Mother’s Day

“The godly are like trees that give life-give fruit,…” Proverbs 11:30a

Last night our church attendance was 242 people, including about 40 moms. Mother’s Day here in Brazil is one of the biggest services of the year. Unfortunately, there were very few dads. At the Mirante Church in Altamira we noticed three distinct waves of newcomers, first the youth, then the moms, then the dads. We hope this will be the same here in Marabá. The children whose moms came to church were glowing with happiness. They were walking on clouds. The children whose moms did not come tried to keep a stiff upper lip. It was harder for them.

During the worship service our worship team lead vocalist, Adriana, 15 years old, young in the Lord and from a broken home herself, said, “I am sensing that many people have a lot of pain. If the pain you are feeling is because of your home, put one hand on your heart and put the other hand in the air, and face the direction of your home.” There was an immediate response by almost everyone in the church. “Now, let’s sing this song again, and believe in your heart, as much as you can, that Jesus is transforming your home, and bringing His healing there.” Then she lead the singing in a song about God bringing healing to homes.

To me, this was a moment of “life-giving fruit.”

I thought, as we were singing that worship song, about how often God looked down on the children of Israel and heard their cry for help, and rescued them. It really feels like God is doing this now, rescuing the people of Brazil.