Daniel and Rachel Martinez

Missionaries to Argentina

Ministry Description

We serve as team leaders with the Bilingual Bible Program (BBP). Daniel is the marketing coordinator and Rachel is an administrative assistant. We have the opportunity to spiritually invest in the BBP students' lives as they discover God's calling for their lives. We are privileged to be serving here and pray that the Lord would use us to glorify Him and make disciples.

About Daniel

My name is Jose Daniel Martinez. I was born in Venezuela, and at a really young age, I put my trust and faith in Jesus Christ, and I accepted Him as my personal saviour. I believed that he came to this world to die on the cross for my sins and that on the third day, he resurrected from the dead, giving eternal life to me and anyone who believes in Him. I was only three years old at the time, so, of course, I did not change a lot, however, I decided to grow following God's Word, always trying to do what was right, and trying to live to glorify Him with my life.

When I was eleven years old, we moved to Guatemala with my family. It was at that time I began to take my focus off God and put it more on friendships and the people around me. The years went by and I came to a point where I found myself far away from God, living a double life, being one person at home and church, and being other with my friends, thinking that the world could give me more than God. It wasn't until one day God showed me what I was doing was wrong and that I was going in the wrong direction, and that true life is in Him alone. So, I had to humble myself before God and repent for what I was doing. At that time I was attending college in Guatemala, and I decided to leave everything to go to the Word of Life Bible Institute in Upstate New York, where I spent two of the most amazing years of my life. I not only learned so much about the Word of God, but also what He has done, and continues to do for me and I grew in my personal life with God. I wish I could express in words everything that I learned at the Bible Institute; there I also met my wife Rachel, and we were married one month after we graduated.

We have decided to do the CCI program (Cross-Cultural Internship) with Word of Life, where we're going to be serving in Argentina for two years as interns. After those two years, God willing, we want to become full-time missionaries and bring glory to God with our lives.

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

Philippians 1:21

About Rachel

My name is Rachel Martinez. I grew up in a Christian home where both of my parents love the Lord. I was always in church and I always heard about Jesus. When I was 6 years old, my parents sat me down and explained the gospel to me. That Jesus died and rose again so that I could have eternal life and a relationship with Him. Being a 6-year-old, not much changed, but I knew that if I died I would go to Heaven. I grew up in North Carolina as a preacher’s kid. My parents were very involved in ministry and I was always where they were. In middle and high school, my relationship with the Lord was very shallow and I did not understand the importance of spending time in His Word and with Him, so there was not much growth in my walk with the Lord.

In my senior year of high school, I had to make the decision for where I would go to college. My parents graduated from Word of Life in New York in 1987, so I heard about Word of Life growing up. At first, I was not interested in going, but as time grew, I took a leap of faith and applied to go to college there. I attended the Word of Life Bible Institute for two years. They were the best, hardest, most stretching years of my life. My relationship with the Lord grew immensely because I studied His Word and grew in my understanding of who He is. I made friends that loved Christ and pushed me to grow in my walk with Him. And of course, I met my husband there 😉

In my first year at Word of Life, during snow camp season, I received a phone call from my parents that my sister had been hit by a car. The next day they booked a flight for me to go home because they were unsure if she would survive from all of the injuries. Three days later, we found out that her brain was too swollen and there was no brain activity whatsoever. It was the worst day of my life and all I could do was read Psalm 34. This was the first trial that I had ever faced, and, in the process, I lost my 16-year-old sister. It was incredibly difficult to leave my family and go back to Word of Life, but I knew that God was not done with me there. I returned and continued in my studies. Of course, I was going through a lot of hardship, but it was an incredible place to have people praying for you and supporting you in any pain.

After completing both years at Word of Life, Daniel and I got married on September 22, 2018. The best day of my life! We are so excited to serve God with our lives and to share the hope that we have in Christ. We are Cross-Cultural Interns with Word of Life and will be serving in Argentina for two years as full-time missionaries. We are blown away by God’s love and provision as He is leading us to serve Him. Praise God for all that He has done and all that He will continue to do.

Life Verse

"For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end." Hebrews 3:14