Why Brazil
As we move closer to the date of our departure to Brazil, I want to convey something to help others know how we feel about this journey that we are about to embark upon. Following are a few statements that have been made to us, more than once, by others wondering why we are doing what we are doing.
Statement: You must really be special to give up everything and go to a far away place.
The truth is, being allowed of God to do such a thing is so humbling and is many times over a huge blessing as opposed to a sacrifice. It is humbling from the aspect that this is God’s ministry and He has allowed us to be a part of what he is doing in Brazil. At the same time, it is a tremendous blessing because we are so incredibly fortunate to be allowed of God to be Ambassadors of Christ and representatives of HBF to fulfill the role of the local church in this land.
I have never felt that I’m “special” for answering God’s call. In fact, the closer we get, the more I see God’s hand in everything going on and realize that He truly is the potter and we are just the clay. He is the Special one who deserves all the honor and glory from our life and we are just His humble servants trying to be obedient to our Master’s call.
Statement: Why Brazil? There are lost people all around us who need to be saved.
I believe with all my heart that God’s call is for every Christian. Not all Christians are called to the mission field, nor are all Christians called to pastor a church or to be in a position of leadership. However, His call exists for each and every Christian and only requires one to respond with the same response that Isaiah did in Isaiah 6:8. “Here am I, send me.”
Just as He calls a lost person to salvation, he also calls believers to live a sanctified life in obedience to His word. This includes taking the gospel to others who need to hear. Looking back over my life, it is so clear to me that God has divinely prepared my family and me for where He is taking us.
As for the lost all around us, it is true that the need is great, even here in the United States. That is why it is so important for others to answer the call, to reach out to others, to be salt and light in a crooked and perverse nation. We are not leaving a void in the United States. God is calling others to fill the void, to cross rivers without bridges, to free themselves from the affairs of this world, the excesses of life and live a life where others can see Christ in them.
The local church is commanded to go locally, to our Jerusalem, as well as the uttermost parts of the world. If we all stay and focus locally, then the church would not fulfill its role as a local church.
Statement: I didn’t realize that the need is so great in Brazil.
The truth is...there are many places around the world that are in great need of Bible believing missionaries to take the truth of God’s word. Brazil is just one of many such places. Canoas Brazil is a city of over 300,000 people and a suburb to a city of 1.2 million. Canoas is divided into 10 sectors, some of which have as many as 70,000 people.
One such sector is Guajuriras, where the existence of solid Bible believing churches is almost non-existent. Cult churches are preying on the people, combining aspects of Christian teachings with Spiritist teachings; leaving them with a works based message that will condemn their soul to hell.
When I was in Brazil this past September attending a pastors’ conference, one of the pastors told of a man who was saved by the presentation of the gospel on this pastor’s website. The man later called this pastor to find a church close to him, only to learn that the closest church was nearly 150 miles away. This pastor used this situation to reinforce how great the need is in Brazil and to encourage the other pastors and missionaries to keep doing the work of the ministry.
Brazil is the 5th larges country in the world, with over 180 million souls. They are in great need for the unadulterated message of God’s word, His free gift of salvation, and for the local churches that understand their role in fulfilling the Great Commission through discipleship and evangelism. Matthew 9:37-38 says, “Then saith he unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest”. John 4:35 tells us to “lift up our eyes and look on the field: Brazil is definitely a field white unto harvest and in need of laborers….we just need to lift up our eyes and look on the field to see the need.
