Let's Go to Sao Camilo!

It's difficult to find words to describe what we did today. I'll do my best here.

Most of the morning was prayer and instruction. We prayed for Sao Camilo and prayed for our team. After lunch we were prepared to go. We packed up our pockets with New Testaments and soccer ball keychains, we separated into our teams, and we started walking up the hill to the slum. As we approached the entrance to Sao Camilo we saw three police cars with all their lights on. We were advised by all the Brazilians to turn back and avoid the neighborhood. This was disappointing news for us all. For many of us the highlight of the trip last year was going into this slum, and this year we may not be able to.

We turned around and went back to the church building. We found ourselves on our knees once again praying for Sao Camilo. This time it was more heart-felt, more intense. We prayed for the neighborhood, we prayed for our team and safety, we prayed for the Brazilians as they continue the work there even after we leave.

The minute we got up from praying Dairson walked in the building and said, "Let's go to Sao Camilo!" Everything was then clear for us to go. Why the wait? Maybe God wanted to make sure we were totally dependent on Him.

We carefully walked the streets of Sao Camilo going to houses of the children who are part of the program the church has every Saturday. We got to talk to many children and some adults. Some of us were able to go in homes and others walked up and down the street inviting them to come.

For the next two days we will be working with these children. On Sunday we'll give them the prayer bears Tamra and the preschoolers at North Side made for us. We'll also get to go back with them to their homes and tell the family members about Jesus.

Tonight we had a worship service with the senior pastor of the church. He challenged us to think about the mystery of Christ which is the Church (Eph 3:4). We continue to be challenged and touched here by the kindness and hospitality they show us. I can't really say enough about what they have done for us, and how they've been Jesus to all of us.

Please pray tomorrow as we do VBS with the children of Sao Camilo. Let us be the hands and feet of Christ. Let us love on the children and show them the love that is shown us.

Today we spent the majority of the day in Sao Camilo.  I know for the past year we've talked about Sao Camilo as a drug infested place that was not safe to enter.  You can imagine how we felt when we were told we would be going door to door there. But when we got there we realized there was a safer part of the neighborhood.

Our seven groups walked the streets telling people about Jesus. We had several people pray to accept Christ, many of them children. We did a program in a park late in the afternoon and afterwards were able to share Christ with many around us.

Tonight we split up and had dinner in people's houses. People from the church here invited their friends to dinner and we were there to share our testimonies about what God had done in our lives.  Our group met with a group of house church pastors and it was a great time of sharing and encouragement.

Please continue to pray for us. After 3 days of work we've become tired and even distracted. Please pray that God would give us new strength. Pray for us tomorrow that we will be able to talk to people in the slums of Sao Camilo. Pray that people in that community would come to know Him.

Day 3

Today started out with much uncertainty. Since we've been here they've had storms in Brazil that they usually don't see in July and August. It was pouring all night last night and into the morning and we were praying that the rain would stop. 

By the time our crowded bus pulled up to the house church in Novo Horizonte the rain stopped. We were able to go out into the neighborhood and share Christ.  The Americans got into groups and went down the street talking to all who would listen to us.  We had several people accept Christ, were able to pray with some, and made many contacts for the house church.

The Brazilians went out looking for kids and invited them to an event we had for children at the house church. There were close to 40 kids packed on the patio of the house. We teamed up with the Brazilians and did VBS type activities. I believe we really planted some seeds there with children and their parents.

Tonight we went back to the church building and had a worship service with the young people from the church. It was a very powerful time of worship. We heard from a guy who is an American and a pastor of a Brazilian church. He spoke to all of us about this generation must love God more than the pleasures of this world. The prayer time afterwards was truly amazing and hopefully prepared us for tomorrow. 

The pastor of the church here has invited us to fast tomorrow morning. If you are reading this I would like to encourage you to do the same. Tomorrow after lunch we are going to Sao Camilo. This slum has been on the hearts of the church here for 3 years now and has been a very difficult place to reach.  We're praying that God would break the chains that bind this place. That they would see the light of Christ through us and others who go there to share of His salvation.

This was a great day in Brazil! We did some prayer walking this morning. Some of us walked by Sao Camilo - the slum area where we will go on Friday-Sunday. The church has a real burden for this place plagued by poverty, drugs and crime. We are praying their hearts would be open to the Gospel and that the church could make a lasting impact on this community.

This afternoon we went door to door in Novo Horizonte telling people of the good news of Jesus Christ. There were several who began to trust Christ as their Savior today! The purpose of being in this neighborhood is so we can share Christ and point them to a place where they can go to study the Bible. The church members who host this Bible study were saved about the time we came here last year.  This year they are inviting everyone around them to come to their house where they are leading the Bible study. It's amazing to see them passionate about reaching their neighborhood for Jesus.

Tonight we did our program with some music and drama. It rained a little bit, but that didn't stop the right people from coming. After the program we dispersed to share with people in the crowd. From this several people came to know Christ, and many others heard the Good News.

Tomorrow we go back to Novo Horizonte to work with children. Please pray for us as we prepare for this work and that children and families would come to know Christ through what we do here.

Sharing

Sitting here with Randy, Matt, and Ruan the translator drinking tea and eating....again. This place is amazing.

We met tonight with our team and the Brazilian team to talk about what we are doing this week.  The next two days we will be working in Novo Horizonte. Tomorrow night we'll be focusing on ministering to adults and families, doing some door to door witnessing and some Gospel presentations in the streets.  On Wednesday we'll focus on activities for children. Please pray that God would give us wisdom as we share with the people of Brazil.  Pray that God would constantly remind us that we are here to further His kingdom through sharing of His grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

Brazil day 1

We finally made it to Jundiai, Brazil.  We arrived about an hour after we were scheduled to, but all is well. We are now in our host homes getting some rest after almost 24 hours of travel. Tonight we will join in worship with our Brazilian team members and talk about the schedule for the coming days.

Please continue to pray for us. God has been working in this place and we want to be a part of it. There is a great need here for people to leave their lives of trying to please  

If you would like to receive more play by play updates you can join us on twitter. www.twitter.com/nsbcbrazil. 

Justice and Righteousness

Van threw a magazine in my office today. I'm not even sure if he read any of it. But the cover reads "canned worship". Maybe he's trying to tell me something? I usually put that stuff in a pile of magazines I want to read. It would have gone right on top of Relevant Magazine and the latest Musician's Friend catalog. For some reason I read this one immediately.

The article from the cover was written by David Ruis, and my head is still spinning and processing what he wrote. What stands out most in my mind is basically that there is no authentic worship without justice and righteousness (Amos 5:23-24). If we do not care for others, we cannot worship God.

Reading this I thought about this time last week when we had the youth rally in Vermont. I've never seen our kids worship like that. I've seldom been in any worship service like that. And the reason the worship was so incredible was not because of a great band or a "worshipful" atmosphere. It was great because we were a room full of people who that week had been whole-heartedly devoted to serving God through caring for those around them.

Too often we come to worship wondering what we're gonna get out of it. We hope the band plays the song we like, or we hope they play that old hymn that reminds us of way back when. But the truth is that true worship will not happen unless we devote ourselves daily to serving Christ and serving others. If half the people that sit in our sanctuaries would focus on worshipping God all week through service to Him and through loving people then our corporate worship would be amazing!

So think about that next time you're sitting in church wondering why you just can't connect with the worship. Ask yourself if you've done what God has called you to do in the way you treat others. Maybe if we all do that then our corporate worship will be better than we can imagine. And I think God would like it more, too.