Treasure Berens, a Hero of the Faith

Adapted by Angela Olsen from Erin Curtis’s “To Be More Like Christ”.

We often don’t recognize it in the moment, but it’s incredible to see how God has prepared us for His calling when we look back over our lives. It may be the way we were raised or the friends we had, an unexpected trip to a far-off place, or a book we read in college. God is a God of creativity, and He can use whatever means He sees fit to lead us to the place He has for us.

This was certainly true for retired WGM missionary, Treasure Berens. Treasure was born and raised on an 80-acre farm in Michigan where she learned to live a simple life and eat what was put in front of her. She worked hard on the farm with her 12 older siblings. Treasure accepted Christ as her Savior at a revival when she was 7 years old and often heard visiting missionaries speak at her church. It was at one such service that Treasure’s pastor asked if anyone wanted to give their life to missions. Treasure later said she began to shake and knew God was calling her.

Treasure pursued her teaching degree with the hope of teaching on the American Indian Field so she wouldn’t have to learn a new language. God had other plans for her, though, and took her to the Texas/Mexico border and, later, deeper into Mexico. She hadn’t planned on being in this place, but God directed her to His greater plan. Her simple way of life growing up was similar to the simplicity of life in rural Mexico. It allowed her to connect in a different way to those she was serving and teaching.

Treasure remained obedient to the calling she first felt when she was just 13 years old and continued to work in Mexico with WGM for 36 years. She retired in 2003 and lives in Pharr, Texas, right on the Texas/Mexico border—the place her ministry began decades ago.

Angela is a staff writer for WGM while serving as a missionary on Special Assignment with her husband, Pete, and their two kids. They currently live on the shore of Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota. You can follow her journeys at TheMangoMemoirs.com, on Instagram, and on Facebook.