Sept. 1-3, Manancial de Vida Church, Brasilia, Brazil

Posted on September 05, 2017 by Bob Sorge

Friday 3:00 pm: Greetings from tropical Brasilia. A place where palms thrive. We’re on the tail end of winter but still it’s hot, up to 100. But dry and breezy, so it doesn’t feel so hot. I’m now returning to my hotel from a lunch at the pastor’s home, with a room full of people none of which speak English. I’m so glad I brought my laptop because we were able to connect to Google Translate and visit back and forth.  The older generation in Brazil had little interest in English, but that is changing with today’s generation. 

Saturday morning: Last night was our Congress launch. It took us considerable time to negotiate the sound check, but finally after working on it for well over a half hour, we finally got it to work. That delay meant the service started after the 8 pm start time, but no one seemed to notice. In fact, when I left at nearly midnight, people were still hanging out everywhere and eating their meal together. Start times are not a big deal here, and long services are no big deal. It’s not easy to get them together, but once they’re together, they’re together. I spoke on Loyalty. I put some fresh work into the message, and it was meaningful to me in fresh ways. It’s simply not possible for me to read the response of these folks, but I trust it was helpful and meaningful to them. Almost nobody speaks English, so interaction is very limited. Today (Saturday) there will be day meetings. I will be collected to join everyone for lunch, and then will return to my hotel until this evening’s service. 

Sunday morning: Last night’s service was a stronger connection with the people, it seemed to me. I spoke on Heb 12, Chastening. At the close the altar area filled with saints coming to present themselves to the Lord in response to the word. 

I was expecting to preach the Sunday night service today because, in Brazil, Sunday night is the main service of the week. But I’ve been asked to speak Sunday morning instead because some of the out-of-town guests will be returning home Sunday afternoon. So I’ll be collected around 11 a.m. today for the second session of the morning.

Sunday 7:00 pm: This group got warmer and warmer as the weekend progressed. By the time we were done, we were famous friends, smile. Today’s session on the secret place went a bit long, but they stayed with me, and responded warmly to the Lord’s invitation in the word. Now I’m in my room and preparing for the trip home. I will be collected at 11:45 pm for a 2:00 a.m. departure.

On a different note, this is my first time to see the Portuguese translation of Illegal Prayers. I’m bring a few copies home with me. Please bless this translation in your prayers!


Next

Previous