Get to Know the Yoshima Family

Ministry Description

Ric and Helena are the first WOL missionaries living in the greater Miami Area, which is considered the Capital of Latin America.
Miami is a multicultural city, the most diverse in the world, representing 656 million people (population of Latin America)
Ric and Helena know the Americas very well. They were called to the ministry in 2012. They started their journey in Buenos Aires, Argentina living aboard a 46-foot sailboat with their children Juca and Maria. They traveled for 7 years discovering cultures in Argentina, Uruguay, the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, the Bahamas, the USA and Canada.
​They are now on a new journey: living in the greater Miami area spreading the Gospel to multicultural communities, empowering churches, discipling leaders, and involving people with The Kingdom!

Learn more about the ministry in the United States.

About Ricardo

Ric is a multitask guy. He was an engineer, attorney in law, and businessman in Brazil. He was born in a Christian home but strayed far from God until he had a real experience with Jesus when he was 44 years old. So, he abandoned his secular career and bought a 46-foot sailboat starting a missionary sailing trip with the family coasting the Americas.
​After 7 years of sailing he started studying at Word of Life Bible College in Brazil. He stayed there during the pandemic.
Ric and Helena became WOL missionaries in February, 2023. Currently, Ric is a Master's student at Dallas Theological Seminary.

About Helena

Helena loves the Lord! She also loves languages, crafts and painting, reading, studying, playing sports, running and exercising. She got saved when she was around 5 years old, at a WOL Camp in Southeast Brazil (Atibaia/SP). When she was a kid, she would pray for a missionary husband, and as a teenager, for the chance to go to Bible College.
Life happened. She became a language teacher, and has taught children, teens and adults for the past 30+ years. She married Ric at 21, and they had Juca and Maria (now, respectively, 21 and 19). She truly enjoys being a wife and a mother, specially because of the bonding that resulted from homeschooling the kids and from sticking together, 24/7, during their 7-year-long sailing experience. They all got to connect better and learned to enjoy each other's company in a special way.
In late 2019, the whole family got to go back to Brazil for a while. Then, the pandemic hit, and they saw themselves at WOL Bible College in the North of Brazil, where they stayed for 3 years. The kids got to graduate at WOL High school, there. Helena and Ric graduated at WOL Bible College in 2022 (her prayers as a kid and teen had been answered!). That same year, Juca was accepted as a WOL Bible College student; and in 2023, Maria was, as well. In December 2023, their oldest son, Juca, got married to Gaby. The three of them are currently studying at WOL Bible College in North Brazil.
Together with Ric, Helena has accepted the call to go and serve as a WOL USA Missionary in Southeast FL, where they currently live, reaching out to the multi-cultural youth, and serving the local churches in the area.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41‬:‭10‬ ‭

Contact Information

ryoshima@wol.org

Address:
Ricardo Yoshima
Word of Life United States
PO Box 600
Schroon Lake, NY 12870