Cade & Marina Amend
"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!' "
Isaiah 6:8
Isaiah 6:8
Missionaries to Brazil 2020
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Why are we missionaries?To spread the Gospel:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20a Our distinct callingsCade Amend: I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior when I was in 6th grade after my parents’ housekeeper shared how Jesus had transformed her life. Over the next few years, I grew in faith until I reached high school and eventually gave in to the temptations of teenage rebellion. Once I entered college, I embraced New Age thought and pursued the Eastern notion of enlightenment for many years in search of an inner peace which remained elusive. I struggled with depression, anxiety and addiction issues, leading me to enter therapy and participate in Narcotics Anonymous for support.
I struggled with an unresolved resentment against Christians. I felt judged, let down by my childhood faith and thus I resisted reading the Bible. Marina and I started dating while I was in graduate school studying mental health counseling. At that time, I first visited Brazil and my spiritual path became Christ-centered once again as I began studying the Bible. Scripture revealed God’s Grace which overshadowed my struggle with feeling condemned. Ongoing study of the Bible has allowed me to grow in my faith more and more. Jesus is so true in stating: “…the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32b). Life’s struggles have revealed how God is a necessity and my own sinfulness has made it clear that Jesus is my only hope. Today I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and have provided behavioral and mental health therapy services within a faith-based, non-for-profit community mental health center for over six years. As a therapist I have openly shared my Christian faith with both believing and non-believing clients, thus utilizing therapy as a tool to encourage and edify fellow believers while leading others to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. My interest in being a support to my church pastor led to an elder position at my local church in Wichita. With a desire to support pastors and missionaries who are called to serve so many others, I am moved now to the mission field to assist my in-laws, Philip and Rita Warkentien in their ministry efforts to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ which has transformed my life. “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.” 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13a Marina Amend: I grew up not only as a missionaries’ kid but also a pastor's kid, so my life was immersed in God's work from the day I was born. I personally received Christ at the age of 7 and was blessed to grow up in a household that support was provided by faith in God’s provision and see firsthand how God transformed people’s lives. I moved to the U.S. at the age of 16 alone out of the strongest feeling of direction from God I had ever felt in my life. What was originally a one-year commitment now reaches 16! At the end of every year I felt like God kept telling me to stay even though my desire was to return to my parent’s home.
Shortly into college I suddenly lost a dear friend who in such a short time shined Christ’s light and impacted the lives of many so positively. This changed the focus in my heart and inspired me to find a new major where I could directly impact people’s lives. After much prayer and consideration God placed in my heart a desire to help couples and families stay together and have healthy relationships due to the scarcity of Christian counselors in my hometown of Caruaru. So I switched my major from Architecture to Family Studies and Human Services, which was a precursor to the masters in Marriage and Family Therapy degree I now have. In 2015 Cade and I married. Although I felt confident in God’s guidance to marry Cade, this pull in my heart for couples in Brazil never went away. I prayed that if God wanted us to move to Brazil then this decision would have to come from Cade because I doubted if what I was feeling was my desire or God’s desire. I even tried to pray away this burden in my heart for the families of Caruaru but it never left. In Proverbs 16:1-3 it says “To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue. All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Then in 2018 I had the joyous experience of living out my call in a creative way. I was invited with Cade to keynote a couple’s retreat for the church in Caruaru. This made me feel satisfied and I started to accept this was how it was going to be fulfilled, so for the first time I focused on setting more lasting roots in Wichita. However, God had bigger plans. In the beginning of 2019 Cade was presented with the idea of a 2-year mission commitment and became interested in the prospect of living in Brasil as such. In all the years I had never considered becoming a missionary but it quickly became evident that God was making us wait for this exact reason. Unbeknownst to us He was working in our hearts and preparing us all these years for His amazing purpose. He was waiting for us to not just hear the call to go as counselors but most importantly hear the call to go as missionaries. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29: 11-13 “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 What exactly will we do?Bolster the multi ministryistry efforts of Phil & Rita in the following ways…
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