House Church #5 and Answered Prayers

#5:

Yesterday was a unique day for us. It was the first worship in our 5th house church! The Salgado family (of whom I wrote about on May 24th) moved into a house in a neighboring town last week. The neighboring town of Cachoerinha (cash-o-air-een-ya) is approximately 20 minutes from our house. To get to Claudio and Rute's house you must drive an additional 10 minutes. Although getting out there takes more time than we normally spend in the car on Sunday, it was well worth the drive there and back to be able to worship and study with the Salgado family. Some of our time was spent talking about how they want to fix the house up, the difference they are feeling in being so far away from the city (1.5 to 2 hour bus ride), how Claudio needs to find a job closer to home (currently works in POA), and how they have a plan to get their eldest daughter, Keity, to school (transportation is an issue).

We also spent some good time singing praises to the Lord, taking the Lord's Supper and studying some passages in the book of Colossians. It was a well-rounded time of fellowship.

Although Claudio and Rute would hesitate to call our going to their home and doing what we did "church", that is exactly what it was and will be the next time we go. They hesitate to call it "church" because they understand the responsibility of leading a church and don't think they are ready for it. At this point, we don't think they are quite ready either. Of course, we are not thrusting them into anything they are not ready for. They are simply hosting a church in their home when Jennifer and I go to gather with them in the name of Jesus. One day though, they will be ready to take it and run with it.

We really see a lot of potential for the Salgado family and their future in Cachoerinha. They are already getting to know the people of their neighborhood. Please pray along side us that they will feel more comfortable and confident as time goes by to eventually lead the house church that has begun meeting in their home, and that they would be blessed with peace and courage during this time of transition (moving from the big city to a little town).

Answered Prayers:

Boy, we have some good ones here! I love and believe in the power of prayer. I just want to put a few of some great responses we have had from the Lord the last couple of days.

1. We have been praying fervently for 3 children (one for just a day or 2, one of a week, and one for a couple of months). One of these children possibly had a kidney problem. Today we found out that recent blood tests showed that there is nothing wrong - stumping the doctors! Praise God! Another of these children has been in the hospital for a week with a staph infection and problems with her kidneys. After a rough first few days she is now responding well to treatment. We are praying that she will recover completely from the infection and the kidney problems. The third child is Ethan Powell. A while ago I posted a blog encouraging you to go to his daddy's website to find out what you could do to help him fight his cancer. Ethan is just 7 months old and is fighting for his life. Today was a major victory for him and his family. Based on test results today Ethan was either going to just be made as comfortable as possible until he passed away, or treatment would resume. Against all human odds, Ethan's tests came back showing no signs of cancer! He is still sick, but they are starting new treatments to help him get better instead of letting him go. I believe that this little boy is a fighter and that he will grow to serve the Lord in ways we cannot imagine!
2. Claudio and Rute Salgado were able to finalize all the paperwork on their new house and make their move. There were so many times when it looked like Brazilian bureaucracy was going to destroy all the hope they had in getting this home for their family. They stayed faithful and the Lord blessed them!
3. Jennifer felt convicted a week ago to commit to praying for the people who don't come regularly to our house church or haven't been in a long time. After just one week we saw a major difference. Yesterday 3 of the 4 people who came to our house were people who had not come in a long time. It seems like a simple thing to pray for those who don't come to church, but it isn't always. There are times when people don't come because of work or travel. There are time when people don't come because they are sick or the weather is bad or they are just plain lazy. It happens that no matter what the reason we can easily become discouraged and even frustrated. When you feel discouraged and frustrated you don't always pray. I appreciate Jennifer calling me back to praying for those who haven't been coming to our house church. We were both touched by this answered prayer and will continue to pray for those who aren't regularly spending time with our church family.