When "Go ye" becomes 'I'll Go'

Note!  The following was submitted by Bro. Jacob Palma at my request.  Bro. Palma was an AIMer to the country of Costa Rica in Central America.  He and his wife are now preparing to go and spend a year in the country of Uruguay, South America with missionaries Michael and Ivonne Walmer.  If you would like to make a financial contribution to help them complete their budget please contact me and I will put you in touch with them.  (Bro. Palma did not ask me to make this request).

Thank you,
Jerry E. Powell

I sat in the corner of small restaurant and watched a girl no older than 8 years old devour a stranger’s leftover chicken. Her tiny feet swung from the chair underneath the table. With a tortilla she gathered the scattered rice on her plate, while instructing her little brother what to do with the merchandise they sold outside. It didn’t take long for me to realize that these were street kids. Their clothes were torn and stretched, their skin was dirty and their hair was matted. They were only children, eating what paying customers didn’t finish.



She looked up and saw me staring, and smiled at me. My heart ached underneath the smile I returned. As she took her next bite, I noticed something strange. She was wearing bright red finger nail polish. It was old and chipping away, but it captured my attention and it was all I could see. Everything seemed to stop for a moment while God spoke.

In one little girl I saw the whole world. Dirty, more than likely abused, hopeless, and hungry, with nails painted bright red. She was only trying to bring some beauty into her life, and the nail polish made her feel pretty.

That afternoon in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, I understood why God wanted me to be a missionary; to bring this beautiful gospel into the lives of those who are dirty, abused, hopeless and hungry, trying to paint beauty into their lives.

My life began to make sense when God called me to missions. Saying “not my will, but Yours,” was the start of an adventure I thought a “nobody” like me could never experience. He led me to my wonderful wife Mandy, of 2 and a half years, who has dreamed of being a missionary since she was a child. She has worked in Hong Kong, Guatemala, Argentina, Mexico and Costa Rica.

While studying at CLC, I had the opportunity to take 3 missions trips to Mexico, and thanks to my home church and Pastor, Sam Emory in Merced, I was able to spend the summer of 2007 in Costa Rica with Missionaries David and Yonda Schwarz. We traveled the country preaching and visiting churches. I had the privilege of preaching a regional conference, which was held in a bull-fighting arena. I hiked up volcanoes, shared a room with geckos, traveled to Honduras, and saw many baptized, filled with the Holy Ghost and healed. The highlight of the trip was without a doubt, the time I spent with the missionaries, talking and learning.

After our wedding, my wife and I worked as missionaries to Merced and helped Bro. Jesse Garcia rebuild the Spanish ministry of the Apostolic Tabernacle, which is now seeing attendance in the 50’s and 60’s on Sunday mornings. But in the summer of 2009, God opened a door and is leading us to the country of Uruguay, South America.

We are currently preparing for a one-year term through the AIM program, working with missionaries Michael and Ivonne Walmer. Though we are not there yet, we have given ourselves to prayer for that country and have become obsessed with all things Uruguay. We feel honored that God has called us to serve there.

Two simple words have consumed our lives. They have affected our sleep and every decision we make. Jesus said, “Follow me,” so now there’s nothing else we can do. If we don’t follow Him, how can the gospel spread? Who else will introduce the little girl in Tegucigalpa to the God who can restore beauty to her life? In the words of pioneer missionary to Colombia, Mollie Thompson, “We hear a lot about, ‘Go ye into all the world,’ but what we need to hear is, ‘I’ll go.’”

Jacob Palma