Every day on the Rio trip was an adventure! There are many stories to tell – this is just one instance of God’s hand at work while we were there.
On one particular day, I got to serve on my Pastor’s team (Pastor Chris Crain from Birmingham, AL.). We arrived at Betel Baptist and assembled with the team of ladies involved in planning the house visits. On our way out, one of the women stopped us and said, “We need to pray. Where we are going today is very dangerous.” All of us Americans were a little shocked by that, but prayed and forged ahead without question.
We had several house visits that day, in a drug infested area of Niteroi. At one house, we visited a father and daughter in their home which was attached to what looked like the father’s business – a bar. The ladies and the father mentioned to us that the daughter, a young mother, had problems with “spirits”. Pastor Chris, Steve and myself all went into a mode of prayer and caution as we introduced ourselves and shared the gospel. I remember standing behind Pastor Chris, praying for God to use him and to bind any unseen form of spiritual darkness; asking that the work of the Holy Spirit would be done. Then, he asked me to pray with her! I was a little nervous to hold her hand as she shook with what appeared to be fear of some kind. I remember praying in Jesus name that she would know what Jesus did for her and would welcome His presence into her life as her Savior. After the prayer, she disappeared to the back of the house and we focused on sharing the gospel with her father. My heart sank, because I believed that God was calling her to Himself. I wanted to ask the Pastor to stop and find her and ask her if she wanted to trust Jesus with her life, but I didn’t.
Little did I know that one of the ladies from Betel had followed the young woman to the back of the house. Just before we were ready to leave, the young mother came out and said, “I want Jesus.” How we rejoiced! Pastor Chris prayed with her and the three of us reminded her of the gospel, so that she could share it with someone else.
This particular instance of the week is special to me, because I saw a team of American Missionaries and Brazilian ladies work as a team to change a life with the Gospel. God spoke to me personally at that house and reminded me to trust the discernment He has placed in me as His gift for His glory.
