Sunday began as a low key day. We had some time to sleep in and lounge around a bit after a LATE night. The women of the church graciously prepared a wonderful meal for us. We had a brief team meeting, to start to get to know one another on the team. We also touched on the schedule for the trip. We were told to plan on what the paper says, but be open to how God might move outside our schedule.
We practiced a few songs with the worship team to prepare for the evening church services. Then we ate ... more yummy food. We had noodles, rice, garlicky potato goodness, beef, fruit, and some delightful creamy, sweet dessert.
Since the temperatures are pretty hot, we took advantage of a free hour in the afternoon to take a siesta and rest. During the afternoon siesta time, a group of the guys were trying out their jiu-jitsu skills. Russ and Eric were presented with their blue belts from Ricardo. Jon was presented with his brown belt. For those of you unaware, Ricardo is a man of God who has been doing incredible work for the kingdom. Ricardo uses his jui-jitsu skills and love for the Lord to draw guys off of the streets and into his wrestling academy. Jui-jitsu is a form of submission wrestling, and Ricardo is pretty stinking good at it. It is incredible how God is using this form of ministry to transform and change lives, families, and communities.
Then it was almost time for church. Brazilian worship is quite an experience. I think we'd all highly recommend it. Jon refers to it as "tae-bo praise" which is a pretty accurate description.
A taste of worship during a church service at Ingreja Allianca
Pastor Josh gave the message. He touched on how we serve a humble and loving God. We need to humble ourselves to ask for help when we need it and to receive all that God has for us. Many people came forward to respond to what the Holy Spirit was doing and how he was speaking into their lives. It was intense! The presence of God filled that place in ways that are unexplainable.
After the services, we were greeted by many hugs and kisses from people in the congregation.
This church is full of welcoming and loving children of God. After lots of singing and dancing, we had worked up quite an appetite, so we ventured downstairs to have some more food, a Brazilian form of lasagna.
We had a pretty emotional debriefing time, where people shared some things that God pointed out to them. God is already moving in mighty ways, and we haven't even been in Brazil for 24 hours yet. Wow! God knows just how to take care of business. We serve an amazing and surprising God. What a joy it will be to see his spirit moving throughout the rest of our time here.
No comments:
Post a Comment