INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY: BRAZIL TRIP- OCT 2024
Still the God of miracles…
My recent trip to Brazil was an incredible time of fruitful ministry. This trip was unique for me because I went with one of Make Way Ministries’ Board Members, Pastor Nate Danser. The two of us shared the speaking, and we conducted several conferences with Pure Life Ministries Brazil. It was definitely a trip to remember.
Conference at Dokimos Church
After nearly twenty-four hours of travel, we hit the ground running with an evening service the night we arrived at a church called Dokimos in Gama. I spoke there on my last trip, and it was a blessing to be able to reconnect with Pastor Luis and his congregation. For several of the services on this trip, a young man named Octavio was our translator. His father works closely with PLM Brazil and I had met Octavio last year. It was a blessing to have him ministering alongside us throughout the week. The first night, Nate shared a convicting message about what it means to truly know the Lord and incorporated some of his testimony into the message. He gave a passionate plea for people to make sure they are truly walking with God.
After the service, I reconnected with a couple who I met last year. In one of the services on that trip, they had confessed secret sin in their lives. Since that time, they had been through a discipleship process with their leadership and testified that their spiritual lives and their marriage has been transformed by the Lord! It was such a blessing to hear what God had done in their lives and the wife shared that reading Pile of Masks had a dramatic impact on her personally over the last year. They were so grateful for what the Lord had done and I was overwhelmed at the goodness of God.
I spoke the second night of the conference on the topic of seeking the presence of God. I gave time for people to respond after the message and call out to the Lord. So many came forward, and we had an intense time of worship, praise and prayer as the Holy Spirit ministered to many souls at the altars. God was faithful to answer the cries of His children for more of Him.
Ministry at Primeira Igreja Batista de Valparaiso
The next night, Nate and I split up and went to two different churches. He spoke at a church connected to Dokimos and I spoke at the First Presbyterian Church in a city called Valparaiso. I had met Pastor Charley on my last trip, and he had helped translate a podcast interview. It was a joy to connect with him again and have a chance to meet his wife. The first night, I preached a message about maintaining our fire for the Lord. At the end, I invited anyone with specific needs to come forward, and we spent time ministering to people at the altars. Many had significant needs for healing in their bodies and we joined our faith to believe for miracles.
We had a chance to visit with our good friend and ministry partner, Pastor Airton Williams and his family during the day. It was awesome to hear about the project they are working on to have a fully functioning Christian university in the city of Uberlandia. Airton shared with me during our time together that he had brought all of the members of his church through Pile of Masks and that there were many testimonies of people who had received breakthrough as a result of the study. I was so blessed to hear how our materials are making an impact in Brazil.
The second night, we had a men’s meeting at the First Baptist Church. Nate opened with an exhortation about walking in purity as a man in an ungodly culture. We had a time of discussion and many of the men asked very insightful questions. Nate, myself and Paulo answered them and the men seemed very engaged. We were grateful for what the Lord did in Valparaiso those two nights.
Conference at ADCN- Caldas Novas
The next day, we traveled nearly four hours by car to the city of Caldas Novas. It is a beautiful, tropical city, and the first night we saw six macaws across the street from the hotel. This was the third time that I had ministered at the Assembly of God church in that city. It was so great to be back in the church and to see many friends that I have made over the last three years. Junior was our translator and we have worked together on all of our trips. I spoke the first night and talked about the need for God’s people to go deeper in their relationship with Him. I gave an altar response and many came forward to receive ministry. After the service, a woman came up and shared with me that last year, I had prayed for her because of severe depression in her life. That night the Lord had set her completely free, and she had been walking with the joy of the Lord ever since. God is so amazing!
Nate shared the second night. He talked about intimacy with the Lord and described his journey of getting to know the Lord over the last sixteen years. At the end, there was a really special move of the Spirit. It was a very intimate, quiet, but powerful presence of the Lord that came into the room. We ended up having two altar calls, and all who responded were ministered to deeply by the Holy Spirit. It was a special night.
It was a blessing to be with Pastor Andre and his wife as well as their leadership team. The fellowship was rich and we were excited to hear about what the Lord is doing through their church through their outreach, kids ministry, Biblical counseling and many other efforts to expand the Kingdom in Caldas Novas.
Conference at Familias Benditas
After we left Caldas Novas, we headed back to Brasilia. During that time, we had the privilege of staying at the Pure Life Ministries Brazil Residential campus and spent a day with the staff and students. Right now, there are eight men going through the program. We had two informal chapel services with them. In the first one, I led a couple of songs of worship and the Holy Spirit moved in a significant way. His presence was so thick and we spent time crying out to the Lord. Nate shared from his heart and the men had a chance to share some of their victories and struggles. It was a beautiful time of ministry. That afternoon, I shared some thoughts about God’s ability to keep the men in freedom even after the program. You could tell the men were very encouraged by us being there and it was one of the highlights of the trip for us. It’s amazing to see how the Lord has been establishing Pure Life Ministries Brazil, bringing men who to the program who are in desperate need, and setting them free.
We had a two-night conference at Familias Benditas Church in Vincente Pires (which means Blessed Families), a church I had ministered at last year. It was great to see Pastor Eronaldo and his wife as well as their congregation again. A few weeks ago, Pastor Eronaldo had shared that a couple who was not able to have kids had gotten pregnant after I prayed for them last year. The morning before my service at that church this year, I realized how interesting it was that I was going to be preaching there on my birthday. The Lord spoke a message to my heart that He was birthing something new in the church. As I was wondering if that was actually His voice or my own, I was reminded about this couple and how God had blessed them with a new birth in their family. Shortly after that I received a text from a family member sharing with me about their pregnancy. I realized God was confirming His word to me.
As I prayed about the service, I felt the Lord speak to me, “Find out the name of the baby.” I asked Pastor that night before the service and he couldn’t remember. He sent me to his wife, who said, “The baby’s name is Esther.” She then called the couple, and during worship, they brought little Esther to me to show me what the Lord had done. They had three miscarriages before that, but they said through tears, “You gave a prophetic word last year about babies being born and the Lord gave us our daughter.” Then another woman from the church came and shared another testimony. She said, “When you gave the word last year, I had faith for my daughter who couldn’t get pregnant for eight years. And she conceived and gave birth to my grandbaby just two months ago!” Needless to say, I was overwhelmed at the goodness of God and His mercy toward His people.
The Lord gave me a message for the church relating to Esther’s story from the Bible about how she had such an urgency to save the lives of her people, she was willing to lay her life down sacrificially for others and that the Lord was birthing an urgency in Familias Benditas for souls that would cause them to love sacrificially so that others can be saved. I was so amazed at how the Lord orchestrated those events and holding Esther in my arms and praying for her and her parents was a highlight of the trip. God is so good!
Nate spoke the first night of the conference, and shared about the need for believers to be rooted in the Word of God and to hunger for the Bible in a greater way. At the end, he invited anyone who wanted to make a commitment to go deeper in the Word, and nearly the whole congregation came forward. It was a blessing to see so many young families with a desire to grow spiritually.
I spoke about the need for us to press into God’s presence on the second night. At the end of the message, we had a powerful time of ministry at the altars, as people cried out to the Lord for more of His presence. We were told that one young lady was baptized in the Holy Spirit during the first night of altar ministry. Another young lady in the church testified to me that she had been baptized in the Holy Spirit last year during our services. Our hearts were filled with gratitude for what the Lord accomplished in Vincente Pires those two days.
Conference at Igreja Congregacional de Bento Ribeiro
The next morning, we were up early and heading to the airport in Brasilia to take a flight to Rio de Janeiro. The city was beautiful, surrounded by mountains and water, but we were told it is also known as the most immoral city in Brazil. Tourists flock from around the world to experience the pleasures that Rio has to offer. We had a chance to see the city from a few different places, and in one particular spot that overlooked the city, we spent a few minutes in prayer, asking God to move in Rio.
That evening, we went to a ministry outside of the city where we met with a small group of believers who have a vision for a 24/7 prayer and worship room. It is hard to explain how powerful our time of worship was together. It was simple, raw and extremely anointed by the Holy Spirit. They had asked me to share a word with them and all I could think about that day was the story of Abraham and Isaac. I was not sure how it would apply to this small group, but after I shared, one of the leaders testified that the word was definitely for her. God had been speaking to her about the story of Isaac through several different people, and she was grateful for my obedience to share what was on my heart. It was such a special time, crying out to the Lord with this precious group with a strong passion for worship and prayer.
The next day, we had two services at a Congregational Church in Rio. A young missionary named Anna was our translator for that day. Nate spoke in the morning and gave a strong call for people to truly know the Lord. Many came forward at the end of the message to respond to the invitation. That evening, I shared a message that the Lord put on my heart specifically for that church called, “Was it worth it?” I talked about several characters from the Bible who had been willing to trade spiritual blessings for the things of this world. I challenged the people to lay down their idols and seek the Lord. When I gave a call for salvation, no one answered at first. But I felt that there were some who were supposed to, so I gave a second call and several came forward. Then, I gave an invitation for those who were saved, but wanted to further consecrate their lives to the Lord. Many more came forward and we prayed over each of them. We were grateful for how the Lord ministered in such a challenging atmosphere. God will have His way even in the darkest of places.
Pictures from the top left (Me holding baby Esther with her proud parents, Me with Nate and Paulo in Rio, The chapel service at PLM Brazil with the students, the worship night in Rio de Janeiro)
Overall Thoughts
As we headed back home, our hearts were filled with gratitude for how the Lord ministered each step of the way. The trip was intense with preparation, prayer, ministry and travel, but we were able to navigate those challenges and see the Holy Spirit minister to many people in a tangible way. God gave us a special gift in allowing us to hear so many testimonies of the fruit of our ministry in Brazil over the last three years. It was a huge encouragement.
I want to express our sincere gratitude for each person who has been lifting us up in prayer. God is moving all around the world and it has been amazing to see Him do what only He can do in Brazil.
I recorded a seven part Vlog that you can watch with testimonies, updates and video clips from the services. You can watch them here:
https://youtu.be/HZSJBldnZpc
