Brazil
Our Next Trip is Approaching...
July 12th - 22nd - Paranapanema, Brazil.
Richard Larcombe, Ray Peterson, Nathan White, and Eric Furrer from New Song, will be joining Kevin Shaner and his team. To get an idea about what we are up to, please read this report about our trip from last year.
Brazil Mission Report 2006
A short-term mission team from New Song Church spent ten days in Buri Brazil in the Summer of 2006 working with Evangelist Kevin Shaner to bring together a multi-denominational city-wide evangelistic crusade. Here are some of their highlights as described by the team leader, Richard Larcombe:
1) I have never seen a harvest field more ripe in my entire life. We saw literally hundreds come to Christ. In one meeting at a prison, 40 inmates accepted Christ. We preached in a public high school - so many responded that we couldn't talk to them all before their next class. We did manage to talk to 57 of those 100 or so who responded: 25 accepted Christ for the first time. Every day our team prayed with people on the street who were accepting Christ for the first time.
2) Unprecedented unity. We worked with a group of about 10 pastors from different churches and denominations. They loved each other and put aside their differences to proclaim Christ in their city. Oh, that this would happen in every city.
3) Healings. I prayed for more sick people in Brazil than I have in my whole life up to this point. Several miraculous healings stand out in my memory. The most dramatic was a woman with a severe respiratory condition who could barely breathe or stay on her feet. She was healed when we visited her home, along with her sick baby. The next day she came to our meeting -- breathing perfectly -- carrying her happy, healthy baby. God is awesome!
4) City-wide Crusade. It's been my dream for a long time to do a city-wide crusade with many different churches in a city - and see the spiritual climate shift. The Mayor of the city let us use the central plaza with a stage and a massive sound system. 1700+ attended over two days. We declared Jesus is Lord over the city of Buri, we worshipped Jesus, and preached the Gospel. Scores of people received Christ.
5) Future plans. For Buri, the pastors decided to meet together after we left to discuss how to continue to work together and maximize the impact on their city. It's great to know the work is going to continue.
Three different cities in Brazil have invited us to hold similar evangelism initiatives in 2007. Doors seem to be opening in Brazil, so we're praying about the future.