Final day in the outback........

Tuesday we started in Caçimbinha, the small village that's name means "little well". The first time we went there in May the village seemed very oppressed. This time there were many who had already received Christ and were reading their Bibles. We were able to encourage them and then witness to those who hadn't yet prayed to receive Christ.

Sheila, Airton, Bonita, KP, and Jill went to visit a lady named Rosa. When they arrived, she was able to mumble that she had been waiting for them to arrive. She had a stroke 13 years ago and has been very sick since and it was evident that she is in her last days. Pastor Carlos was able to get her a bed and mosquito net since our first visit in May. This time they were able to talk with her about assurance of salvation and she could only say "yes" and "Jesus". They sang to her while Jill held her hand and stroked her hair. They sang songs and prayed with her and cried with her. It was a very moving situation. While Jill stayed in her room massaging her legs and arms, the rest witnessed to her husband, daughter, and two granddaughters. All prayed to receive Christ.


Also at this house one of the granddaughters told them she had been reading the Bible she received in May. She had started in Genesis and was already in Psalms! She's 13! That is dedication and she hadn't even become a Christian yet!


Evan shared Christ for the first time with four people and they all accepted Christ. He was pumped!


Daniel, Cheryl, Wendi, and Monica met and shared with a woman whose husband had left her four years ago. She had three sons and she was just waiting on her husband to come back. So sad. The 16 year old and 10 year old sons and the mom accepted Christ. It was the 10 yr old's birthday and they were able to give him snacks and a soccer ball.


After lunch at Pastor Carlos's apartment in Ingazeira, two groups went out to do door to door evangelism. Doug, Evan, KP and Airton stayed at the church to play futsal with local boys.


Sheila, Cheryl, Bonita, Kesia, Daniel, and Jennifer went door to door. After a few uneventful visits involving major strongholds and age-related difficulties, a little girl came running up. We recognized her from previous visits. She wanted us to come with her to encourage a new believer her mom had led to Christ. We went to the public library and met the mom. Unfortunately the new believer had already left. We were just chatting with them and asked if the library had a Bible. She said no and we offered her one. We are having a hard time even describing the reaction we received. She was raising her hands and praising the Lord. It was precious.


Then she said her new believer friend didn't have one either and now she could come to the library and read this one. So we gave her one to give to her friend. She started jumping up and down!! She kept praising the Lord and we kept wanting to give her more!! We gave her daughters Bibles and left her a stack to give to local believers who didn't have one. She told us how expensive Bibles were there and how people had to share. By this time she was out of control with tears of joy and shouts of "glory to God". We looked over to her 13 year old daughter and tears were rolling down her face........okay......there wasn't a dry eye in the house! Oh to be that excited about God's Word!

In the evening we went to a local home and held a service for about 20 people. Diego did his tricks, we all sang, and Daniel brought a Word of encouragement to the people. It was awesome! Several decided to follow Christ. We were able to leave each person a Bible.

What an awesome way to end our time in the outback! God has done AMAZING things over the last 5 days. We praise Him for using us and for keeping us all safe and healthy. We don't have a count but many received Christ and many were discipled and encouraged. Keep praying for our travel back to the USA. You never know who might meet Jesus along the way.

We have traveled the long trek back to Recife on the bus today. It was a great time of sharing testimony, fellowship, and much laughter. We had a couple of hours to shop this afternoon and enjoy Brazilian pizza. Tonight we surprised Diego at dinner by presenting him a birthday cake while we all wore bubba teeth. Can't wait to share those pictures. The dentist was quite surprised! Tomorrow we rest and relax as we prepare to travel home. Again, thanks for all the encouraging comments and prayers. We know God moved because you asked. We love you and will see you at home.