In the
village of Nova Canáa, there is one church and villagers (residents) call it a
cult. At first thought, I assumed that those who made this claim were afraid of
God and wanted to give an excuse as to why they avoided what I thought would be
a body of believers. The service for Nova Canáa was held in the building they
denoted as the church. The pastor’s wife began the service with a prayer and 3
songs fully in Portuguese. Until this night, every single conversation and
devotion, every song, every prayer, and with every hug, I felt surrounded
by the presence of Jesus. He has been overwhelming. During this evening,
however, I was uncomfortable. I had been able to understand much of the
Portuguese messages shared and I recognized many of our songs. But, the spirit
with this was so different. I found myself distracted and looking around to
find some of sort of comfort in the situation. When I looked at Flavio (one of
our translators), he was distracted and gave me an odd look. When I looked to
Dusty, our American leader, he appeared unamused. I communicated with Megan
sitting next to me, that "something is off" and she agreed. When this
woman finished her last song, our Brazilian boat team stood to sing a beautiful
song, and my heart immediately shifted. Dr. Pablo then spoke a sweet message
about Romans 8 with the woman caught in adultery whom He saved from stoning by
saying, "he who is without sin, cast the first stone" and I was
astonished when I knew what God was saying through him. We later found out
during our nightly debriefing that the woman had been singing a song about
turning to God or burning in hell as a consequence. To that I say, God does not
force Himself upon us, nor does He deserve to have to.
My heart is
broken as I realize how spoiled we are here in the states. We have
the ability to church hop as many times and for as long as we’d like. I am not
exempt when I say: we even use it as an excuse to avoid the community of
believers when we don’t like how things happen or how things operate at this
church or that. The people of Nova Canáa have one option and it is no wonder
they call it a cult.
This evening
truly solidified a lesson the Lord has taught me before. That is, it is so
important to know the voice of the Shepherd (read John 10). If we spend little
to no time with Christ or His word, then how will we be able to recognize Him
when He does speak? Furthermore, other voices may appear to be Him, but can
lead us slowly astray. But, if I know His very voice and get to know His heart,
when other voices come my way, I can quickly say, this is not You, Jesus.
Protect us from the wolves among sheep so that we may follow You, whom is
solely worthy and loving and able to be trusted.
(Matthew
7:!5) - wolves among sheep
- LT
Paper Plate Reflection - Friends who
give more than they receive. I met friends on this journey. Friends from class,
others who didn’t speak my language, who couldn’t pronounce my name, but
friends with compassion in their hearts. They gave more than they received.
They were filled with Christ’s love & I am forever grateful.
“Christ in you, the world is yours,
though you are not if this world.”
Roman’s 8:2
Claire
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