Death Contract

Drums echo through the streets as the congada worshipers summon spirits. Brilliant moonlight casts shadows as we approach the church. Believers are gathering and the music soon drowns out the rhythms in the night.

Cristais, Brazil, is roughly the size of my little home-town, Lindale. It has a beautiful "facade"-- homey cottages, warm hospitality and green hillsides covered in rows of coffee plants. But behind that lies occultic practices, depression and one of the highest per/capita suicide rates in Brazil.

Rubens and Carla, the local pastoring couple and longtime friends of Quezia's family, invited us here for two weeks of outreach with our DTS team from YWAM Woodcrest.

The people's smiling eyes met me as I open my Bible and read:

Your covenant with death will be annulled;
your agreement with the grave will not stand." (Is. 28:18a)

"I believe Cristais has a covenant with death. But you here and we who join with you are called to break this contract through Jesus."

By the end of the service the majority of the audience asked for prayer to help them overcome this influence of depression and death in their lives.

One of our closest friends from the time in Cristais stood and shared how she had attempted suicide before knowing Jesus. Now she was battling those old thoughts again.

"But tonight with Jesus I want to be free of these horrible thoughts!"

We prayed with her and the others. And my toddler son, Daniel, came over and laid his hand on her as if praying. Seeing it, everyone laughed after the last "amen."

The joy of that night echoed all the wonderful times we had while befriending the members of the church and the pastor's family in Cristais.

After two weeks there we returned to Belo Horizonte. We will be here till Wednesday evening when we catch a night bus to Mutum where we'll work for two weeks with another church and a ministry to the poor. Thanks so much for reading, praying and supporting our ministry!
-Jeff