The other day we went to the TV tower here. Usually you can ascend it to get a great view of the city but it was closed when we went. There is an open air market at the foot of the tower and i was able to purchase a couple of little gifts for relatives.
Sunday night I went to a meeting of a regular church. A very nice family picked me up at the place where i am staying and took me to Aguas Claras, a suburb. We used mostly Portuguese on the ride there although Nathaniel the husband speaks some English, and his wife Lorena teaches both English and Portuguese. The church is where my new friend Thiago, his brother and parents go. His dad is the pastor. Seven years ago they began with thirteen people. Now they have at least a hundred and support missionaries. Pastor Edvaldo asked me to repeat some of what i had shared at the missionary conference in VV. Lorena translated very well. Afterwards we had a little meal and fellowship. Nathaniel and Lorena have a very nice daughter, six years old, named Suzana. Maybe some day i will have a granddaughter like her.
Monday evening i went with Wanderley to meet with some of his disciples. Learning more about the discipleship process from the perspective of Brazilian Christians is one of the major reasons that I wanted to return to Brazil. Our time together, with three other brothers who are also discipling others, was in a mixture of English and Portuguese. Some of the things that I appreciated was the commitment to a weekly time together, an emphasis on both the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, the call to discipleship as part of the conversion process not something tacked on later by whim, and the strong relational nature of their interaction. Each of the brothers gave an update on how he was doing spiritually, in their marriage and family, their work and finances, and with the people they are working with. There is accountability here which produces fruit.
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