares for you when you have a big bank account and a nice new car but what about when you are on the mission field and you are down to your last fifty dollars, and suddenly your missionary sister wants to make a donation to a church that is struggling and it almost physically hurts you to give that money away? What about when the only car you have is totaled in an accident, what then?

That is what real trust in God looks like. Believing He has you even when you can’t take another step because life isn’t going the way you want it too. Knowing He has your best in mind even when you can’t believe saying “good bye” could be anywhere near best for you.

 
[quote]“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11[/quote]
 

That is what real trust in God looks like. Believing He has you even God knows no matter how dark the night is, the beauty of the morning is worth the night. The joy of seeing God give you just what you needed just in time is worth any trial. I know with out a doubt that losing a car or a job means God will give us a new one or He has a way for us to make it without one. I know and trust He would never harm us. God is a good Father! All I have to do is trust that He is good and remember how far He has bought me! Every day God shows me just how much He loves me through giving me just what I need no matter the circumstances.

Like the time Brooke and I were eating at a restaurant in Colombia and just as we finished we realized that we had forgotten to go by the ATM first but when we counted out the money we had between us it amounted to exactly what we needed down to the last peso (1/3000 of a dollar). Like my dad being able minister in Liberia, Africa through a miracle, with my beloved adopted sister Mercy in her home city. Like my friend in Zambia asking me to help the ladies of the Bible study group I was a part of buy some paint because they wanted to bless my beloved church I attended while there and I had just enough to help them buy all the paint they needed. Like a dear friend giving my family her car! God has been too good to me to doubt that He is anything but the loving Father He is! And He is the same in your life. You just have to remember and trust! Trust that He loves you and will never harm you!

 
[quote]“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:11
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Love, Rebekah Bullen

At Large Missionary

Mission Critical International

Photos of Rebekah’s Ministry

Rebekah depends on the donations of big-hearted people like you to continue the amazing work she is doing around the world.

If you would like to help Rebekah you can mail a check to:

Mission Critical International

301 Pruitt Rd #1030

Spring, TX 77380

or give online below.

100% of your gift will go to support Rebekah’s missionary work around the world.

“Why do you want to work with young adults and not children? What is the point of trying to help people who are already almost grown?” I have been asked that question so many times that now answering it almost becomes a routine when talking to people about Mission Critical’s dream to build a home for young adults (beginning with young women) ages 18-23 in inner city Bogota Colombia. Honestly I sometimes have to ask myself the same question…. Is it really worth it? Is this a real necessity here in Bogota? Will it make a difference? These last few months that I have been in Bogota I have felt a deep dissatisfaction with the work that I have been able to do so far, let me explain a bit of what I mean.

The Colombian government is unfortunately a nightmare of nightmares when it comes to paper work especially for ministries and that means that before starting anything there is a long waiting and investigation process that has to take place and the consequences of not doing everything excruciatingly perfect can be devastating including prison time and fines of thousands of dollars. Basically if you want to help people here in Colombia you had better be ready to be patient and wear out your knees from hard-core prayer. All that to say most of the work that Oscar (Mission Critical’s general director in Colombia and my Fiancé) and I have been doing for the last 4 months, other than translations and mission trip organization for different ministries and doing our best to love on individuals, has been talking to various lawyers, ministries, churches and individuals with any knowledge about how to establish a legal ministry here in Colombia.

I have worked hard here in Colombia even to the point of losing a lot of weight and having to stay in bed for a few days because of stress and lack of rest but I can honestly say the hardest part has been these last 4 months. The endless days of waiting on papers and for God to send us the right people to work with and the not knowing where the funds will come from to launch such an endeavor have been merciless and as I said sometimes it is difficult to stay focused and causes one to ask…“is it all really worth it?”

I want to tell you a story about two different girls that I have met and talked with personally here in Bogota… the first one I will call Joanna and the other I will call Keren for their protection. Both of these girls either escaped (because life on the street was better than living there) or were forced to leave the government institutions at the age of 18 years old to fend for themselves with no money, no family and no future. Both girls have told me about how they lived on the street constantly surrounded by prostitution and drugs. Joanna has been my friend for about 7 years and during that time God has used me to help her escape from prostitution 2 different times. I remember as she begged for my help the first time and cried in my arms telling me how she was working as a prostitute and how she didn’t see a way out. Keren and another friend escaped from the government orphanage when she was 14 and they lived alone selling candy on the street for money. By the grace of God Keren was able to avoid the drugs and the “pimps” that constantly surrounded them and just recently she was finally able to reconnect with her family. Her friend however fell into the grip of drug addiction and under-age prostitution and has to this day never been able to break free from that. Every time I think about them and the countless others that I have talked to and known for years that have fallen into sex trafficking at some point in their teenage to young adult lives I say to myself and others YES! it is absolutely worth it and necessary because one of the main causes for this is because they have no other options. More than 800 young adults per year are forced to leave the governmental care systems at the age of 18 in Bogota alone and most of the girls end up in prostitution and the boys become addicts, gang members and pimps or “groomers” themselves. 15% of them will be dead within a year and over 60% will eventually face a fate worse than death in the brothels. My family has worked in these orphanages and we have witnessed the traffickers waiting at the orphanage gate to scoop up these precious little girls.

Mission Critical’s first goal is to give these young men and women that “other option” by starting a prevention program where 18-year-old girls who have ‘aged-out” of institutions can live in a home where they receive their basic needs, counsel, discipleship, help finding a job, training on how to live on their own, the opportunity to study and have a profession/degree and much more until they are emotionally and physically ready to live and be successful on their own. We are one of the only ministries that have this vision to work with young adults here in Colombia, there are countless ministries to children and families but almost nobody is doing what we are working to do. This is the first step of many to come to help break the cycle and help change the lives of young adults in Bogota and other cities in Colombia. That is why we do what we do and that is also why I always ask for prayer for Mission Critical Colombia and for our team on the ground (Oscar and me) especially now that we are hoping to have SHIELD House up and running by the end of 2016. Please, please pray for the long year we have ahead of us and, God willing, for the many years to come of countless souls being reached and changed through God’s love.

Also please ANYONE who reads this take 10 minutes to watch this video and read this article about Medellin Colombia where I spent 11 months earlier this year working with children and street ministry and saw for myself much of what is revealed in this video, http://www.channel4.com/news/colombia-medellin-prostitution-virgins-gangs-pablo-escobar . It is worth the 10 minutes and will shed a lot of light on why this is an emergency and we need all the help we can get to make a difference. Jesus came to set the captives free and He is still doing that today through those who are willing to fight. Just like in the short story of the boy throwing the starfish back into the ocean, we cannot make a difference for all of them… but we can make a difference for the one, the two, and the three that are touched by what we do.

“A soul’s worth, can it be named? What is the price of one reclaimed? We can’t afford to ignore the strife, what will you give for a life?” – A soul’s worth by Matthew Bullen.

Love Brooke

Photos of Brooke’s work in Colombia

Brooke depends entirely on donations from caring people for her support and the support of the amazing work she is doing.

If you would like to support Brooke you can mail a check to:

Mission Critical International

301 Pruitt Rd. #1030

Sbring, TX 77380

Give online below.

100% of your tax exempt gift will go to Brooke’s work in Colombia.