Stories

When I was in 8th grade I ended up dating a girl, and after only 3 months I broke up and felt really down. After I left my old group of friends, three girls came to talk to me, friends of my ex, and I regretted having dated her. After they talked about Jesus, I followed them just out of respect. However, I tried to pray once and realized that God had forgiven me and I could still return to Him. So after attending church for a short time, the word entered me and I realized that if the bad things hadn't happened to me in the past, maybe I wouldn't even be back on the path. And I'm grateful for everything that has happened in my life, whether it's bad or good. 

With an infection in her feet, Rita would need to amputate her leg until the knee. Everything was scheduled for the surgery, but she said they will not amputate her leg. She cried a lot day and night and her eyes got swollen. When she was at the surgery room, they saw her eyes swollen and thought she had a problem in her heart. So the surgery was delayed. Rita didn’t question why this was happening, always trusting in the Lord. Her sister told Rita to call for her God, because Rita says God is so good. She was afraid, but trusted God and said; “it is in your hands” and asked God to calm her heart. God gave Rita a peace with no understanding. When the doctors came to her room again, they saw that the foot was dirty and not infected. So, the head doctor told them that there is nothing to amputate here. She is going home to take care of her foot. So, Rita was sent home and didn’t need to have her leg amputated. Glory be to God!  

The camp was a blessing. I have never been able to feel the presence of God like I felt there. I was able to complete this emptiness that I have never been able to do, and I tried to find people to try to fill this emptiness, but I couldn't until I got there. God spoke to me a lot there about things that were really happening to me, and I needed to hear, you know!  

My testimony is that I used to go to church when I was little, and then I grew up with my parents. I left the church, did a lot of wrong things, got involved in a lot of fights and hung out with the wrong people, until one day my mother asked me to go to church with my brothers and I was very angry, because I didn't want to go. She even gave me some money so I could go. When I got there, everyone treated me very well. Here I decided to learn more about God. I asked myself, "Wow, they're always smiling." I want to serve this God too. I was baptized and today I attend church. Glory to God. 

Arthur is a kid in one of our churches' that, every moment he heard about Jesus he would get really emotional and cry. One day the kid's ministry leader asked the kids, if they ever heard the voice of Jesus. Arthur raised his hand and said, I have heard the voice of Jesus. He shared that, one night he heard footsteps and wondered who was walking close to him. Instead of fearing the footsteps, Arthur heard the voice of Jesus saying it was Him and He told Arthur that He was taking care of him.  

Antonio is a man who we connected with through our Street Evangelism. He was lost in the streets and shameful of his situation of leaving rehab and going back to the streets. After, we prayed and talked with him, he gave us his sister’s number. We were able to connect him with his family that thought he was dead, because they did not hear from him for over three months. Now, Antonio is reconnected with his family and going to church.   

 One family from prostitution, physical and verbal abuse, from alcoholism, and drugs to a true relationship with God because a local church did not judge. This is the story of the Batista family. A father and a son walk into a week service totally drunk. In the end of the service, we were seeing who will be able to come the next morning to help expanding the church building because the church was growing. From the voices of two drunkards, we heard; “we will be there in the morning tomorrow to help.” Many of us did not believe it, but our pastor did believe they would be there the next morning. Surprisingly, they were the first ones there ready to help with the construction. After this day this family never been the same. From the grandfather who was a smoker and alcoholic to a new man in Christ Jesus, who did not miss one service until his last breath. This man became the first person baptized in the new baptistry with his children. After a few years his grandchildren were baptize in the same baptistry for the glory of God. The Batista family are faithful members of the church until this day.  

A woman has two young kids, with a husband who left them, and working full time with a salary of 380 dollars a month barely paying her bills gives her life for Jesus in a Tuesday night discipleship service. This is the reality for a lot of people in the Portuguese-speaking world. However, most people’s stories stop there before getting to the blessing of meeting Jesus and a church that will help them. After paying all the bills, her heart is broken even working full time because she cannot feed her children. In need she goes to church, and we were blessed to be chosen by her, so we can be the hands and feet of Jesus in her life. The church now provides food baskets for her, so she and her kids can eat. This is not a story of someone who is wanting to just receive food for free without working hard for it. This is a story of a mom who works over 40 hours a week and still cannot provide food for her kids. We are blessed to be there for her and her kids.   

At the Campo Limpo church after a few years, we started reaching people from a nearby city called Jundiai. It came to a point that 30% of the members in Campo Limpo were from Jundiai. So, we planted the Jundiai church in 2010.

We often have people coming to the churches we help plant through our outreach ministries and people who are trying to find a Biblical local church. Usually, they are from another town, or city, or even state. In this way, we prepare them with our Hands on Bible college to plant new churches in their towns, cities, and states when we have a solid group from that region.  

We work on a four-year process, so the local church can be self-sufficient. First year we help with 75% of the resources, second year with 50%, third year with 25%, and in the fourth year the local church is self-sufficient. 

Rosalina fled from terrorists. She saw many people beheaded; she suffered a lot. She has two children: a boy and a girl. After she met Jesus Christ, her life changed. She was baptized in 2023. Today she works on housekeeping at Hope school.

A Lady who had a wound in her leg and she searched for healing through many different religions and went to many doctors, but they could not figure out a way to heal it. In the meantime, her son met Jesus at one of our churches and shared the Good News to her mom and she decided to be baptized. On a Sunday morning, she was baptized and in a few days her wound was healed. 

In the tribe of the Yanomamis in Brazil there was a tribal chief who heard the good news of Jesus. When he encountered the story of the Savior, he surrendered to Him. During the pandemic of 2020, he got really sick and was taken by the missionary to the city to be treated. Unfortunately, the man had covid. Instead of the tribal chief being worried about his condition, he was worried about his son and his tribe to keep the faith in God and persevere in God’s promises. One of his last words to the missionary was for his son and the tribe to continue to live for Jesus Christ our Lord. 

With our outreach connect kids to Jesus, there was a little girl who heard about Jesus and how God created male and female. One day she came to the kid's ministry leader and said, “I understand now, and I have asked forgiveness to God, because I asked another little girl to be my girlfriend. Now I know that is not what God created me to be.” She understood who God created her to be a beautiful little girl who shines the light of Jesus through her life.  

Meeting Jesus was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was on a lost path that wasn't for me. In 2022, I got pregnant and, close to my brother Richard and sister-in-law Laysa's wedding, I started bleeding. I was already having an abortion, where I had to rest completely. Letícia Laysa’s mom invited me to go to her house and there they prayed for me and the baby. There I felt a wonderful presence and I saw that it really was the Holy Spirit because with it came the peace that everything that was happening was God's will. I lost that baby, but I also gained eternal life and the dwelling of the Holy Spirit. And 3 months after this loss, God gifted us with another pregnancy and, to the glory of God, we have Davi, Ana's companion. I am eternally grateful to God. 

My testimony is about the toxic and narcissistic relationship I was in, my ex-husband left. I was unemployed, things were missing from the house, late electricity bills were subject to the court and even with this whole situation and inside destroyed by the fact that he didn't have any consideration that I think he had "at least a little", I didn't stop seeking God and going to church at any point. And then God Almighty, wonderful God did not forsake me, he prepared people, food, work and strengthened me daily. I love being in the presence of God, I love being a member of this church and I can only thank God for always being in my home and in my family, to the Pastor for all the guidance and prayers for us.