Brazil Saturday April 25, 2009

We awoke relaxed and looking forward to a new day. Suddenly the Holy Spirit came into the room and told me that today I was going to have Bernie III not just sing, but also to give his testimony and to PREACH. I was a little surprised, but I figured that meant I could relax completely for a change. When Brother Neri Pinto came for us we walked to a small restaurant near the hotel where we had a nice juice. After the juice we drove into the mountain area just outside of the city and within six kilometers of the church we arrived at the compound that the church of Caxias do Sul had bought.

It is 25 hectares of some of the most beautiful land that I have ever seen. I was amazed as we walked down the dense foot path leading into the tropical rain forest property. This land was bought with the vision of giving it away to families that were not property owners so that they could have the chance to own their own piece of land. The engineers are in the process of dividing out more than one hundred lots for that purpose. There will still be land left over for foliage, and an area for future projects. When I expressed interest in purchasing one of the lots, Brother Neri Pinto said the lots were not for sale only for giving. He said if I wanted one that one would be reserved for me.

Along the path, we came to a small clearing where a brother and his wife were parked. They were in the process of building a campfire. Brother Neri Pinto told me that every weekend, some people came just to have holiday with their family. We continued on down the path a while and then turned around to leave. When we arrived back at the clearing we stopped for a bit of fellowship. Another brother and his wife had joined the first couple, and their children were playing together on a blanket spread over the grass. They had the rotisserie going (huge kish-ka-bobs placed over the camp fire) and I could see that they were in for a good time. We walked back to the road and spent a few minutes fellowshipping with the brothers that were constructing their house there. Currently there are about ten houses that have already been built by the side of the road belonging to the brothers.

We ate lunch at a local restaurant then retired to our rooms to rest for a few hours. Before leaving us at the hotel, Brother Neri Pinto approached me a little nervously and told me that he had a slight problem. He had not really understood that where we were going for service was for Saturday night. He thought that it was for Sunday night, and he had another service programmed in another city. He was wondering if I would be willing to let Bernie III go with him. He was very surprised when I told him yes before he actually was able to finish explaining the entire situation. He was very happy

I explained to him that the Holy Spirit had already told me that Bernie III would be preaching as well as singing and that I had been wondering what I was going to do. I realized as he started to ask me to lend him Bernie III that this must be what the Holy Spirit was telling me—not that I could relax, but that Bernie III would also be preaching in another location.

After a short nap we left for the two hour drive to Novo Hamburgo to have service with Brother Herloi Grade. The brother speaks English, Portuguese, German, and a little Spanish. We had a great time in service, the Holy Spirit blessed us mightily. The pastor mentioned before closing that he had not had time to tell us what was going on at church and that our visit was like unto an angel sent from heaven with the Word that they needed. We had a great fellowship in the spirit. After church we ate at the pastor's house, and then left for the drive back to Caxias do Sol, arriving about 2:00 a.m. After working a little bit on the website I went to bed at about 3:30 a.m. I was very exhausted and slept like a log.