I know I have been promising an update for a while, but things just have not slowed down! Haha. God has been revealing Himself and answering my prayer for more intimacy with Him in life-altering, monumental ways. He is just so good. Anyway, for the update:

On Tuesday night our team was at a bus stop doing outreach. What typically happens is we will host public worship, which is usually translated into the native language, Portuguese. After worship, our team will perform the drama Puppet Master. This drama depicts Jesus creating us, our rebellion and desire to control our own lives, the enemy taking control over us, and Jesus restoring us. (It makes me cry every time – even though I play one of the two demons!) After the drama ends is when we get the most opportunity to minister to people who have been drawn to what we have been doing.

This particular night, a man named Ed was on security. While he was praying, God revealed to him a man in a yellow shirt leaning up against a nearby tree. God impressed upon his heart for him to share this insight, so he came and told me and my partner, Jim. (Side note: I am so appreciative to have people in my life who hearken to God’s voice!) 

While worship continued and the drama occurred (this was the first night I was not a part of the drama),  Jim and I covered the man in the yellow shirt in prayer. We asked God to open his heart and prepare him to receive what the Holy Spirit speaks through us; it was so evident that God was drawing this man near!

When the drama ended, David (the leader of our team) came to the microphone and shared some of his testimony. After giving some encouragement and prophetic words, he asked the crowd members to raise their hands if they wanted prayer. Yellow shirt man raised his hand! I was so excited. Jim, Nayara (our translator), and I rushed over to him as quick as we could. 

We learned that yellow shirt man’s name is Vinicius, or Vinny for short. He told us that everything David shared in his testimony described what his life looked like right now: he was held in bondage by drugs, alcohol, and pornography. As we talked with Vinny, we learned that the day before (Monday) on the way home from work, he prayed to God and asked Him to please get him out of this life. Vinny then shared that he was actually not supposed to be at the bus station right then (Tuesday) – he had already gone home from work for the day, but his job called him and asked him to come back because they needed him. When he came back through from work the second time that day, he heard the worship music and stopped. 

Already the Holy Spirit was confirming that God was earnestly drawing Vinny, calling him by name. We told him that it was no accident or coincidence that we were meeting, but rather it was that God heard his prayer and answered it in the form of sending two people from America to tell Vinny how much He loves him. 

While Jim was praying for Vinny aloud through Nayara, I continued praying for him under my breath, and God gave me a prophetic word to share: God so lovingly showed how Vinny is going to be delivered from all bondage, and then God is going to use him to be an example of the mercy and hope and redemption found in our Father. If Vinny submits himself to the Lord and clings to Him through the process of growth and deliverance and sanctification, God will use him to show others in bondage of God’s awesome power and grace. Souls will be won for the kingdom through his testimony! God freely saves us so that we will turn around and freely share His good news with others! Hallelujah. Vinny’s face glowed with joy when he heard of God’s plans for him. 

Nayara got Vinny’s contact information to connect him with people who can help him on this path towards freedom in Christ. At the end, Vinny prayed aloud himself, calling out to his Father humbly and earnestly. It was one of the most joyful moments I have ever experienced. 

Stop and think about how extravagant God’s love is. He is so passionate about pursuing His children that He would send a 23-year-old Louisiana girl and a man from Minnesota (I don’t know how old you are, Tio Thor! Haha) to extend His love and mercy to a man named Vinny in Brazil. What an endless love. What a holy Father. What a wonderful God we serve. 

Please do take some time and intercede in prayer for Vinny. The road will not be an easy one because the enemy put a target on his back, but God gives His children authority over the enemy and He secures our future with hope and grace. I claim in Jesus’s name that whatever He starts in Vinny, He will bring to completion. Also pray that Vinny will receive revelation about what the love of a father looks like. Jesus open his mind. Holy Spirit change him from the inside out. In Jesus’s name. 

Thank you so much for reading this update! This is just a small glimpse of all that God has been doing both in, around, and through me here in Brazil. It is such a privilege to know God and make Him known. Keep up the spiritual warfare and contending for victory over souls ready for harvest! Love y’all.