Under a Bridge

One Tuesday evening we joined a group of men from a local Methodist church to minister under a bridge where many "outcasts" of society seemed to gather. It was a blessing to work along side them and see their heart for these hurting men and women. We did some worship, the drama, and prayed for a lot of them. God was present with us. They told us that they had been ministering here for 15 years, which usually includes some worship and giving the people a meal. Street Life kind of stuff.

I evidently prayed with the guy in the last picture last year in a church service and it was a powerful time in his life. He remembered my name. Crazy stuff.

Luncheon for Prostitutes

The past number of years we've done a luncheon for the women who work at some local brothels in Belo Horizonte. We do some worship, share some testimonies, serve a meal, and do a raffle to give away some gifts. It's a powerful time of ministering God's grace.

Marked Change

We did two Sunday evening church services, the first was at the Methodist church where we were staying. At the end of the service this young man came up front and wanted me to pray for him. We didn't have a translator at first but I remember praying about things like: his destiny in the Lord to be revealed, God's word would be powerful in his mouth, and that it seemed like he had kind of a missionary calling on his life.

After the prayer we hugged, something definitely happened during this hug. He just started weeping and he didn't want to let go. It was a long hug and good, I just kept praying for him. I asked the Lord to reveal His Father's heart for this young man, and that he would understand his being a son and that he was loved.

I knew I should try to tell him some of this stuff but there was still no translator available so he just went back to his seat and I moved on to the next person. However, he soon found a translator and came back to me. It was incredible to hear his heart and how he explained what happened. He said he felt like God had hugged him, and that his natural father was kind of emotionally absent and never hugged him.

He also explained that he knew God had called him to some things (the nations). He was in YWAM (Youth With A Mission) a while ago but he left because some stuff happened and he also had a bad relationship with a girl.

It was incredible to explain what I had just prayed for him. He broke down and wept when he heard that I prayed about his missionary calling. He said that this was a real time of confirmation in his life, that it was a time of marked change for him.

I had the privilege of seeing him again before leaving Brazil and it was encouraging to hear how he was taking steps to get things right in his life and trying to join YWAM again. Praise God!

Who's scared now?

One night right after the drama this cute little guy ran up to me and gave me a big hug. His mother came as well and, through a translator, explained that he was scared and had been seeing bad things recently. I assume that because I played the role of Jesus, the rescuer, he felt compelled to run to and hug me. I prayed for him and he soon wanted to also hug Riley (Satan). Guess some of the scariness left. :)

Drama in Brazil

Most of the locations in Belo Horizonte that we go are on the streets, like on busy sidewalks where there's room or outside of a brothel in the red light district. However, we also go to some rehabs and churches.

Once again I was in a drama that we do on this trip. It's a great drama because it tells of how the enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy. And also how Jesus comes to bring abundant life. (John 10:10) It speaks of our need to give control of our lives to God and doesn't use any words, so its a great way to overcome our language difference. People respond.

Back in NYC

Just flew in to JFK from Sao Paulo this morning. It was an amazing trip to Brazil again this year with people getting saved, healed, and filled with more of the Lord's heart and understanding of their destiny in him. Once again we encountered a people that seem so much more ready to receive God's grace and call to repentance then here in NYC. It was refreshing.

I'll post more soon.