So yesterday I arrived back in Dallas Texas yesterday from Brazil. WOW. I honestly don’t even have words to describe everything that I saw and witnessed the Holy Spirit do. It was amazing and so powerful. Over the next few days I will be posting a few blogs to try to, however inadequately, bring you guys and gals into the world of what I experienced on Brazil.
So last Saturday the 9th we got on a plane and headed to Manaus. The time over was spent with a lot of good fun, a few good pranks, and a lot of excitement and expectation about the chance to love on the Brazilian people. Sunday ended up being a day of preparation to get on the boat and also we have a little bit of time to walk through the market at Manaus. Sunday mornings in Manaus are very similar to a carnival or festival.
For about six blocks, are street vendors everywhere.
We walked through and had an amazing chance to share Christ with this guy named Phillip. When we walked up to Phillip, he was just finishing smoking a joint (not kidding). He wanted to sell us a few different and very random ear rings and necklaces, one of which was a prized necklace that he got from his father. At some point along the way, through our amazing translator Porto, we stirred the conversation towards spiritual things and the Gospel. We began to tell him about a Jesus who loves him so much and wants him to experience life. He pushed back pretty hard. He did not want anything to do with the church which was an issue that we would run across time and time again in Brazil. Roman Catholicism is very strong in Brazil and is a works based theology which says that if you do the right things (go to church, sacraments, be a good person, pray to Mary, etc) then you will have eternal life and its a lie. The Word of God is clear that it is by grace through FAITH that we find life, not doing the right things (Eph 2:8-9). Good people don’t go to heaven. Forgiven people do.
Phillip opened up greatly about his life after that. He told us of his hard past and his addiction to Cocaine. Our hearts were breaking for this guy in the middle of him pouring his heart out to us. Drugs and alcohol had damaged so much of this mans life. Yet this does not change Jesus love for him. We continued to talk with him and told him that Jesus could heal his addictions but he still would not getting the picture (possibly because he was still very high). We ended up praying with him and gave him a Bible. Please continue to pray for Phillip that in the middle of his darkness, he would open up the Word of God and find a God who is Mighty to Save.
That night we boarded the boat and headed into the Amazon Jungle. The people are in the middle of a massive flood that has destroyed many homes and there are many displaced people in these River Communities, many of which have never heard the Gospel ever. Our hearts were filled with excitement with the opportunity that the Lord had placed in front of us. The journey had just started. 🙂
for God
for People
for the Nations
for the Kingdom
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