On Mission with God

Over a week-and-a-half ago our quiet afternoon turned upside down and inside out as high winds and tornados moved through our city and county knocking down powerlines, trees, ripping roofs off houses, leveling barns and chicken houses.  This sounds like Texas! The thing that makes it all seem surreal is that Brazil is NOT supposed to have tornados. In the next 20 minutes after the tornado, ´sideways´ rain, and hail hammered our home and after we had squigied out gallons of water from the entry way (which I have dubbed the stairs river because I pushed it downstairs and out) we found tile sticking in the ground from our roof. Following this we began to see TV and read newspaper reports about the devastation. Following this our team began contacting  local officials and IMB disaster relief. And it has come together!

Southern Baptists, through the IMB, have sent thousands of dollars and now help is reaching the Hunsrik who have not been able to repair their homes. This home (picture right) belongs to the Pedro Seidel family in the Hunsrik community of Vila Olinda in Nova Pertópolis where we live. I visited their home yesterday and met them. Following this we worked with the Civil Defense and Fire Chief to purchase supplies. Today I went to the house with Joseph and John as the supplies were delivered. The Hunsrik are normally a very closed people, especially to foreigners, but not today. We were received with smiles, hugs and kisses, the boys and I, and spoken to in Hunsrik. Such a warm welcome often takes much more time to receive as the Hunsrik, wary of outsiders, guard their language and friendship for intimate circles only. Mrs. Seidel even had her daughter come out and meet us. She is five and pictured with her mom in the photo. This is also not the norm as the children are sheltered from strangers.

As you can see the tin roof was completely ripped off and water entered the house as the winds and rains pounded away. They were so frightened she said when I saw her yesterday morning. Today she is all smiles because tomorrow Pedro, along with neighbors, will come together and put the tiles back on. Following this she will be receiving food, matresses, bedding, etc… All of this is such a blessing from this side of the storm. We are grateful to Southern Baptists who have made this disaster relief possible.

Pray for the Seidels and others who are still in great need. Pray that they will have receptive hearts to Christ as we share his love with them in this hour of great need.

All morning she prayed for her neighbor. That day her husband asked her to make a visit with him to the neighbor´s home. During the visit Rosane prayed for her health telling her neighbor that there is none but Jesus who died and rose again for us and that he alone could heal her. Her neighbor responded that if she was healed in Jesus´ name then she would commit her life to serving him alone. She made this statement with an image of Mary, the patron saint of Brazil, over her shoulder. Rosane said that if she had not had the dream the night before she would have ´railed´ against the woman´s idolatry instead of praying for her. She rejoiced that she was able to give testimony and prepare her neighbor for what the Lord is going to do. Pray for Rosane who often suffers at the hands of Catholics. Pray also for her neighbor.

The devil may wear Prada, but what’s his favorite fragrance?

Recently we had an interesting and telling incident occur in one of our house churches. The family hosting the house church had relatives visiting for the weekend. The relatives joined us for church, but really did not participate much in the singing or the discussion of the text that evening.

The couple who were visiting are spiritists. Their religion includes the channeling of demons by mediums, offering sacrifices to demons and invoking demons for protection and benefits. Theirs is a very dark religion which is masked by “good deeds” and “peace seeking”. The promise of a “good life” for the adherent is very attractive to many.

Our Bible study that night included aspects of the Christian life that deal with suffering and persecution. The Tribulation even entered into the discussion. It was quite a study that dealt with the realities of life and future upheaval that awaits the human race. Even before we finished, this couple excused themselves from the study. Our studies sometimes run late.

The next day, the hostess began preparing lunch for her guests. The man who was visiting entered the kitchen and began peeling and cutting up onions. The hostess thought he was helping her prepare some of the ingredients for their lunch. But, after he finished cutting up the onions, he took the peelings over to the wood burning stove and tossed them in the fire. This is not what people usually do with their onion peelings when preparing a meal.

The hostess asked him why he threw the onion peelings in the fire. He explained that the study the previous evening, all the talk of suffering and persecution, had disturbed his spirit. He threw the onions in the fire as an offering to his spirit protector to restore balance and peace in his spirit.

This type of offering or sacrifice is a part of spiritism, but it is not usually done in the home of someone else, especially in the home of someone else who is not a spiritist. It was quite an offense to the hosting family that this man would practice his religion in their home knowing that it was against their religion. Such an act is very outside the norms of the culture here. But, that is how disturbed this man had become. The host summed it up well. He said, “It is fitting that the devil would find the aroma of burning onion peelings a pleasing smell.”

It is very affirming for us knowing that the presence of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Word of God perturbed this man, it rattled his cage. He seeks the protection of the spirits, demons, but came face to face with the power of God to the point that he was shaken. For his family, we were the smell of death. Please pray that this family will come to know the true source of their religion and that they will come to be followers of Jesus Christ. Please pray that we would become to them the fragrance of life.

II Corinthians 2:14-17 (NASB)

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.