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By Sharon Pritchard
I remember when I was young and wanted to
be a missionary just like my Sunday school
teacher. She led me to the Lord. Her family
would travel a long way every Sunday morning
to teach us about the Lord Jesus. Many Sunday
afternoons my mother would cook for them
and their children.

As the years passed, our family of five prepared
for future full-time service by teaching Sunday
school classes and serving the Lord. Later, God
called Paul, my husband, to go to Bible college.

That was the first step of total surrender. Those
years going to Bible college and living in
Greenville, South Carolina, were some of the
best of our lives. The Lord was preparing us to
help people and their families.

There were difficulties that prepared our family
for an entirely new way of life. It was exciting
to be with people who were preparing for the
service of the Lord. We met wonderful people
whom the Lord put in our path to help us when
we were in need. These memories are special
to our family. We remember those who helped
our sons get jobs when they were older and had
families of their own. We knew the Lord always
made a way.

Our lives changed during this time. We went
to Bible college, not knowing what the Lord
was preparing us for or what we would do after
finishing Bible college. We continued to wait
upon the Lord to show what He was preparing
for us.

While still in college, we were in a missions
conference with Jimmy Rose, a BIMI
missionary to Brazil. The Lord called Paul to go
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to Brazil, South America. To be a missionary
was a prayer request I had asked of the Lord
when I was very young and He answered
that prayer. This step was what the Lord had
prepared us for in Bible college.

We soon began to make plans for the most
exciting journey of our lives. Paul and I worked
during the week and traveled on the weekends,
sharing the call from the Lord with willing
churches that wanted to be a part of the call for
our family. We met gracious and kind servants
of the Lord. Many took us into their homes for
a night instead of sending us to a hotel.

It was amazing how well three little boys stayed
in the back seat of the car for hours at a time.

One Sunday night after service, we were back
on the road again and it was time to get the boys
something to drink after a whole day without
rest and sitting for several hours. We stopped
where there were machines on the outside of
the store. My husband put the money in to
get one drink and five came out! He took the
extra drinks into the store to return them to
the attendant. The attendant told him he could
have them all—without knowing there were
five of us!
The Lord spoke to many willing hearts who
became a part of our memories and we will
treasure them for life. May 2018 marked 40
years that we have been missionaries in Brazil.

Each step we took, the Lord led, watched over,
and guided us to make the right decisions. I
am grateful that He led me to the right man
who would have the call of the Lord to be a
missionary.




While we lived this amazing life in a foreign
country, numerous blessings came our way.

It is wonderful to live in another culture and
observe their ways of life. We learned to eat
different foods and fruits that were delicious.

I had to learn how to cook in a new way.

When we have open and willing hearts, we
learn and live the Word of God as it speaks to
us, telling us that all things work together for
good to them that love God (Romans 8:28).

This wonderful life cannot be replaced with
anything else that would be better for our
family. It has given us lifelong friends who
speak another language. The Lord helped us
learn Portuguese in order to communicate
with them and tell them about the Lord Jesus
Christ. Many had never heard about Jesus
Christ the Lord. We would not have had
these blessings and an opportunity to travel
to another country without the calling of the
Lord. I am thankful for the church where we heard
about the will of God for a Christian’s life—
telling others about Jesus. I am grateful the
Lord led us to tell our neighbors about the
Lord when we were young. I am grateful
for the memories we will carry with us
for as long as we live. Everywhere we
went was a training ground to prepare
for the mission field—teaching things
that would prepare our minds and hearts
for what we would encounter on our journey.

Paul &
Sharon Pritchard
The blessings are innumerable for
those who, being in the way, let the
Lord lead them. We never know
whom we may bless. To be used
of the Lord to be a blessing to
others always turned into a
blessing for us. We rejoice in
the knowledge expressed
by the writer of Luke 6:38,
Give, and it shall be given
unto you; good measure, pressed
down, and shaken together, and
running over, shall men give into
your bosom. For with the same
measure that ye mete withal it shall
be measured to you again. W
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