Sertão

We went out on Wednesday to the town of Esperanca in the Sertão region of Brazil to meet Pastor Bruno. He has planted 36 churches in the region using the JESUS Film! As a part of their follow up, they use the Proclaimer listening device. It has the dramatized New Testament on a memory chip and has a sound system that can fill a small room.
We met a lady who has planted a new small group Bible study using the Proclaimer. Here is a photo in front of the house they meet in. Later that evening we went back to see the group in action. There were about 10 people, men and women who gathered to grow in their faith as they listened to God's word.




While we were there I met a young man, 23, named Luziano. He works in the local rock breaking trade (for roads), a labor intensive, back breaking job. He injured is leg in a motorcycle accident and will be off the job for at least 8 more months. No job, no income. We prayed for him and he was part of the listening group later in the evening.

Farther up the road we stopped in a small town and visited with some of the locals. I talked to this group of men in my broken Portuguese. They laughed when I asked if they were local older gentlemen's club. There was a 91 year old man inside the house that came out to "meet an American". A small group gathered around us and when we told them what we were doing they asked us to stay and show the JESUS Film right there. Because we were showing the film in another location that day, we promised that the local team would come back soon to show the film.

When we did show the film later that evening, I got this shot of a boy who was transfixed by the Story of JESUS for children.