We just got back to the hotel, after a full day of travel and ministry -- and it is not over yet.
We went to the community of Maruanum, a little over an hour by car from Macapa, part of it on paved road and a good stretch on dirt road. We rode on five different cars with the believers who are the volunteers who help out this work. The ride there was beautiful. We had blue skies and white clouds everywhere. Small hills surrounded us most of the way.
When we finally arrived at the community, after picking up some of the believers on the way, we got out and took in the freshness of nature, the bird chirping and the beautiful smiles of the children. We heard about the early beginnings of the work there narrated by one of the three men who were the first believers in that community.
The long and the short of it is: a Catholic priest originally came to the community. He selected a few young men to train so they could teach the catechism to other people in the reigion. Zezinho, the man who spoke to us, was one of them. Soon, however, he was reading the Bible more than the catechism books and he got saved. He found two other guys and they started meeting in his little hut. They didn't know any better so they began to share the Word with others and on one Sunday morning nine people gave their lives to Jesus.
Not knowing what to do next, they prayed and asked God for direction. They decided to go to Macapa and look for a church that taught the Bible. Before they left, they prayed for God to lead them to the right church. Somehow, they ended up coming to the church my father pastored and he immediately began to make regular visit to the community, back in the days when you drove partway and got on a canoe the other stretch of the trip to get there.
The church continues on and they are now building a third building in a different location. Some people walk as much as one hour to get to church and others come by boat -- a one hour ride as well. They are all direct descendants from some of the original slaves who came from Africa. These people are some of the humblest people on earth but they love God and they love God's people. They received us like kings, offering us their hospitality, their food, they hugs and prayers. We loved being there with them.
Our team shared, prayed with them, and did arts and crafts with the children. Actually, even the ladies joined in making edible necklaces -- people love candy anywhere. We had a blast. Scot shared a clear message of the gospel and Rebekah shared about the loss of her older brother and how God worked in her life through that.
We are taking a little break before we head out to an arena to play some volleyball and soccer (football) with some young people here. We are tired. Jay lost his voice and was running a low grade fever most of the day. Rebekah and Liz are also fighting nasty colds. Rebekah has been coughing for several days now. Please pray for the health and strength of our team. We don't want to crash toward the end of out time here.
Thank you for the prayers!
Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
We went to the community of Maruanum, a little over an hour by car from Macapa, part of it on paved road and a good stretch on dirt road. We rode on five different cars with the believers who are the volunteers who help out this work. The ride there was beautiful. We had blue skies and white clouds everywhere. Small hills surrounded us most of the way.
When we finally arrived at the community, after picking up some of the believers on the way, we got out and took in the freshness of nature, the bird chirping and the beautiful smiles of the children. We heard about the early beginnings of the work there narrated by one of the three men who were the first believers in that community.
The long and the short of it is: a Catholic priest originally came to the community. He selected a few young men to train so they could teach the catechism to other people in the reigion. Zezinho, the man who spoke to us, was one of them. Soon, however, he was reading the Bible more than the catechism books and he got saved. He found two other guys and they started meeting in his little hut. They didn't know any better so they began to share the Word with others and on one Sunday morning nine people gave their lives to Jesus.
Not knowing what to do next, they prayed and asked God for direction. They decided to go to Macapa and look for a church that taught the Bible. Before they left, they prayed for God to lead them to the right church. Somehow, they ended up coming to the church my father pastored and he immediately began to make regular visit to the community, back in the days when you drove partway and got on a canoe the other stretch of the trip to get there.
The church continues on and they are now building a third building in a different location. Some people walk as much as one hour to get to church and others come by boat -- a one hour ride as well. They are all direct descendants from some of the original slaves who came from Africa. These people are some of the humblest people on earth but they love God and they love God's people. They received us like kings, offering us their hospitality, their food, they hugs and prayers. We loved being there with them.
Our team shared, prayed with them, and did arts and crafts with the children. Actually, even the ladies joined in making edible necklaces -- people love candy anywhere. We had a blast. Scot shared a clear message of the gospel and Rebekah shared about the loss of her older brother and how God worked in her life through that.
We are taking a little break before we head out to an arena to play some volleyball and soccer (football) with some young people here. We are tired. Jay lost his voice and was running a low grade fever most of the day. Rebekah and Liz are also fighting nasty colds. Rebekah has been coughing for several days now. Please pray for the health and strength of our team. We don't want to crash toward the end of out time here.
Thank you for the prayers!
Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
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