Brasil: 23rd March – 11th April 2005 (All family)
WOW, AWESOME, EXHAUSTING, MIND BLOWING, CHALLENGING, LIFE CHANGING . . . . . yep, it was quite an experience!
Trip went as follows:
1. RIO
Hot but surprisingly (not just for us) very, very wet! I poured down for the 3 days of our stay. But we managed to climb a few mountains, visit some sights and see the inside of some impressive shopping centres. Most importantly, we met up with Pastor (Pr.) Costa and his church for an important time of sharing, fellowship and encouragement. Both English & Brasilians learnt a lot about each others culture and church life.
2. PORTO ALEGRE
The base for most of the trip, and home of .Brasa Church where we recieved a wonderful welcome & knew the reality of us being one church. All the English group were introduced & Steve shared a short word of encouragement about the future growth of the links between out churches.
3. BZN (english: Brasa North Zone)
A home group 3 years ago, now a church of 300+. Lively and enthusiastic welcome – especially from the youth for our young people. Steve preached here from Nehemiah 2 & saw a congregation wide response in prayer.
4. PELOTAS
We liked the feel of Pelotas. A town 4 hours South of Porto Alegre. Went shopping & realised just how cheap things are here (and risky when shoes are only UK £3 or £4!!) Met with the church and the Lord clearly spoke about unity, both across the ocean & within the local churches.
5. RIO GRANDE
The world’s longest beach is here (212km) but it soon got wet & cold! However, the Dolphins made up for the hassle. Met for Lunch with church here, and enjoyed a valuable time of fellowship. In the evening we met with the church again, Steve preached from Ephesians 6, recognising the battle the church here faces from black magic & afro-mystic religions. Very powerful sense of God’s presence and a big respose for prayer & ministry to a call for truth and no compromise.
6. BEITH SHALOM
11 hectares of land waiting to house needy children. For more on this project visit www.beithshalom.co.uk that will be updated soon with developments. Save to say here that the Brasilian & UK churches need to work together to help the lives of so many desparately needy kids. Porto Alegre has just 40 social workers for a city of 3.1 million!! 20 of these are christians trying to place the many used and abused children in homes where they will be safe, loved and meet Jesus.
7. MISSION CONFERENCE
Both Sat & Sun @ 9 am & 7 pm, a time of building, equipping and encouragement for the call to the nations. Key moments from this came from Jo Parnell (a missionary of 22 years in Berkina Fasu (West Central Africa) with the words “have you been called to STAY?” if not . . . Another theme that had evolved by this time was the need to be 100%. Jesus widn’t want the luke warm, even at 70 or 80% we would miss out. Steve shared some testimony on Sat night and Pr. Jesse, senior pastor of Brasa challenged the a full church to a real walk of faith. Pr. Jesse spoke on Sun am about the missing genealogies and showed how they had been left out due to their unwillingnes to follow God’s commands. We don’t want to be a generation that is ignored, rather the generation that reaches the world. Steve preached again on Sun pm, the final service at Brasa, from 1Sam 16 – the annointing of David. A call to service saw many responding and people were still talking with us when we were ready to leave on our bus about midnight!!
8. IGASSU
A 17 hour coach journey, even in a wonderful coach, is a long one! We were so glad to find a lovely hotel at the end of it. Tuesday gave us our first proper sunshine of the trip, and the most beautful views of Igassu Falls. It is worth all the travelling to see God’s creation like this. Then on Wednesday some went to shop again, this time in nearby Paraguay, but we chose the ‘crash by the pool’ option. It was a good choice as the sun shone again & we felt superbly relaxed. The long trip back to Porto Alegre was not without incident when our coach was attacked by roadside bandits. Two broken windows and dents in the side of the coach were the only damage as the driver had the presence of mind to speed away rather than stop and risk robbery.
9. HOSTS
On our return we had just a little bit of time to get to know our hosts. These were important moments that we will treasure and hopefully grow upon in the future.(Ricardo & Michele – Thankyou again for your love & hospitality)
10. WEDDING
Murial & Jesse, a lovely couple who have been missionaries with us in Bognor for the past 2 years were married in Pelotas & it was a very real privilage to be a part of their special day.
On top of all this, we ate some great food. Laughed and cried. most importantly, saw God growing and changing lives – ours included.
