We are truly having a wonderful time here in Brazil. God is working and I am so humbled and grateful to be a part of this ministry. Friday was forecasted to be a rainy day so we had changed some of our plans. We had decided to come back to the hotel in the evening and not participate in the Green Light for Jesus ministry started by Pastor Claudio and his church. Pastor Claudio, and ultimately God, had other plans!

After lunch we met up with Pastor Claudio and some members of his church in order to do some home visitations. The weather was clearing and Pastor Claudio said we would go on with the original plans for the evening, taking part in the Green Light for Jesus ministry.

This ministry consists of church members walking around the streets with tracks, sandwiches, and drink boxes to share the love of Jesus with those living on the streets and under bridges. They share a brief testimony with individuals who will listen, pray with the person, and then distribute the snack.

I must admit, I was a bit unsure at first. Patrick kept saying how this ministry was the highlight of last year's trip. When we broke up into two groups, Pastor Claudio assigned me to his group. Then I really got nervous! Right away I knew that being in Pastor Claudio's group meant that he was going to have each of us Americans talking! Naturally, I would rather be quiet than talk in certain situations. I always feel that someone else could say it so much better than I can. And here it is difficult at times to know what to say because you do not always know much about a person's situation. But we do know these people are in desperate situations and need Jesus. So we shared with them about His love and the salvation and hope that comes from Him alone.

I am not sure how many people we spoke with all together, but in the hour or so we were walking the streets, our group witnessed four people who made the decision to trust in Jesus and accept Him into their lives. The one person who sticks out most in my mind was a lady who is living under a bridge with her two children, ages 3 and 6. We call her Chris. Her full name is longer but Terri and I can't remember the whole thing! She came up from under the bridge and Pastor Claudio asked me to speak to her about Jesus. I can't even remember all that I said to her but when I finished there were tears just streaming down her face. She began speaking to Marly (Pastor Claudio's wife who was interpreting for us). I later found out she was saying how she loves the words that were spoken to her. We prayed for her and God just broke our hearts. Marly, Chris, Terri, and I were in tears.  With all our differences, in that moment, we were all connected through the love of Jesus.

After praying for her, Terri asked if Chris wanted to receive Jesus as her Savior and she said yes. She prayed with Pastor Claudio to accept Jesus.  It was such a wonderful moment to be able to wrap this woman in our arms and share the love of God with her.  I praise God for the opportunity we had to take part in this ministry.  I was once again in awe of how God chooses to use us, in the areas we feel weak, to bring others to Himself.  And I praise God for those people, like Pastor Claudio, who help to push us out of our comfort zone!  I didn't want to speak, but I would have missed a major blessing had I kept quiet.  Patrick was right, taking part in the Green Light for Jesus ministry was certainly a high point on this trip!

Jen