Wow! What an amazing week has passed here on the grounds in Brazil...God has exceeded our expectations through what He has done in us and through us...God simply broke our limited box of expectations and brought forth the fruit of this crusade in a package that we were not anticipating...The emphasis of this crusade was focused on getting the people out of the four walls of the church more so than getting the lost into the church.
Although both methods are equally important for bringing souls into God's kingdom, we believe our time was spent more efficiently by specifically investing into the lives of the local believers as we trained them to win the lost of their city! Now, though the crusade event is over, the local believers have been impregnated with a vision for souls and given the practical tools to reach them!
What a glorious week of harvest we have witnessed! The days were filled with literally going into the highways and byways, compelling the lost to come and teaching others to do the same...Some of the highways and byways that we happened upon were located deep in the heart of the slums, up steep mountain trails, and among the boat docks of this poor fishing village. We found that the people there were very hungry for God and very receptive to the power of the Gospel. The believers from the various churches that participated in the daily soul winning outreach were empowered with the boldness of the Holy Spirit and the evangelism tools necessary to be a witness in their region. Those who were once harvesting their fields by hand, now have a mass combine reaper...They have been set ablaze and have told us that their lives will never be the same now that they are armed with these truths.
It has been somewhat a surreal experience to raise up “fishers of men” in Jurujuba's humble fishing neighborhood. Out of the 5,000 residents here, we have seen 2,800 salvations for Christ! Thats over half of their population! Glory to God! In addition to this precious harvest, we had the privilege to distribute over 2 tons of food packages, clothing, and toys. This area has absolutely been impacted by the profound, tangible love of God both now and in eternity. We know the fruit will go far beyond even what we witness here today.
Those on our US team have also been deeply impacted as God has used each of them in a unique and special way. Many of them have been sitting where you are reading these updates, looking at the pictures; they have told us that being here is a completely different, overwhelming experience and that no words or pictures can truly do it justice...We will posting their testimonies, as well as others from this crusade, up on the website shortly. We currently have a new photo gallery of pictures from this event that we encourage you to view so you can get a glimpse of what has transpired here.
We believe this is the first of many evangelism crusades that will happen here in Brazil. Already we are receiving invitations to bring this anointing and these tools to other cities here. Alex and Lauren will be staying an extra week to pour into another church here that is hungry to be used by God and to win the lost! There is much work to be done here, great harvest to be reaped, and multitudes of believers who need to be mobilized.
We send our immense love and gratitude to each of you who have supported this crusade in your prayers and financial contributions. The half has not yet been told regarding the heavenly treasures you have laid up this past week. We encourage and implore you to continue your commitments because the work has truly just begun...Preparations for the next evangelism crusade are already underway...God is doing something here in Brazil in this critical time and your footprints are blazing a trail here with us.
We love and appreciate you!
By His grace and for His glory,
Doug, Janet, Alex, Lauren, Ragan, & Nathan
