Steve and Brenda Heap
Global Mission Retirees
Years of Service: 40
Brazil
(1973 – 2013)
Our Testimony
“When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the
weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can
to save some” I Corinthians 9:22
Because pioneer missionaries had gone to Brazil
before us and faithfully planted the good seed of
the Gospel, we were privileged to serve alongside
Brazilian church leaders and missionary colleagues
who came from the Cape Verde Islands, USA,
England, and Argentina to be a part of what God
was doing during a period of tremendous harvest.
In the first district assembly we attended, shortly
after arriving in 1974, the number of members
reported was 1,200. There are presently over
115,000 members. We have seen the evidence of
God’s Spirit creating hunger in the hearts of people and drawing millions of converts to
Jesus Christ. We served our denomination as church planters, educators and local and
national church leaders. Thank you, Church of the Nazarene, for having given us this
opportunity.
Two moments, out of many, that made us personally realize God’s faithfulness were:
When our son was 5 years old, he
experienced a bicycle accident and had
brain surgery under very precarious
conditions in João Pessoa, northeast Brazil.
He then lapsed into a coma and we heard
the doctor’s bleak prognosis: “We can’t
predict how long he will be in a coma. The
boy next door has been in a coma for
weeks.” That Wednesday night the urgent
prayer request was placed on the Missionary
mobilization prayer Line. It was before
email existed but we heard by amateur
radio (short wave) that people around the world were praying for Brian. He was healed
and is now an elder of the Church of the Nazarene in Brazil.
A second confirmation of God’s faithfulness
came to us over a period of 5 years when our
three children left home in Brazil, traveling to
the USA, to enroll at Point Loma Nazarene
University. Professors and other people we had
never met befriended, spiritually mentored and
provided financially for them.
“Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos,
for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants
who waited on you as you gradually learned to
entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We
each carried out our servant assignment. I
planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants,
but God made you grow. It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at
the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are
menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we
are serving.” I Corinthians 3: 5—9
An experience that brought this scripture to life for me (Steve) took place standing in
line at McDonald’s one General Assembly. A lady, unknown to me, saw my name tag
and thanked me for my missionary parents ministry in Colombia. In her words “because
of their ministry her parents were converted and she had the privilege of being raised
in a Christian home.” She then introduced herself and said that she and her husband
were pastors in Colombia. Her parents encounter with Jesus Christ had happened 50
years before. It made me realize we all stand on the shoulders of those who have gone
before us. One plants, another waters the seed and the Lord gives the increase.
Our son Steve and his wife Michelle presently live in Atibaia, Brazil along with their
three children: Grace, Maria and Lucas. Our son Brian and his wife Agatha also live in
Atibaia, Brazil along with their two children: Lucas and Victoria. Our daughter Jennifer
and husband Tom live in San Diego, California with their two children Chloe and Jay.
We will continue to live in Brazil and serve the church in the areas of clergy
development and resource development.