Those of you who know me know that I am American, and I have lived in America my whole life. I speak English fluently, and as recently as a year ago I started to take my Portuguese study a bit more seriously. The AIGA team brought me out to Brazil this last weekend for the Qualifier in Sao Paulo, and though had my travel planned for a good while before the event, I found myself feeling apathetic in some ways, and it was due to my distance from the Lord.

To give some back story, if you’ve read my blog regarding my testimony then you know that I have been walking with Jesus for the last 5 years. As a child I became addicted to pornography, I throughout my teens and into adulthood battled feeling a lack of self-worth, and I largely felt a continual lack of fulfillment. I always believed in God, but I had no concept of salvation, of repentance, of sanctification, or any of the other principles of the Way.

Now, after Jesus set me free, I truly became a new creation. All of the guilt and shame was gone and I was excited to be His. I was, of course, a target for the enemy at that point.

Fast-forward to a few days before the trip. I found myself feeling like somewhat of a shell of who God made me to be. I was in a constant state of temptation, and I felt little peace throughout my day even though I could logically say that God is with me. My lips were suddenly for God, but my heart felt far from Him. The first day in Brazil was perhaps the lowest I had felt in a very long time, but then God showed up.

The Uber Driver

If only I remembered this saint’s name. As I mentioned in the beginning of this blog, I am learning Portuguese, but I am not fluent. However, across the week I made sure to try and have a great deal of conversations to stretch myself and promote that feeling of necessity. In one of the first Ubers I took with a small group of Kazakh-speaking teammates, I was able to engage in a conversation with the driver.

I noticed in the very beginning of the drive that he carried a “Santa Biblia” (Portuguese for Holy Bible) in his passenger-side door. Feeling assured, I asked him if he was a child of God, to which he excitedly replied that he was. I told him that I had been a Christian for the last 5 years. He asked me if I had been baptized, and I replied that I was.

We talked a bit about Scripture, and then I asked if I could read his Bible to him while he drove us to where we were going. He, of course, said yes.

I read John 8:58-59, one of the most powerful testimonies to the identity of the Messiah in all of Scripture. After reading this verse I stopped and recalled a memory from 2023, where Manuel Ribamar’s mother spoke a word of prophecy over me:

“Você vai pregar em Brasíl uma dia.”

This means, “You are going to preach in Brazil one day.”

I told him I don’t know when that day will be, and he looked at me and replied, “You just did” in English.

Suddenly, I was filled with this nostalgic flicker of purpose. I felt like I truly was brought to Brazil for a reason, and even if it was only to speak with that man and share a pleasant moment, God used it for His glory.

Cidade Cinco Igreja Reformada Missional

“5th City Reformed Missional Church” was the home of my fellowship and worship on Sunday morning in São Paulo. At the culmination of the AIGA event, a man I met named Marcello (who also works in commentary for BJJ and speaks fluent English and Portuguese) asked if I had somewhere to worship in the morning, as he would be preaching a message on 2 Peter. Funny enough, I had been thinking earlier that very day if I would be able to find a church to attend, and God gave me the answer.

I walk into the church and am immediately greeted by a bilingual brother in Christ named Lucas, a friend named Daniel, and some other brothers and sisters around my age and perhaps a bit younger.

This church was not a big one, as exist in different parts of Brazil (and all over the place in America). It was a humble setup, with a table for café com leite (coffee with milk), some pastries, a table for Christian literature and a modest setup for musical worship.

Worship was absolutely stunning. The harmonies and musical talent of the worship team was one thing, and they certainly played skillfully unto the Lord, but I could feel a sense of true passion from one of the singers that really moved me. I didn’t get a chance to express it to her, but for some reason her sincere worship impacted me. The songs were in all Portuguese, but I understood almost all of the lyrics, which excited me as well.

Now, an interesting thing I want to share: While I did understand the worship, I can scarcely recall what I understood of the sermon. I am simply not able to understand Portuguese spoken as fluidly as what is spoken during a lengthy exhortation on Psalm 16, Job, 2 Peter and Galatians (Marcelo was generous and sent me the sermon notes so I could translate and study). However, at the end of the service I found myself feeling “full.”

The image that came to mind while pondering this was this: When a father feeds his son a food he is unfamiliar with, his belly is still getting full. Not to sound too charismatic, but I truly felt like simply being in the room and participating in fellowship with my brethren refreshed my heart and ministered to my spirit.

I ended up getting the contact info of Lucas and Marcelo and now I will be able to talk with them over WhatsApp as well.

All I can say is, what a week. What an experience. I am so happy to be a child of God, and I truly feel as though God used this trip to refresh my spirit and remind me of His love for me.