Clenildo preached for two of the evening services. Here are a couple of excerpts…
Storms are Fun When You are In God’s Will
“When I was still living at home, my mom wanted to go to an island in the middle of the Amazon River where she used to live. She had a garden there, and she wanted to gather the harvest. We tried to talk Mom out of it, but she was determined, so my sister and I finally got our canoe and took her out there. The manioc was ready to be pulled out of the ground, but it had to be processed before being eaten. The process involves a fire and lots of firewood. This island had no trees as it was on a flood plain. I said to my mom and sister, ‘OK. If you gather the manioc, I will paddle back to the mainland and get a canoe load of firewood.’ As I got out on the big Amazon River, a wind came up, and between the wind and the current, it didn’t take me long to get to the other side. Looking back, I realized I had landed way downstream from the island and wondered how I’d return. I decided to worry about that later and canoed up a little creek, where I loaded my canoe with a big haul of firewood. I prayed and asked God to help me return to my mom and sister. When I returned to the big river, a storm blew in. The waves rose, and boats headed to the side to await the storm. I decided to take my chances. THE STORM AND WAVES PICKED UP when I got out on the river and started paddling for my life. I was going up and down waves and landed at my mom’s cabin after a while. I yelled through the rain and the wind that I had arrived. My mom and sister came to the shore crying and distraught because they thought I had drowned. ‘Why are you upset?! THIS IS MY STORM! God sent me this storm to help me get back here!'”
“THIS IS MY STORM! God sent me this storm to help me get back to you!”
“Sometimes I skipped out of school to go fishing with my dad. He was a professional fisherman and would load three big styrofoam boxes with ice into his canoe and only come home when they were all full of fish. Sometimes he let me come with him on two or three-day trips. One time when I was out with him, a big storm blew in, and the waves threatened to capsize our wooden canoe. The Amazon has 2-meter high waves in bad storms. I watched my dad bow his head and pray, asking God to calm the storm. Very quickly, a small patch of blue sky appeared overhead. Our canoe entered a calm stretch of the river. Ahead of us and behind us, the storm continues to rage. I thought, ‘Wow! I would love to know God the way my dad knows Him.‘”
Clenildo WhatsApped me a few minutes ago. “In a little while, I am going out to look for some more people who are diamonds. We found a few in these thirty years, and they are leading many people into the Kingdom.” This is so true. People outside the Kingdom await to be invited and authorized to win their families, neighbors, and many more. We have seen churches grow and multiply through key chaotic families before they came to Christ. In my experience, chaos doesn’t simply disappear overnight, but lots can happen as we stay in the game for the long haul. Christians who learn to be comfortable with high levels of chaos have an advantage because they venture farther outside the Garden before coming back for refreshing, and, when they are in a good place, they laugh at storms.
“The LORD, your God, will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to end them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you” (Dt 7:22).
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