ABOUT THE BEAUPIEDS

JAMES’ STORY

My first experience in ministry was with a Michigan church that would go around picking up kids from the local area and bringing them to church for fun, games, and a message. From there, I fell in love with youth ministry and made it my goal to help young people wherever I ended up.

I became a youth intern, then later the youth director of a church, and was given the opportunity to go to school for youth ministry. It was in my first year that I met my now-wife and was taken on a trip that would change my life: a trip to Guatemala. It was there that I fell in love with the people and their culture, and I saw a need for youth-centered ministry.

I’m excited not only for the work that we will see the Lord doing through us, but also the work that the Lord will be doing through everyone praying for us and our ministry.

SAVY’S STORY

I first got the opportunity to volunteer in Guatemala with a team from my high school in June 2013. Following that, I went twice more to the same children’s home and volunteered over the summers. That third trip, I had this feeling of “I can’t wait a full year to be back here.” So at 17, I began going to Guatemala by myself as the teams stopped going. It was a slow build-up in my heart, but I came to a firm conviction that God wants me to serve as a missionary in Central America.

Over the years, the Lord has opened doors for me to serve in Guatemala, Mexico, and Costa Rica as well as in Spanish-speaking ministries in Chicago. In 2020, I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in theology and am excited to see God use all of these experiences in full-time ministry.