The journey West concludes...

Now since we last spoke we travelled to Belize, transit through Guatemala, Panama for a week and then Brazil, with our Luke 10 journey starting in Rio de Janeiro and the rest of the time in Ubatuba and Sao Paulo city. The Lord has really been so faithful and I can´t wait to start telling you of all that happened…so here we go!

...Belize...

We started our journey out of Panajachel, Guatemala very early on the 21^st of July, on the way to Guatemala City where we spent the day, and at 11 at night we started the long drive throughout the night with Pastor Caesar and his son and daughter to Belize. Thus I welcomed my 26^th year in through the night in the blue van! We had some bad luck with 2 flat tires along the way, thus the journey was a bit extended. Luckily I got nice cake at the church the night before, we had braaivleis for lunch and the morning the Pastor also took us out for pancakes!

 So why where we off to Belize in the first place..? One of the nights in Panajachel, one of the guys got a word from God for a lady called Rebecca! He wrote it down and looked everywhere for her but couldn´t find her in Guatemala. Furthermore our plans to go to Honduras didn´t go through, and the team prayed and felt that we should go to Belize. Lo and behold, the pastor with whom we worked knew a pastor in Belize whose name was Rebecca, and thus we where off! One problem – Belize is the most expensive of the Central American countries, and already on a tight budget, travelling and staying there for 2 weeks would be challenging. But God always provides!

We made it through the border safe and was greeted by Rebecca and her brother Eliu, which also became one of our closest friends! We went to a town called San Ignacio, and immediately were enrolled to lead the church service that Sunday night. They were very kind and I could borrow a computer to Facebook all my family and friends, and I also got a nice happy birthday wish on one of the screens.

The people where so hospitable and moved out of their own homes so that we could have a place to stay, and also provided us with food for our whole stay there. Here you see me eating ice-cream with Eliu at one of the places we went to, and Amish society that is situated in Belize. We made some interesting radio stories on the local radio, with a story called Zetty and Geoffy every afternoon for the kids. Over the weekend they had a harvest festival at the church, and we were so privileged to conduct the weekend´s services for them. Thus I had the awesome opportunity and privilege to preach again the Sunday afternoon with a message on the Great Commission to go out into all the nations, and how we as a church was doing in this regard. We attended a wedding, all dressed up, and spent a day going down to the river, and just having good old fun there! 

During this time we were so privileged to find cheap air tickets back from Guatemala City to Panama, which outweighed the idea of a 4-5 day bus trip back through Central America by far. It was a true miracle from God for us, His children.

SAN PEDRO – ek op my eiland!!

                           
Next we were off to the Island of San Pedro, and as you can see the pictures with the blue hole that I downloaded, this is a spectacular place to visit. Unfortunately I spent the first day or two on my back due to a stomach bug / food poisoning and was in everything but island mood! Luckily I was healed quickly and could enjoy the sun and street evangelism which we did in the afternoons. The pastors there´s husband was very sick and due to medical costs etc their house was repossessed by the bank and therefore they had to move to a new place. We helped to dig the 20 holes on which their new wooden house with the church below is to be built, ant through the stinking lagoon water that surfaced and the pieces of plank and stones encountered, we managed to finish the job in due time!

Then came one of the most amazing days of my life….diving the Blue Hole!!! Now you can Google the photo´s to see how it looks like from the sky – an amazing dive site about 2 hours boat ride from the island. Now I was a bit stressed at first as it is a 120 feet dive, and you are supposed to go for a refresher course if you have not dived in the last 6 months… Now my last dive was in April 2010, and was only 18 meters; but as I realized when diving the blue hole and seeing the amazing stalagmites and stalactites, 134 feet below the surface, some things you just have to step out of the boat and face the challenge to have the adventure! We had two more amazing dives with beautiful corals and sea life that day, and spent lunchtime on an island!

PANAMA (AGAIN!!!)

Most people dream about going to the mystical Panama…We had the opportunity to go there twice on the same journey… The journey continued thus from the island all the way back to Guatemala City; where we once again met up with Pastor Caesar; with a flight to Panama city and a week in Gamboa with Pastor Bill!

We set the week in Panama out to get our visa´s for India, and spend time again with the wonderful people we met and worked with when we visited Panama earlier this year. And it was good to be back in our air conditioned room in the church! Day 1 after stopping at the embassy we spent a nice day with the Fulton´s, and when the lightning interrupted our swimming we opted for a nice game of cricket.

One of the most remarkable ministry points we had during the week was the prison visit, where we had the opportunity to minister to one of Panama´s notorious leaders of the past – I was privileged to share with him the story of Jesus on the cross with the two robbers next to him – a word I really felt the Lord had specifically for him. We also ministered to the other prisoners and it was amazing when 3 gave their lives to Jesus for the first time! Awesome to be part of the rejoicing of the angels in heaven for each new soul that is won for the Kingdom!

We met up again with the people from YWAM, had an awesome dinner and evening of worship and spent such great time with our old friends! Our 3 guys went out for pizza with Samuel on Sunday, and during the week we also had a little adventure of our own into the city. Over the weekend we went to an IHOP (International House of Prayer) conference which was very blessed .

We enjoyed a boat trip to monkey island - but they were not too keen on our bananas as the tourist groups left them just before us..

Then teams was set out and excitement started rising as our flight and Luke 10 journey approached. In my team was Delaine and Ziglinde (Ziggy), and we spent great times in prayer, where we could really experience and feel the presence of the Lord in our preparation times for the journey.

And here we are, on the way to embark on one of the greatest adventures of my lifetime!!!

Luke 10

     Luke 10 ``Now after this the Lord chose and appointed seventy others and sent them out ahead of Him, two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to come (visit). ² And He said to them, The harvest indeed is abundant [there is much ripe grain], but the farmhands are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. ³ Go your way; behold, I send you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. ⁴ Carry no purse, no provisions bag, no [change of] sandals; refrain from [retarding your journey by] saluting and wishing anyone well along the way. ⁵ Whatever house you enter, first say, Peace be to this household! [Freedom from all the distresses that result from sin be with this family]. ⁶ And if anyone [worthy] of peace and blessedness is there, the peace and blessedness you wish shall come upon him; but if not, it shall come back to you. ⁷ And stay on in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. ⁸ Whenever you go into a town and they receive and accept and welcome you, eat what is set before you; ⁹ And heal the sick in it and say to them, The kingdom of God has come close to you. ¹⁰ But whenever you go into a town and they do not receive and accept and welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we are wiping off against you; yet know and understand this: the kingdom of God has come near you. ¹² I tell you, it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that town.´´ (Amplified Bible)

Now that we have the basis covered and everyone understands what a Luke 10 journey is about, let me tell you how ours went!

The group split into 3 groups of 3, with the leader staying behind in Panama to pray and intercede for us as we continue on our journey. So basically after we got on the plane Tuesday the 14^th, we were not allowed to use any personal money or team money any more. So (like my friend Naude from Namibia pointed out for me) it meant we had a certain meal on the plane. But after that…if God didn´t provide then we stay hungry, if He didn´t give a house we sleep outside…and if He didn´t give a ride we would walk to wherever we have to be!

We arrived at the airport and spent the night there –

I was all excited and hoped to continue on to Buenos Aires for our Luke 10, but as we didn´t get tickets and the early flight was cancelled, there was a different plan. I met some cool guys the night on the airport – one deported from Panama and a ship captain from the States that once visited South Africa. I had the opportunity to pray for both of them, and believe that the Lord will continue and complete the work which He started in their lives.

 The next morning we studied the map and prayed, and felt led to go to Praia Vermelha, a small beach near Urca. So we headed off with thumbs up or hands down - depends which type of hitch hike you prefer, and were fortunate that a lady picked us up and took us to the bus terminal, and even paid for our bus tickets to Copacabana, the major beach close to Vermelha.

We got off near Point 5 on Copacabana, and there is a point every 1km - thus we had about 6 km to walk if we wanted to get to Vermelha. Carrying the bags and everything makes a normal walk more like a hike. Thus we only came to Point 1 (4km later), and as the sun was already setting we looked for a place to settle down. Now after 7 the somewhat excitement of sleeping on the street slowly faded away - and if the Lord didn´t provide we were going to sleep on the street! After praying and worshipping we decided to get up and walk - in the search for a 24 hours McDonalds or somewhere safe we could spend the night. I was speaking with a security guard at one of the buildings, asking if it may be possible for us to camp just behind their fence, when a man came past and asked if he could help. Wow, off course he could :) He had so much generosity towards us and booked us into the hotel and took us out for something to drink and an awesome meal! So we were sorted and very relieved - our Father in heaven did not allow His children to spend the night on the streets!

After a nice morning on the beach we packed our bags and started walking towards Vermelha. With some change left from the bus tickets we bought 6 bananas, and someone gave us half of some nice cheese wrap thing they were eating.

We walked far, very far and got to the beach. Delaine experienced that there would be a man with a shaved head playing with his kids, and I was the one to give this man a word from God. Now this was very interesting - when we got there, behold there was a man, shaved head and playing with his kids. I slowly approached etc, hoping he might be Brazilian...cause then conversation would be difficult, and I get off without risking anything. Just before I took the step to go introduce myself...his family arrived..and they all spoke English. So I went back to the team - cause now I knew this is the man, but didn´t know what to tell him. We prayed and Delaine again experienced open flesh, but also uncertain what it meant, and that the man needed encouragement. So I watched him like a hawk, and when I saw he had his daughter in his arms, about to walk away from the  beach I knew it was now or never - so I went and introduced myself. They were in a hurry to the hospital as his daughter cut open her  feet or something (open flesh) and I just shared with him as he walked to his car. I told him that in the same way that he loves this little daughter of his, God also loves him!

So God had a divine appointment for us, and it was wonderful to be used by Him! But where to sleep - that was the next question... we kind of thought this person might be our ministry point for the week - but he left and we didn´t see him again. So we headed back to the streets, and saw a very friendly looking street with nice houses, and thought we´d give it a shot to get a place to sleep. Unsuccessful...until a man drives by in his car calling us to come with him back to his house. This was a guy (the one in the red shirt) I barely noticed when we walked past him - Delaine stopped to ask him if he knew of a place to camp - and he immediately felt he wanted to take us in - but had to get permission from the wife first of course :)

Wow - so we had accommodation for another 2 nights, in one of the most beautiful (and expensive) parts of Rio - and I had my own room and bed to sleep in! We got great food for our stay there, and had the opportunity to go climb the sugarloaf mountain the next day - with an amazing view of Rio - and that without our heavy backpacks! The view was incredible to say the least, and we had some nice time to take a view beautiful pics, and pray over the city.

On Saturday morning it was time to go again - and we headed off to Praya Flamengo. Along the way we had some fun with the guys working out in the outdoor gim, we sang a song for them and showed them the real weights we are carrying around the whole day long!  We had an incredible view looking back on the Sugarloaf, and was really not sure how the next couple of days were going to look like.

As we were walking along the beach, a group of young people walked by, and then later turned around to ask us if we would like to listen to some music that said something different thatn the world said. I saw a verse from the Bible on the one guy´s shirt - and I knew we had a group of passionate young people here - and maybe a church with which we could get involved in! So we went there later the afternoon for a visit with them to the orphanage - where we got some nice cookies, chocolate and cold drinks - I know, but the children all had more than enough sweets for themselves :)

The evening was an Italian evening at the church, and we got coke and pizza pasella, and a great message out of the service. Afterwards came the suspension...is someone in the church going to invite us into their homes as we are the only 3 there with our homes in our backpacks. The 2 ladies travelling with me luckily made some friends, and the on phoned her mother and they said it is ok if we stay for one night - jippieeee! Their home was in Copacabana - which was great for us as we planned to go to iPanema beach and Sao Conrado the following day which was in the same direction. We had a great lunch wiht the family on Sunday - when suddenly they offered to buy us bus tickets from Rio to Ubatuba the next morning. Wow this came unexpected - and we went and prayed about
it and had peace that we could accept the tickets and go to our final destination - Ubatuba the next morning. They blessed us so much -  and further gave us some money Sunday morning which were enough to cover the rest of our expenses for the Luke 10 journey.

So we quickly headed down to iPanema, but couldn´t make it to the other beach as the time got to us. We went to the lake instead, enjoyed the sun setting over the distant mountains and went back to go pack our bags. The irls had an awesome time of prayer, deliverance and ministry with their two friends, and it was really another God-sent opportunity for us to stay with them in their house those 2 nights.

So on Monday morning early we took the bus to Ubatuba...and I got the most excruciating tooth and headache that I´ve had in a long time. Thus I could not enjoy much of the beautiful coastline, but what I saw looked a lot like going down to Houtbaai in the Western Cape!

In Ubatuba, 6 hours later we sat at the bus terminal, and Ziggy ventured out to find a place for us to stay. She met a lady at the church we were going to work with after the Luke 10 was over, and she
took her to a hostel - Ecotrip (which you must definitely visit if you ever come to Ubatuba). The owner allowed us to stay there
for free for the 5 nights as long as we helped with some paint and gardening work around the hostel - so we were so happy! I painted some walls with pentura de cal - a very interesting and different paint. In afrikaans you will call it kalk, but not sure about english. Looks almost like you are only making the walls wet - but as it dires is becomes nice an white!

It was nice to be working in the mornings or afternoons, and with spare time I went to the beaches two of the days with my friend Nicolas from Belgium who was so kind as to rent me a bike. We had a great time and could understand each other whiolst he spoke Dutch and I replied in Afrikaans...or we just boith spoke English. 

Christian was another awesome guy who worked at the hostel - he came from Spain with a sailboat to Latin America - now that is cool! He helped us to make some nice chocolate!

So our journey ended on Saturday the 25th at 6pm, and all the teams arrived safely in Ubatuba, all with great testimonies of God´s faithfulness for them.

From Saturday till Tuesday we had a time of rest in Itamambuka, a small town north of Ubatuba. On Monday morning we went to a drug rehabilitation centre and we had such a great time with the guys there - sharing our testimonies and witnessing to them, and we could see how God just touched their hearts in the time we were there. That was certainly one of the most profound things that I learnt during this Luke 10 journey - it is all about the Father´s love for us. Everything He does for us is out of love - and we need teo come to a place where we can see and experience His love for us - that powerful and furious love which He also demonstrated when He sent His own Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins on humanity. For me personally this love is so profound and essential - and it is universal irrespective if you knew your earthly father or not, and whether he loved you or not - God´s love towards us is perfect! I can truly say that after my father died in 2007, God has really become a Father to me!

On Tuesday morning the team splits up again and 6 of us leave for Sao Paulo, while the other part of the team is going to a town 16 hours north of Rio.

I hope you enjoyed the letter and I look forward to see as many of you as possible during my visit to Miami and South Africa!

Lots of love -

Rihard (Ricardo) de Villiers

(PS - even thought the Brazilians faired very well in getting my name right, after leaving the West for the East you will no longer hear of Ricardo, but my name will probably change to something more appropriate like Rihaad :)