Recently, my family and I had the privilege–great blessing really–to visit and serve saints in Brazil. We had opportunity to visit Rio de Janeiro and the Sao Paulo areas. In Rio, I preached at a wonderful Presbyterian church who warmly received the word of God as preached from Genesis 50. And they warmly received me and my family. It was a rich time with Pastor Leo, the elders, their families and the saints.
Then we spent several days at the pastors’ conference sponsored by FIEL. What a rich time in the word and in fellowship with our Portuguese-speaking brethren in Christ. The work Rick Denham and the FIEL team are continuing deserves encouragement, support, awareness and praise. Editora Fiel, the publishing house birthed by the labors of the Denhams in Brazil, translates some of the best evangelical and classic Christian literature into the Portuguese language. While we were there, we had the wonderful privilege of participating in a celebration in honor of the Denhams’ more than five decades of faithful missionary labors in Brazil. The following from their website gives you a brief gist of how it all began:
A heart for missions led James Richard Denham, Sr. and his wife Aletha to spend a year in China following the end of World War II. When China closed its doors to foreigners, they went to Argentina for a year to study missions. To return to the States, the Denhams chose the inland route which required traveling 600 miles by boat up the Madeira River, followed by some 900 miles down the Amazon. They inquired about Christians at every port along the Madeira River, but not a single Christian was reported by the locals. The vision of a mission to Amazonia was born out of a burden for that vast, spiritually barren field. In 1952, God having arrested Rich (James Richard Denham, Jr.) and Pearl’s hearts with the same vision, they sold their few possessions, left the pastorate of a church in Oregon, and purchased air passage to accompany Rich’s parents as the first missionaries of the new mission.
Today, some 1,500 persons from theologically sound and vigorous churches gathered for the FIEL conference in an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country. The Protestant Reformation continues and the Lord is advancing His gospel!
Another encouraging sign was the involvement of young people in the gospel trenches. I had the privilege of meeting with several young men who operate an online ministry called iProdigo. We did a couple video interviews encouraging young Brazilians, addressing Islam, and other matters facing the church. It was so life-giving to see their love for the Savior, their love for the church, and their creativity in attempting to make Jesus known. Check out their site and see what the Lord is doing in Brazil among younger saints.
I’m afraid that the mental image many of us carry around when we think of the Protestant Reformation is of old bearded white guys, hunched over rare parchments, reading and writing by candle light, and concerned with only the most narrow of issues. But I’m grateful to the Lord that that’s not the reality. The Reformation continues to advance in seemingly every habitable corner of the world, among young and old, addressing big issues and small, full of life, strength, and joy! In God’s kindness, I’ve been allowed to witness it among church planters from South African townships, among Brazilian pastors from major cities and the Amazon, to family conferences in wonderful beach-side towns. Praise God the gospel reigns and is spreading!
And then there were the wonderful family moments. Here’s one:
This is the rootinest, tootinest, shootinest hombre to ever mount a Brazilian stallion! Maybe he’ll grow up and be a circuit rider, bringing back the days of preachers on horseback taking the gospel to every hamlet! But as he put it, “I don’t speak pork-a-cheese.” That’s my favorite line from the entire trip!
