Linked Arms
Listening, laughing, eating and learning together is how Yuleida and her family are investing in relationships with the Spanish-speaking community in Fennville, Mich.
“We have a lot of plans for the future, but always we are there to serve the community,” says Yuleida, who shared her experiences during an online chat with Janis Persenaire, Resonate Global Mission’s Great Lakes regional Coffee Break representative.
Persenaire has been working with Yuleida to establish Global Coffee Break (GCB) study groups with women in the community. Global Coffee Break offers inductive, small-group Bible studies focused on discovering the Bible and reaching out to friends, family members, and neighbors.
Yuleida is excited about the Bible studies and is eager to invite women to join her. “Come with me,” is a phrase she often uses to actively connect women with each other and with GCB leaders and churches, said Persenaire. Yuleida’s invitations resulted in more than 20 women joining her at a GCB women’s retreat last fall. Her welcoming attitude also led to the launch of the first GCB Bible study in her community.
Persenaire said she is inspired by Yuleida's approach, which has a multiplying effect. Yuleida invites, and then the women who come invite others.
“What Yuleida is doing,” said Persenaire, “is the vision we have for Global Coffee Break – to say, ‘Come and see; I have something so good to show you.’ It is encouraging to see Yuleida working alongside a team to help women grow closer to the Lord.”
But these relationships take time – “so much time!” said Yuleida. Creating relationships is an investment fueled by prayer and led by God.
Yuleida, her husband, and their two children came to Fennville seven years ago to establish a Spanish-speaking church. They didn’t know anyone in this town, where 45 percent of the population is Spanish-speaking. Yuleida said she recalls praying for ideas on how to connect with people in the community. One answer came via her son, who was then a teenager in school. He made friends quickly, which resulted in invitations to quinceañeras (a celebration for girls on their 15th birthday) where the family would meet hundreds of people.
Relationship-building continued with the hope to create a soccer field behind their church and to share meals with the local community. The church welcomed its first members before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The pandemic put a dent in their outreach, but church membership is now growing again – particularly with women in the community.
Yuleida said she uses the imagery of “linked arms” to describe the growing bonds among these women as she and her family focus on relationships and service. Yuleida said she and her husband try to meet the needs of the community by having teachers come in to offer financial courses and computer-literacy classes on donated computers. Offering these learning opportunities in the church building has encouraged people who are wary of the church to see it as a safe place and an opportunity to invite members to Global Coffee Break. Yuleida and her family have also arranged family-fun events such as tubing down the local river.
Yuledia said the community has its challenges, however. The people work hard and are family-oriented, but there are significant lifestyle and relationship issues to deal with. The community is not familiar with the structure of church and Bible-study involvement.
People often “want to do their own thing, and they do not really trust when you talk about Jesus,” she said. “We do not knock on doors. We try to create a welcoming environment. We drink coffee together. We talk. We listen to people’s stories. We counsel when they ask for help.”
As she shares about these things, Yuleida speaks (in both English and Spanish) with enthusiasm and laughter. Her acceptance and love for the women of the community is palpable. She is prayerfully patient, she said, to talk about God when people are ready.
Recently Yuleida asked Persenaire to lead the study of Ruth (in Spanish) from the Discover Your Bible series used by Global Coffee Break. And now Yuleida is encouraging the women who attended to share what they have learned with their daughters and family members at home. Preparation is also under way to begin another study that is available in Spanish – perhaps on the book of Nehemiah.
Yuleida and Persenaire noted that encouraging fellowship and developing new leaders are also among their goals. A few women recently attended a GCB live training session, and a women’s retreat led by Persenaire brought increased enthusiasm. Some of the women had never been on a retreat before, said Yuleida, and it opened their eyes to relationships that Christians can have with one another that surpass language and culture.
“It’s a process. We pray a lot. . . . When God touches a person’s heart, they will come,” said Yuleida.
As her ministry continues among the women and families in and around Fennville, Yuleida asks for prayer for their church and for the local community. There are many needs, both practical and spiritual, she said, and she is eager for people to discover God’s Word and will for their lives.
