by Major Cassandra L. DeJesús
Growing up, I always wanted to serve in a different country. While I don’t recall why, I was certain I was called to serve in this fashion. When Will and I got married and became officers, I shared my desire to serve overseas with him. Though he’d served on a short-mission trip and attended conferences overseas, he was not sure if God was calling him to overseas service.
It wasn’t until Will was in a prayer meeting at a conference in Thailand in 2004 that God confirmed this. When Will told me about his experience, I was overjoyed that God had called us both to serve overseas.
In 2005, our family had the opportunity to serve in Resistencia, Argentina. Though we knew nothing about Resistencia, we embarked on this journey trusting God would provide what we needed. Still, upon arrival we were a bit nervous about what we’d gotten ourselves into. However, little by little, we found a favorite restaurant, made new friends and began to understand how The Salvation Army operated in the South American East Territory (SAE).
I’d heard that no matter where you are, if you’re part of the Army you always feel at home. That proved true for our family in Argentina where we served for five years. People opened their hearts and
homes to us. We still keep in touch with friends we made there.
When we first told our children that we were going to Argentina, we explained God was calling us all to serve in another country. We wanted them to feel it was a family endeavor; they could participate in ministry with my husband and me. I remember taking my youngest son, Michael, to pass out flyers in our neighborhood to announce our Friday movie night. Another time, my oldest son, Alejandro, wanted to help with our praise and worship by advancing the slides on the PowerPoint for our Sunday worship services. My husband and I were able to explain to our children what it meant to help others when they helped pack bags of food for families at our outpost during a flood. The experiences we shared in Argentina helped our sons to realize how God can use them and others to fulfill His mission.
Our family always has appreciated being part of the Army’s ministry, never more so than when we served overseas. Though we had fewer resources and personnel, we knew God would supply our needs. Philippians 4:19 (NASB), “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus,” became very real to us during those five years as reinforcement personnel. We saw time and again how God provided for our ministry and family.
