How it all Started
After years of service with a mission organization in Peru, we felt God was releasing us from our call to Peru, but not from missions. It was a confusing time for us. We knew we were called to seminary for more training (an MDiv for Hermes and a Masters in Counseling for Alleen), but beyond that we were not sure where our new mission field would be. February 2020 we moved to Jackson, MS and began our home missionary assignment and a time of prayer to discern where the Lord was leading us. Were we truly released from our call to Peru? If we were still called to missions, what did that look like then? How did being in the United States and studying at seminary fit into all of these plans? A verse that we clung to often as missionaries was 2 Corinthians 5:7. “We walk by faith, not by sight.” Another verse that was of great comfort during our time of searching for His calling on our life was Isaiah 30:21. “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” Our future was unsure and all we could do was trust in the Lord and listen for His voice.
We attended several mission conferences upon our arrival to the United States and also a few church visits. And then, the pandemic hit. As with everyone else, life looked a lot different. We continued to pray and seek God’s guidance and will for our life. One Sunday in the late fall of 2020, we visited Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Pastor Elbert McGown is a friend of mine (Alleen) from when he and I were both on the same mission conference circuits (he was a RUF pastor at JSU at the time). We had kept in touch and it was always good to visit his church when we were in town. It had been a hard move for me to leave Peru and return to Jackson. This may sound strange that it was hard to “come home” but after living in another culture for 12 years, marrying into that culture, and being fully immersed, coming home did not feel the same. That Sunday at Redeemer, Pastor El preached a sermon that was balm to my aching soul.
The service ended and I made my way to greet Pastor El and thank him for bringing God’s message that morning. As we talked, I told him it had been hard moving home. I remember his surprise as he realized my husband and I were living in Jackson for the next several years while we attend seminary. His eyes lit up and I could see the wheels turning in his head. Pastor El has a heart for the Hispanic community. When the ICE raids happened at the chicken plants, he and his family went to Canton and ministered to the immigrants that were there. When the pandemic hit, a local school asked Redeemer to help provide tablets so all the children could continue classes online. This is when Pastor El realized that there were several families that English was a second language living in his parish. His heart was being pulled to reach out to this community and share the love of Christ. And in Hermes he saw a great prospect to come and help him reach this group of people.
There were several meetings between Pastor El and Hermes (and sometimes me). Ideas were tossed around about what it would look like to work together and try to start a Hispanic ministry in that neighborhood. In the end, the Lord was shutting doors that we thought and hoped would be open. Finally, Pastor El asked to meet with both me and Hermes. He asked if we had ever considered starting our own non-profit and helping churches reach the Hispanic community on our own. Both Hermes and I laughed and said, well no that is not what we were expecting from this conversation. But it tugged at our hearts and we agreed to pray about it.
As we committed this matter to prayer, we began to see how the Lord had been preparing us for this calling. My experience in running a non-profit was extensive (from serving on a board of a faith based non-profit before my missionary life to the detailed administrative work I did for our previous mission). Hermes has such a pastoral heart and desires to share the gospel with other Latinos. Together we had many of the skills needed to do this work — and a heart for it. We called Pastor El to meet again and share our desire to start a non-profit and he agreed to be on our Board of Directors and help us. Hearts & Hands for Hispanics was born!