A Brazilian missionary is working among young people in Chard, Somerset, mentoring and giving mental-health support with the help of local ministries.
Raquel Lima (see photo), who is also serving the local Portuguese community, has been placed by Latin Link (in partnership with South West Youth Ministries) to mentor and support young people alongside Forefront Church, an independent evangelical fellowship.
Raquel told how she felt the Lord’s call when very young. She studied theology and missiology and heard about the opportunity to serve God in the UK. She arrived in November 2020, the day before further lockdown was imposed, and didn’t have much opportunity to go out. But it gave her time to prepare and to understanding the culture.
Raquel said that though the pandemic stopped a lot of opportunities, it opened new doors. She worked with local foodbank Lord’s Larder, helping people with food and support during lockdown.
She is now also involving with mentoring young people in the church and recently started a new project with sports at school, including football and basketball – ‘with plenty of time for chat,’ she noted.
Chard has a large Portuguese community and, with Portuguese being Raquel’s first language, this has provided further opportunities for service locally.
When asked how people can pray, she responded: ‘You can pray for the future. You can pray for God to help me for my next steps, and [show] me so clearly what the next step is and prepare myself for this next challenge.’
Latin Link’s Incoming Mission programme places people within the ministry teams of local churches or church projects. Those individuals have initial conversations with, or make applications to, Latin Link’s short-term coordinator in their home country, who then works with the UK team to find a suitable placement.
Some placements are short term while others are longer term, including individuals who lead churches in part of the UK.
Latin Link’s mission is described on its website as ‘partnering with churches to share the love and hope of Jesus in Latin America and Europe’.
It was formed in 1990 from a merger between the Evangelical Union of South America (EUSA) and the Peru field of Regions Beyond Missionary Union, after which they both ceased to exist as separate organisations.
