Lay off...I've been busy for the last year
Well, here's to 15 months off from blogging. I was going to jump right in with some more current topics, but I really want to finish up with an amazing story from Brazil.
On Wednesday morning we went to visit the town witch...yeah, that's right...town witch. She's a middle-aged woman in town who carries a lot of influence. She is courted by politicians to gain her support and endorsement. The reason she holds such sway over these people is that they believe she has supernatural powers. They will come to her if they need a job or have a sick child or want someone to like them. They pay her to make a sacrifice (usually a chicken) to the spirits. Actually, what happens is that she gets drunk on rum, talks in a deep voice, falls down and rolls on the ground, and then beheads the aforementioned poultry. But they buy it.
When we went to visit her, she was busy and claimed to not have time for us. So we thanked her for her time and left. After we had gone just a few steps outside of her house, I felt impressed to pray that God would break her and make her desperate for the salvation only He can give. So I gathered up our team (me, my interpreter Elmo, the pastor's wife, and a church member) and began to pray. And as I'm praying, I start to hear music blaring from a house nearby. It doesn't take long to recognize that the song is "Agnus Dei" by Michael W. Smith. Here we are praying for God to show this woman that her idols and spirits are weak and powerless and false, and this music is proclaiming through the streets and corridors and alleys "Holy, holy are You, Lord God Almighty, worthy is the Lamb...for our Lord God Almighty reigns." I began to weep for her and because of the goodness God has shown to save any of us. What a testimony to His sovereignty that there in an obscure Brazilian neighborhood, in a back alley beside a witch's house that THAT song would be playing at that moment for us to hear. Goosebumps. Still.
The rest of the trip consisted of more home visits and evangelism opportunities, some fun and shopping, and an uncomfortable trip back to the U.S. (due to a severe migraine). I could go on and on about what a great, lifechanging trip this was, but those of you who have been on a mission trip already know what I'm talking about, and those that haven't probably wouldn't understand fully anyway.
Thanks for reading about my unforgettable trip to an unforgettable place. May God continue to water and shine light on the seeds that were sown in June of 2007. I'll be back tomorrow with something a little more current.
Dave
On Wednesday morning we went to visit the town witch...yeah, that's right...town witch. She's a middle-aged woman in town who carries a lot of influence. She is courted by politicians to gain her support and endorsement. The reason she holds such sway over these people is that they believe she has supernatural powers. They will come to her if they need a job or have a sick child or want someone to like them. They pay her to make a sacrifice (usually a chicken) to the spirits. Actually, what happens is that she gets drunk on rum, talks in a deep voice, falls down and rolls on the ground, and then beheads the aforementioned poultry. But they buy it.
When we went to visit her, she was busy and claimed to not have time for us. So we thanked her for her time and left. After we had gone just a few steps outside of her house, I felt impressed to pray that God would break her and make her desperate for the salvation only He can give. So I gathered up our team (me, my interpreter Elmo, the pastor's wife, and a church member) and began to pray. And as I'm praying, I start to hear music blaring from a house nearby. It doesn't take long to recognize that the song is "Agnus Dei" by Michael W. Smith. Here we are praying for God to show this woman that her idols and spirits are weak and powerless and false, and this music is proclaiming through the streets and corridors and alleys "Holy, holy are You, Lord God Almighty, worthy is the Lamb...for our Lord God Almighty reigns." I began to weep for her and because of the goodness God has shown to save any of us. What a testimony to His sovereignty that there in an obscure Brazilian neighborhood, in a back alley beside a witch's house that THAT song would be playing at that moment for us to hear. Goosebumps. Still.
The rest of the trip consisted of more home visits and evangelism opportunities, some fun and shopping, and an uncomfortable trip back to the U.S. (due to a severe migraine). I could go on and on about what a great, lifechanging trip this was, but those of you who have been on a mission trip already know what I'm talking about, and those that haven't probably wouldn't understand fully anyway.
Thanks for reading about my unforgettable trip to an unforgettable place. May God continue to water and shine light on the seeds that were sown in June of 2007. I'll be back tomorrow with something a little more current.
Dave
posted by dave woodbury | 3:46 PM
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