Alliance Church

Oi  from Brazil!!!

I apologize in advance for this blog being so long, but our free time here has been a bit limited and I am behind a couple of days.

We were so happy that our team from Wisconsin arrived safely late Monday evening. 

The last few days in Manaus have certainly been God filled to say the least.  I know my words will not even come close to describing what we have all encountered. Hopefully you will be able to join us for our Mission Rewind (June 24 at 7pm in the Freeport Campus small auditorium) in order to really get the feel of what we have been experiencing.

We were blessed with a breakfast of honor yesterday (Wednesday) from the pastors and their families of the Alliance Church.  The food was AMAZING! There was so much to choose from and of course we had to try a little bit of everything.

Pastor Francisco shared how he started this church with a vision over 20 years ago. He and Jon both dreamed of bringing teams from all over to grow the kingdom of God and heal the city of Manaus.  The team is pretty moved with how God has provided in so many ways over the years.

To think….the church originally started with an old wooden shack with no more than 2 rooms and is now grand and glorious and blessing hundreds of people each day! God is so faithful when you believe!!

To give thanks to us they honored us with a ceremonial blessing.  Pastor Francisco had each of us come and sit with our eyes closed while they played the song “To the ends of the earth”.  When we opened our eyes there sat in front of us a beautiful gift of appreciation with a letter enclosed. Inside the gift bag was a shirt that read in Portuguese ´´Win One For Jesus´´ a lady from the church had also needle pointed prayer towels for each of us with our full names on. There wasn´t a dry eye in the house! Before long  we all had our shirts on!  What a beautiful sight!

None of us have ever encountered such appreciation for our presence before!  We were totally blown away!!! And that was just the beginning of our day….we couldn´t imagine it getting any better, but it did!!

Jon took us to a drug and alcohol rehabilitation camp that the Alliance Church has developed.

This is a rehab center that is not forced upon them to go to. They must want to come on their own.  At any point in time they may leave.  Their mission is to rehabilitate them for God’s use not societies. They are put to work as soon as they get there. They sweat out the chemicals they have plagued their bodies with. They do not use pills or fancy treatments to heal them.   They rely strictly on God´s deliverance.

Currently there were 12 young men in rehab and/or mentoring to others.  They ranged in age anywhere from 17 yrs to 30 yrs. Each one was given the opportunity to share a bit of their story.  Each one has recommitted their life to Christ and wants to return a better man than when they first arrived. We had the privilege of doing the rope course with them, as well as, swimming and playing volleyball.

We arrived back just in time to attend another AWESOME church service. We just can´t seem to get enough of their praise and worship time.

One of our team members (Mike Bottrell) gave the message.  He spoke on how we not only need to train up ourselves, but we need to bond the chains of life together with one another as well. Here in Brazil we are not only sharing Christ with one another….we are in training.  We have definitely been  learning alot from the people of Brazil that we will carry back with us.

On Wednesday morning we went to the River Village about an hour away.  Youth on a Mission provided us with a boat in order to get there.  It was located on the back waters of the Amazon River.  There the youth group from Alliance Church performed a drama and dance.  Our team blessed them in song together. We were able to see their school which ranged from Pre-K age to 8^th grade.  Many of the children either come by foot or by boat to attend.

The younger children entertained us in song from their tribal language. It went along with the song we know as “If your happy and you know it” so of course we sang it to them in English after they sang it to us. 

Last night (Wednesday) we attended a satellite church of the Alliance Missionary Church.  We arrived early so we could divide into teams and walk the streets inviting others to attend the services. It was a very dangerous neighborhood, but in Christ we all felt safe as a team.

God was rocking the house once again during praise and worship time. We sang songs that were both from Brazil and America.  Many of us couldn´t believe that the stage did not collapse with all of us jumping for joy and praising God for all that he has done and  has yet to do!

Jill Bess and Jamie Avis shared their testimonies.  Both of them were so moving.

Jill shared how she had been abused as a child and how it has affected her relationship with others through the years.  But God has since released her of all the guilt and shame that she carried around with her for many years.  She heard God telling her that someone there last night was in need of being released from those same feelings.  Whether they had been abused or were the abuser…she knew God was wanting to deliver them from their pain.  Over 12 men and women stood asking for that peace to rain down on them.  Each of us as a team laid hands on those individuals. Praying over them and rebuking the enemy that had cursed their lives. It was so powerful!!

Jamie shared how her life choices had kept her running. Never wanting to share or grow close with anyone. But God had recently convicted her, and she needed to share these things with others in order to grow closer to Christ.

This morning (Thursday) we were anointed as missionaries of God by Pastor Francisco. Jon read from Isaiah 61, encouraging us to go and preach the Good Word.

Pastor Francisco then took us to the Becca Village today for a prayer walk. Giving us the opportunity to use what Mike Bottrell had taught us during our debriefing time. To share the heart of God with others, to touch them and pray for what we saw in their eyes.

The language barrier has not been a problem. Many of them know by our outer expression of what we are trying to convey.  Each of us was given a bottle of anointing oil to place on those that we met or to place on the pathways that they walk.

Most of us were devastated by the living conditions we saw.  With all the rain there has been much flooding, which has resulted in a lot of the sewage waste backing up. The stench alone made our stomachs turn.  We have all been wrecked for God and can´t wait to share more with you in person.

Thank you again for all your prayers, it´s greatly needed and appreciated!

Chow!!