Where Two or Three Come Together...

The weather in Porto Alegre has been really bad the last few days. It has been really cold and rainy. Just miserable conditions. Yesterday morning I got a call from one of the families that comes to the church that meets in our house. All five of them were sick with the flu and they weren't going to be able to make it to church. Two other people were traveling because of Mother's day, and a few others were also out of pocket because of the holiday. Another one of our members called and let me know that he and another guy couldn't make it because they were "under the weather" too. We were expecting one couple to make after calling them to confirm, and a our friend, Ricardo, that I have been studying the Bible with. Ricardo came to our house church for the first few Sundays and then wasn't able to come anymore because of the distance. It takes him 2 hours of travel on the bus to and from our house. I can understand why that would make wanting to come to church a challenge. I have offered to meet Ricardo at a point in the city that would shave off about an hour and 15 minutes of travel time. This Sunday, he finally took me up on my offer. I picked Ricardo up at about 3:30 (church typically starts at 4). We got back to our house and visited while we waited for the others to arrive. At about 4:40 we decided that they weren't going to make it because the weather was so bad.

Ricardo really enjoys speaking in English, so we had an English service. It was me, Ricardo and Jennifer (Elisa was taking a nap). We sang songs in English and studied some in 2 Samuel (where Ricardo and I are currently studying). We had some good time praying and we took the Lord's Supper together. It was really a great experience. We knew that the Lord was present! After we concluded our service we had dinner together and watched some of a movie before I had to take Ricardo back to the bus stop where we met earlier in the day. He was at our house for about 5 hours.

At first, I was a little discouraged that no one else came. Ricardo doesn't come much anymore because of the distance, so I thought that this time would be good for him to reconnect with everyone else. Selfishly, I also wanted there to be more people. Sometimes we get caught up in the numbers. It is easy for us to lose track of what can actually make a dynamic time of worship and study. Yesterday's church had just 3 people. But, it was still church! In fact, it was one of the best services we have had in my opinion. It was real. We studied and asked questions. We sang and prayed together. We communed with one another and "broke bread". If not for Ricardo sacrificing by getting out in the rain and cold, Jennifer and I would have had church by ourselves. I praise God for yesterday. It blessed me to see that the power of the blood can be seen and experienced in the smallest of groups. I pray that he will continue to show us his mighty power no matter who comes to church or how many people we have.

"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:20