erika
Erika de Guia
Erika was born and raised in the beautiful state of California. When she realized that there was someone in relentless pursuit of her heart at a high school youth camp, her life was changed forever. That someone, Jesus, takes her by the hand every day and continues to surprise her and draw her closer to His Sacred Heart.
Years later in June 2021, while attending college at UCLA, she had the opportunity to go on a short-term mission trip to Peru with FOCUS. It was here that the Lord enlivened in her heart a fervent spirit for foreign missions. She was struck by the way Jesus encountered her through the poor. Jesus put on her heart the story of the widow’s offering where He said, “For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living” (Mark 12:41-44). Erika was convicted that Jesus was asking her to give up more than 10 days of her summer and instead to offer her whole life to Him.
Erika learned about FMC through the Peru mission trip director and knew that this was exactly what the Lord had been preparing her for. She is so excited to go on mission wherever the Lord places her and to truly live out 1 Thessalonians 2:8: “We were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves.”