Marcelo, the National Director of YFC in Brazil, is also the pastor of Communidade Presbiteriana Central church. We attended with him and his family last Sunday.
Once a month the congregation has a meal together after church and we were glad that we happened upon that Sunday.
We arrived early and so we saw the congregation preparing for the meal.
Silvana heads up a team of people who decorate the excellent outdoor space
with brightly coloured Brazilian fabric, chita,
and decorations
and delicious traditional Brazilian foods
including the Doce de Leite that I mentioned in the last blog post about the market. The tiny cups were decorated with the chita too.
At the start of the church service Marcelo asked if there was anyone who'd like to share up the front about what God had been doing in their lives during the week.
A number of people went up to tell us their stories of God at work,
including this guy who made a commitment to Jesus this past week. Marcelo had been journeying with him for some time and was very emotional as the guy shared his story.
A man from the congregational interpreted the main message for us. It was from Matthew 7:24-29 - the story of the storms that ravaged the houses built on rock and on sand.
And I learned a new song in Portuguese in which we sang about our desire for God to touch our hearts so that we would return to our first love - Jesus.
After the service the beautiful women served us lunch consisting of lots of traditional Brazilian foods
while the children played on the grass in the very protected and sun-filled yard of the church,
surrounded, almost completely, by high-rise homes.
During lunch we spent a little while talking with this lovely single mum and her daughter. She works with Youth for Christ and has a ministry to both native Indians in the Amazon and skateboarders in the city. So interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment