God is moving in Brasil

One of our brothers in Christ sent us this email tonight from a missionary in the northern part of Brasil. God is doing some amazing things through house churches in this country.

Here it is:

What strategy would you use to evangelize a strong Catholic interior city in Northeastern Brazil? Campaigns do work, Schools of the Bible call attention, and mission teams do find some people who are seeking Jesus' simple truth. But these front door methods, time after time, are met with the customary "I was born a Catholic, my parents are Catholics, and I am going to die a Catholic."

We have started visiting the city of Esperança (2.5 hours west of João Pessoa; population - 30 thousand).

Downtown Esperança

Jesus provided a back door to this city. Our first visit was a mere 24 hours in duration - a Monday at the end of January - a first contact with most of the people.
Take a look at the results:Ten Christians from Joao Pessoa went on this mission trip. We visited over 20 families, most of which we didn't know personally. We were so well received: huge meals prepared for us in several houses, people begging us to spend the night in their homes (we ended up staying in five different homes - note the picture of Dad conked out on somebody's floor), over fifty came to a Bible study at night held in a borrowed meat packing warehouse. One young man insisted that we have another Bible study in his garage the next morning so he could invite his neighbors. When we left, some people were upset that we didn't have to time to visit their homes.

So what was this back door that Jesus opened? What warranted such a tremendous reception in an interior city? The congregation that meets at Irene's house is visited by several of the China Taiwan Restaurant workers. Most of them are from the city of Esperança. The visit itself came about at their insistence to share God's word with their families.

The families in Esperança, who send their sons and husbands to work in Joao Pessoa, worry about the temptations of the big city. They are happy, many are relieved that God is providing a positive spiritual influence in the form of their co-worker Michel and a house church for them to meet with.

I don't know what God has planned for the city of Esperança, but judging by our first contact, it has got to be something really good.