Whoa, Nelly

Here´s my first crack at a computer since Saturday. My apologies for leavin´ y´all hanging, except the apology doesn´t apply to Peter Schellhase since he otherwise communicated to me his sentiments concerning the loss of Brasil, i.e., that they should´ve lost to Ghana and their loss gives him no pain.

Kidding, Peter!

So, we ended up joining a team of about twenty people plus translators here in Belo Horizonte. The team is made of of youth from the Church of Grace and Peace in Toms River, New Jersey, and a few people from Street LIFE, an urban ministry from New York City. Every day we´ve breakfasted together, then met for worship, prayer, and teaching, then lunched together, then hit the road for a ministry destination. So far we´ve gone to minister outside a brothel, in a downtown plaza, in a rehabilitation center, and a church. Today we´re returning to the brothel after we hit a favela (a very poor neighborhood--see pictures below of one in Rio).

During the ministry session, the team has a time of worship (drums, guitar, keyboard, bass, vocalists), drama (in conjunction with a team from Youth With A Mission), and prayer. At the end of every session we ask for anyone who wants to repent and surrender his life to Jesus to come forward for prayer. We also invite Christians who need to recommit their lives or have a special need to come forward. For outside ministry in downtown Belo, several Brazilians have always come forward for each category. It has been incredible to pray with individuals to make Jesus Lord of their life. The struggle for me has been that I´m not easily able to recommend a church family to them.

David and I are now staying overnight at the church which is hosting the team of Americans instead of at Gilberto and Jussara´s place. This move has eliminated the need for back-and-forth rides and made the sleep thing a little easier. On the 10th we´ll go back to Gilberto´s, since that´s the day the team heads back to the States.

It´s been a good time. It´s definitely been spiritually draining in some ways--for instance, the street that had the brothel and porn theatres had a feeling of oppression that wore off on me. It´s a battle. But it´s awesome to see what worshiping God in public does to transform the atmosphere, and it amazes me how every time we go outside to evangelize a group of people choose to stop and stay the whole time to hear what we have to say and receive what we have to give. I´ve also been extremely encouraged because I´ve been able to translate for people. You have no idea how thrilling this is for me. After five years of informally studying Portuguese I can talk to Brazilians. Not eloquently, mind you--but it is communication. Thank you, God!! All the study over the years and the 100+ hours we spent in the classroom last month in Rio were without a doubt worth it.

I´ve got to skedaddle. Please pray for us to stick close to the power of the gospel, keep our eyes on the Lord, serve, and be fortified against the enemy. Thank you!