Memorable Visits
During the week, I had some visits that were memorable. Visits can be memorable because of what happens during the visit or before the visit or after the visit. God can reveal Himself to us at any time.
Basically, we just make ourselves available and God uses us. It is an amazing feeling. When someone is saying a prayer and asking Jesus into their life - I know that is exactly where I am supposed to be at that particular point and time. That makes it a memorable experience. By sharing these experiences, my purpose is not to draw attention to myself - I don't do anything except make myself available. The purpose is to encourage you - by making yourself available, you can be a witness. Let go and let God work through you.
Sometimes, we are compared to clay vessels. I don't know why God has chosen to spread His word through fragile clay vessels but I am glad that He has allowed me - a broken clay vessel - to be a part of His work.
We were in Campinas and on Tuesday, July 9, Pastor Marcelo said that he wanted to go by and visit a 6-year old boy who had liver cancer. He was on chemotherapy but the prognosis is not good. I didn't know what to expect. I really expected to go by and see a bedfast child. I was surprised - Roger didn't seem to be very sick at all. Roger's eyes were a little droopy but he was an active youngster. We talked for a while and I gave him a Snyder city pin and an ink pen. We visited with his parents - they were there in the room with us. After a while, Marcelo looked at me and said that he wanted for us to present the gospel to him.
Well, where do you start? The first verse that came to mind - one of the most complete verses in the Bible - was John 3:16. So, we talked about that verse. Then I got out the tract and showed him the pictures. We talked about disobeying God and related it to disobeying our parents. We talked about Jesus and His love for us. About that time, Roger turned to me and said "Fala Portuguese".
I guess that he was ready to get down to business and since I can't speak Portuguese - I asked Marcelo to take over. He was interpreting for me anyway and he had Roger in his lap, so it was an easy transition. In a few minutes, Roger was repeating the prayer and inviting Jesus into his life. Since I don't understand Portuguese, I don't know what they were saying - but, I do realize that it was a very sweet moment.
It seems that children who are very sick are often more mature. Certainly, that seemed to be the case with Roger - he demonstrated a maturity and understanding beyond his years. I am sure that he had already thought of the consequences of his illness - I am confident that he knew what he was doing.
On Monday, July 22, Roger passed from this life.
One of the workers at the church in Parque Amorim is an ex-spiritist. Her name is Roseangela. In a visit on Tuesday (July 14), we were presenting the gospel to a lady and she voiced some objections, Roseangela spontaneously gave her testimony. Briefly, her testimony is that she was deeply involved in the spiritist religion and someone gave her a gospel tract. She initially laughed at it but eventually read it, wanted to invite Jesus into her life and went searching for a church. She found Parque Amorim and has been a faithful believer since that time. One of the church's cell groups meets in her house.
The rest of her family continues to be involved in spiritism. In the US, spiritism is disguised or hidden for the most part. In Latin and South America, it is out in the open. Spiritism is a combination of voodoo, spirit worship, Catholicism and witchcraft. Spiritism is associated with the worship of Macumba. It is something to be aware of but not frightened of. Jesus promised, "Greater is He that is within us than he that is in the world".
On Friday, we got word that we had been invited to visit a Macumba Temple. They wanted us to talk to them. We agreed to do so. However, on Saturday morning, we received word that they changed their mind. Since we had planned to go to a Macumba Temple, Roseangela volunteered for us to go to her sister's.
Obviously, we did not have an appointment - we just went and asked if we could share some information with her sister. Her sister's name is Marcia.
Marcia was not overjoyed with our visit, but she did agree to allow us to present the gospel to her. I sat down beside her and went through the tract - Carla Zuim interpreted. As I watched her face and eyes, I could see a struggle going on. Deep down, I believe that she wanted to yield and invite Jesus into her life. However, she claims to be the spiritual leader for 700 people and she did not want to let her followers down.
Everyone had a chance to speak with her - Jim, Marcelo and Agnaldo. Roseangela was there but she didn't speak. But, Marcia didn't yield.
Several other folks wandered in and out during the presentation. However, at the end, only Marcia remained.
After about 2 hours, the visit was winding down. We had presented the gospel and Marcia had rejected it. She knew that if she died, she would be spending eternity away from God. Marcelo asked if there was anything else that I wanted to say. I did.
In the tract, we use John 14:6 which says "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me." Usually, we just emphasize the 'way' part of the tract since Jesus is the ONLY way.
However, in this situation, it seemed appropriate to emphasize the second phrase - "the truth". I reminded Marcia that as a leader, she needed to lead in TRUTH. A true leader will give out the truth - not false information. A good leader will be truthful and a bad leader will spread falsehoods.
Futhermore, we need to be truthful leaders. God loves each of us and wants a special relationship with each person. God sent His only Son to die for us. Jesus gave up everything that He had so that He could be a sacrifice - so that He could bring us to God.
If Jesus could give up everything, then we could certainly do the same. I asked Marcia 'Can I pray that God would reveal Himself to you?' She nodded 'Yes'. Additionally, I wanted Marcia to understand that God may have to take away everything that she has (followers, money, temple, health, etc.). After that explanation, I asked if she would still agree to allow me to pray that prayer. She agreed.
So, I took her hand and prayed in English - no interpretation. I prayed that God would reveal Himself to Marcia. Since Marcia had given me permission - I asked God to take away things that got in the way of her surrender to Jesus. I also claimed the temple as holy ground. As we were preparing ourselves for the visit, Roseangela had told us that every floor, every wall, every part of the temple was dedicated to a specific demon. We were in a place that had been dedicated to evil.
Later, we discovered that Jim was sitting over a spot where a human skull was buried. We also looked in the room that held the idols and gods used in their rituals. There were a lot of horns on the wall and lots of pictures of the gods that they worship. They had big drums - apparently used in the ritual to call up the demons.
I believe that God will reveal Himself to Marcia - I don't know how and I don't know when. I probably will never hear about it, but I believe that God has something special for her.
We were faithful, we had a chance to present the gospel and we did our best - that is all that God asks us to do.
God often has special surprises for those who go on evangelical visits. Often, we think that the sole purpose of the visit is to present the gospel to a 'lost and dying soul'. And usually, the message is for that lost soul. However, sometimes God has a message for the helpers from the church, sometimes the message is for the interpreter and sometimes it is for the presenter. Sometimes, we try to limit God - at those times, He will often surprise us.
To this point in my life, I have enjoyed good health. Often, I take it for granted. In this visit, God reminded me that one's health can change rapidly from one day to the next.
About 1993, Edson dove into a river and broke his back. He has been bedfast since that time. He admitted that in the early days of his disability, he had tried to kill himself. Eventually, he became reconciled to God and now is a member of the Parque Amorim church but his mother was not a believer.
He has a great attitude, his mother needed some comfort. We presented the gospel to her and she yielded her life to Christ.
Once again, Jesus reminded me that in this world, we will have difficulties. I am sure that Edson has replayed the events that paralyzed him many times. But, the replays end the same - he is still bedfast. However, he still has control over his attitude - his attitude isn't paralyzed.
Sometimes, we get so busy doing something for God that we forget to let God do something for us.
In one sense, this was this was probably the most touching visit of the trip. Some visits have a lot of drama - lots of objections, special circumstances and/or emotional releases. This visit was not dramatic. Francia lives at the end of the road. She lives next to Marcelino - he was there on the visit with us. She lives in poverty. It was a night visit and there was only one small light burning. The temperature was chilly, but the fellowship was warm.
We presented the gospel, a fairly standard presentation. The only excitement in the visit was that I got mixed up on my interpreter's name. At one point, I referred to 'Juliana' as 'Deborah'.
Other than that, there wasn't anything especially memorable about this visit. Francia said 'yes' on the first appeal and so did her son.
As Francia was saying the prayer, I remembered a scripture passage. It was "do it unto the least of these".
I think that God was reminding me that EACH person is important. No matter where they are in life - they are important. I had sympathy for Roger because of his illness, I wanted Marcia to accept Jesus because she would be a great testimony and Edson was an encouragement even with his disability. In this visit, Francia didn't seem to have much to offer.
She has a small house at the end of a dirt road. We had to step over the open and smelly drainage ditch as we entered her home. In this visit, God reminded me that He loves Francia just as much as He loves Britt Canada. He didn't speak with a shout but with a still, small voice.
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