Brazil Team 2017: First Full Day on the Ground

Isaac (on the far left) with the rest of the Brazil Team took a quick group photo before leaving Columbia (not pictured: Eric Prieto).

By Isaac Cundiff, LegacyPoint Church

Hello Family of God!

Monday was an amazing day of seeing God work in and through the team. After a busy Sunday of travel, sightseeing and worship, we got to start off the morning at a slower pace and hear from Jay Bauman, director of Restore Brazil, about the work that he is doing with the ministry, Acts 29, Redentor Church, and Union Church.

Jay spoke about the vision for Restore Brazil coming from he and his wife sitting down and praying WWH – whenever, wherever, however. God was able to take their willing attitude and utilize it for His glory in Brazil and has been blessing their ministry. After hearing from Jay about the work that God is doing in Restore in church planting, pastoral training, and missional outreach, we got to be involved in some of the mercy ministry in Cidade de Deus (City of God) with Casa da Esperanca (House of Hope), a place that Eric and Jessica, the Karis Church missionaries on the ground in Rio, do ministry.

As we prepared to enter the comunidade, Eric and Jessica said most taxi drivers will not even enter the area due to safety concerns. In fact, the usual route to House of Hope had been barricaded by the community to keep police trucks out, so Eric planned to drive the supplies in via an alternate route. The team boarded a bus and prayed for safety and effective gospel communication on the remainder of our ride.

When we arrived, we were met by two guides from the area. The two young girls were slightly disappointed with our ignorance of the language and in fact I was asked “porque nao fala Portuguese?” (Why do you not speak Portuguese?). It was a fair question. But it didn’t dissuade the children from welcoming us and allowing us to play games with them and love them. One little girl attached herself to me early on, and we tossed a ball around. She untied and retied my shoes. Her favorite activity was to be spun around, which was our biggest mistake. All of the kids loved to be spun around and echoes of “How do you say dizzy in Portuguese?” rang throughout the team.

A few of us had the chance to connect with some of the adults hanging out on the fringes of our hub of activity. They encountered a man interested in pastoring a church plant. God orchestrated that meeting, and He has been faithful in providing connections in the area.

All things considered, today was a full and amazing day of seeing God’s favor -- the beautiful weather and a peaceful time in the City of God. God was so prevalent in the midst of the poverty that it was surreal. The kids were so ready for love and an afternoon of games, learning and crafts; this could only be through Christ. God protected us and provided for us in ways that blew my mind. For instance, dinner tonight was provided by a Pakistani refugee family that has been living in Rio for about five months. How crazy is it that God would connect us with Pakistani Christians in Rio de Janiero Brazil?!

The work that we are seeing God do and being allowed to participate in would not have been possible without you and your faithfulness.