Captain Bersabe Vera became divisional commander of the Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands Division (part of the USA Eastern Territory) on April 1, 2024.
She is leading a division with a vibrant ministry. There are 11 corps, including a Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center, comprehensive family/social and emergency disaster services, robust youth music and summer programs, and outreaches such as community care. These ministries are complemented by an adult rehabilitation center in San Juan.
Captain Bersabe hails from Mexico and came to the Central Territory in 1988 as a soldier to start the Hispanic ministry in the Kansas and Western Missouri Division (KWM). Since being commissioned in 2010, she has held a vast array of appointments throughout the Midwest including being a youth development and outreach officer at the Omaha Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center, leading the Blue Island Corps, coordinating or directing Hispanic and intercultural ministries in several divisions, and being a divisional secretary in both the Northern and KWM divisions. Most recently, she was area commander for the newly-formed NW Indiana Command and last year became territorial intercultural ministries secretary.
“I am always giving 100 percent to everything I do when I get to a new appointment,” the captain said recently in preparing for this new responsibility. “And I know that God is always going ahead of me, preparing the way.”
Captain Bersabe also credits God for the people He has placed in her life who have shaped and molded her ministry and leadership by sharing their experiences, expertise and encouragement.
“I have always been part of a great team in every appointment,” she said.
The captain is excited to immerse herself in a new culture and to be part of a new team in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and to learn from the people there, trusting that they will benefit from what she brings as well.
“I want us to grow together in the love of God, the work of the Army and the Kingdom of God,” she said.
Though she is serving in another territory, Captain Bersabe says her ties to the Central remain strong, and she doesn’t want to be forgotten. She asks when God brings her to your mind that you lift up a prayer, don’t hesitate to send an email, and if ever you’re in Puerto Rico to be sure to stop by and say a friendly “Hello.”
