Ola Brazil....

Where to even start?! The past couple of weeks have been  filled with my favorite moments of Brazil. Not only has there been a lot of fun involved in this experience of discovering a new place, people, and culture, but  I have seen God move in my heart and in the hearts of those around me in our time here in Ubatuba.

     Over the past two weeks we had the opportunity to go to a drug rehab center and spend time with some men trying to overcome their addictions. I have to be honest and say that at first, I didn’t think I had anything to give to those people. I didn’t know what to say and I definitely didn’t know what I would talk to them about during our time there.  When we arrived at the center, I began talking to one man and discovered that he spoke English very well. In fact, he had lived in America for over 10 years… Boom! Connection point. From there the conversation grew to talking about his time in America and He ended up sharing His testimony with me about how he was able to find the Lord. Now he is at the rehab center to turn his life around. This man ended up playing a key role in our ministry at the center. During out time there, we had a time of worship, an encouraging word from scripture from one of our team members and then we split up into small groups. This man ended up being in my small group with 4 other men. We first started discussing the topic of love and loving one another because of the love that we have gotten from God. From there, our group conversation ended up involving personal testimonies from team members, both the men and our team members were going back and forth encouraging each other with scripture verses, and we prayed for each other. What was set out to be a 30 minute small group, turned into 2 and a half hours of scriptures, sharing life stories, encouraging words and prayer. It was really one of those times that after it is all finished you look back and say “now that is what being part of the family of Christ is supposed to be like.”  It was truly amazing to see how god worked everything out perfectly.

   
  Last week, we also had the opportunity to go to a local Highschool and minister. When we arrived, the headmaster said we could have much time as we needed! So, we took it! With about  200 kids crammed inside a classroom we started off by playing games and sharing a little about ourselves. At first, it was a struggle to keep the kids attention, but when we started with a drama, all eyes were on the stage and every kid was trying to move so they could see exactly what was happening on stage. Through the drama about a young girl having a heart that had been trampled by the things of this world and the redemptive story of Jesus coming and giving her a new heart, many kids hearts were softened. One of team members then had the opportunity to share her personal story about her walk with God and how she had struggled and let the world trample on her heart. She told the kids of how she had found victory in Christ. It was amazing to see the kids respond. At the end of our time at the school, 50 kids made a decision to give their lives over to God. The cool part is, we were able to follow up with these kids. We invited them out for some sweet treat two days later and then met them at youth group that night. There were a few in particular that I see really connected in church that night and showed up at the service on Sunday as well. It was so rewarding to hear kids saying that they were so glad they were at church and that they had found God. To me, that was the biggest highlight of my time here, knowing that there are some people’s lives changed just because we were willing to step out in faith and come.

Praise God for all the amazing things he has done during our time here in Brazil! I am continually amazed in how creative He is in reaching people and knowing how to touch the hearts of the people of the world.  I am excited to see what He is going to do next!

      Some of the scripture verses that have caught my heart over the past few weeks have been

-          Psalm 130

-          Acts 20:35

-          Matthew 11:28

-          James 5:8

Please continue to pray for our team. Next we are going to Colombia!

-Pray that as we are preparing to go, that God would show us what direction our ministry there will take.

-Pray that we will continue to seek unity with God and each other as we go out into these communities

-Please pray for traveling safety as we depart Brazil and start our journey to Colombia.

-          Please continue to pray for finances- There are still a number of us that are in need in this area

Thank you so much for your continual support and words of encouragement! See you in Colombia!

Heather