"Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words." Saint Francis of Assisi

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Paulo Renato

This is our brother Paulo Renato.

If you've been a follower of this blog for a while or if you get our monthly newsletter you already know about this brother.

Our love for him is very deep.

We've known him for almost 10 years.

He is a recovering alcoholic. He isn't shy about admitting that. He was sober for a few years. Last year he started drinking again. He did a good job of hiding it.

He was questioned about it for a few months. Different individuals at different times. He denied his drinking every time.

After a loving, confrontation from a group of his brothers and sisters in Christ he finally admitted his drinking and agreed to go back to the drug and alcohol rehab place that our church family works with.

He got out this past January and realized he needs some structure in his life to help him stay sober.

We suggested getting plugged into an Alcoholics Anonymous group. He excitedly agreed and found one that meets in a Catholic church in his neighborhood.

This past Sunday he worshipped with us in our house. He is a part of another house church family but he wanted to be with the Aggies.

As he was leaving he pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to me. He told me it was something he got from his A.A. meeting last week and he translated it into English.

He allowed me to scan it. Here's what it said:
Wow! Pure awesomeness.

My girlfriend almost cried when she read it.

He prayed during our worship time on Sunday. He thanked God for the love that he feels from his family in Christ. How he knows, really knows, that he is loved. I can't tell you how much that touched me because he's struggled at times with knowing and accepting the unconditional love of his Christian family.

We are really learning to be a family. It's hard but it's awesome.

I'm able to share all this because Paulo allowed me to do so. It's one of the things that I love about the men that leave the rehab center. They aren't shy about sharing their stories.

After Paulo shared his note with me I asked if I could scan it and share his story on our blog, ask people to pray for him and show everyone a picture of him.

He very excitedly agreed.

Go back up and look at the smile on our brothers face. It's priceless. It's as big as it is because he knew we were going to ask you to pray for him.

That's what family does. That's what family is.

Pray for Paulo.

1 comment:

Sascha Terry said...

Please tell PR that he is in our thoughts and prayers. The Lord puts him on my heart often. Let him know that we miss him and the other brothers and sister in POA dearly.

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7