São
Paulo is a state in Brazil, the
largest country in South America in terms of area, population,
and economy
Valley
of Blessing, Araçariguama
The
Training in Brazil began at the Valley of Blessing (Vale
da Bênção),
a large ministry complex in Araçariguama, São Paulo
State headed by Pastor Jonathan Ferreira. The
servants of God were most enthusiastic about the teaching they
received from Scripture. The Lord was gracious
to confirm the teaching by various miraculous healings.
On
the second evening we
held an evangelistic healing service for the community
where the training was applied. The gospel was preached. Then
we ministered
to the infirm through healing-at-a-distance (as Jesus
did in Luke
7).
Immediately afterwards nine people came
up to platform to testify that Jesus had healed them. Afterwards
through the individual laying on hands by the trained
servants of God,
about a dozen more people promptly came forward to testify
that they had been healed. The quick miracles demonstrated
that Jesus
had authority to forgive sin. It was a most exciting time
for the servants of God.
Two
years ago in May 2006 we were ministering at this very same church.
While those meetings were also attended by powerful miraculous
healings, we recalled one evangelistic healing service in particular
where hardly anything happened at all. This is what we wrote at
that time:
"May 23 Our final meeting here was most unusual.
I do not recall ever having ministered in such a difficult one.
First I
shared the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then, after prayer, I had the
trained believers heal the sick to demonstrate that the gospel
is true, that Jesus is the only way to the Father. But no miracles
happened as the believers laid hands on the infirm again and again."
We
still recall the frustration that we felt that evening over two
years ago. But what the Lord did on this trip in the same church
was as different as night and day. Through this He taught us that
we should not get discouraged and give up.
On
the final day we
wrapped up the Training in two sessions. In the final session
held in the afternoon several infirm people from
the town came to be healed. The trained believers made short work
of the infirmities, and several testified that they were healed.
In particular one elderly couple had come, both suffering from
debilitating pain. The woman could hardly walk; the man also could
not hear normally. Both were shouting in joy from the stage after
the Lord healed them.
Guided
by the Holy Spirit, Pastor Jonathan Ferreira is initiating a
movement called "Visitation of God" in different
Brazilian cities. Among other things, trained believers will
be going door-to-door
preaching the gospel and healing the sick. A team of servants of
God came from the city of Ivaiporã in the
neighboring state of Paraná to attend the Training in preparation
to minister during the Visitation of God in their city.
At
the end of the final session, Pastor Jonathan introduced
us to a brother who along with his wife were missionaries to
Spain
for eighteen years. They were back for a season in Brazil
and had attended the Training. The Lord had spoken
to them that we were to
be
their new mentor
and
covering. Their former mentor had gone home to the Lord.
Brazil
is now experiencing revival in the economy through the discovery
of large oil reserves as well as spiritual revival in
the Church. Brazilian missionaries are now being sent out to many
countries. By God's grace The Elijah Challenge can be a part
of training the Church here.
Here
is a comment received from a believer in Araçariguama
who attended the Training:
“I
have been in the congregation for more than 30 years and never
have I heard and lived deeply a ministry so profound
and clear as the one that we are receiving; nor have I witnessed
so great wisdom and [translation unknown?] in the face of the need
of the people.”
Below
are the original words in Portuguese:
“Congrego há mais de 30 anos e nunca ouvi e vivenciei
ministraçoes tao profundas e claras como as que estamos
recebendo; nem presenciei tamanha sabedoria e flexibilidade metodológica
face à necessidade do povo.”
More
testimonies from pastors and participants
Host
Pastor Daniel Jesus de Leite (center) of Ministerio Renovaçao
em Cristo in Sorocaba
Tatui and Sorocaba
After
completing the meetings with Pastor Jonathan at the Valley of
Blessing, we left for the nearby city of Sorocaba. This city
is the fastest growing
city in Brazil in terms
of
industry.
The
man
mostly
responsible
for
this
phenomenal
growth
is Daniel de Jesus Leite, the Secretary of Commerce of Sorocaba. He recently
negotiated with Toyota for the building of an automotive assembly plant
here, and Toyota chose Sorocaba over forty other competing cities. Daniel
is also the pastor of Ministerio Renovaçao em Cristo, a growing
ministry in Sorocaba. Amazingly, he also owns a business which manufactures
and sells auto
mufflers.
We
began with an
Evangelistic Healing Service in the town of Tatui where Pastor
Daniel Jesus de Leite planted
a new church about a year ago. They rented a club for this outreach
and advertised it in the community.

Many
newcomers fill the clubhouse rented for the one-night event
The club was filled with people, many of them visitors. I preached
from Mark 2, proclaiming that Jesus' authority to heal our infirmities
demonstrated that He also had authority to forgive our sin. I told
them that even though they said that they loved God, that their
actions proved otherwise. Even if they had broken only one of His
commands, they had broken them all in His sight and sinned against
Him. And the punishment for sinning against God who is holy and
just is eternal condemnation in hell. Clearly all of us need our
sins to be forgiven. But how can we be sure that Jesus has authority
to forgive our sins?
We asked the Lord to heal the infirm at the meeting to prove without
a shadow of doubt that that He indeed has such authority. The trained
believers ministered to the infirm, and many testified that the
Lord had healed them. It was a time of rejoicing as the people
put their faith in Jesus and had their sins forgiven for eternal
life. At the end I encouraged the saints to hold such meetings
on their own without me. After all, the Lord had used the local
believers to perform the miraculous healings.

People
who were healed come forward to testify

Bird's-eye
view of the Evangelistic Healing Service

Equipping
the saints in Ministerio Renovaçao em Cristo, the mother
church in Sorocaba
Open-air Outreach in Sorocaba
park
God's
grace on the open-air
meeting in the Marcia Mendes Park was very evident. A stage was
erected in the middle of the park surrounded
by businesses, homes, and apartments. With the sound amplifiers
going at full blast, we announced that the God of heaven had
sent us to proclaim His Kingdom to the people. In order that
they would
know that His kingdom was near, we were going to ask Him to heal
the sick. We invited them to bring those with infirmities.
Then I shared briefly from John 14 where Jesus claimed to be the
only way to the Father as well as being God Incarnate. To demonstrate
to the people that such words were not the rantings of a lunatic
two thousand years ago, we would ask Him to heal the infirm. The
miracles that the Lord would do be the proof that He was speaking
the truth, and that sinners should repent and believe on Him for
the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
We
ministered healing to the infirm in two separate stages:
through healing-at-a-distance (Luke 7) with the people remaining
in their
place and then through the individual laying on of hands as
the infirm people came forward to the trained believers.

Open-air
evangelistic service in Marcia Mendes Park, Sorocaba:
the trained believers prepare to heal the sick
Several people were healed in the first stage. They came up to
the stage and each of them testified---some with tears---that the
Lord had healed them.
People
healed of infirmities during healing-at-a-distance assemble
on stage (background right) to testify

Testimonies
of healing continue from the stage
After the testimonies I challenged the people to repent of their
sins and to follow Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Ten souls
came forward. During the second stage of the ministry of healing, several more
people were healed and testified publicly from the stage. God had
greatly exalted the name of His Son Jesus Christ. The saints rejoiced
in His goodness.
Encouraged
by the results, Pastor Daniel is planning more
open-air evangelistic outreaches with his own
people at the rate of once a month. The
sick will be healed and the Kingdom of God proclaimed to the
lost in the open-air outside the church. This
is the third time I have been with him since 2005 to train
the people. He is determined that this
time there will be a difference; there will be results.
Note:
The present age of the one-man-show superstar evangelist is coming
to a close. The age of the body of Christ---the nameless, faceless
believer---is
at hand.

Pastor
Daniel plans to send teams to hold evangelistic healing outreaches
once a month in nearby parks such as the newly
opened Ipiranga Park with its open-air amphitheatre
During
the weekly Sunday worship service on the final day, I preached
from Luke 17 about the believers' authority over unforgiveness
and the sinful nature which is to be exercised with the faith of
a mustard seed. Afterwards I led the people in exercising that
authority by rebuking unforgiveness, the lust of pornography, and
other works of the flesh. Then I asked who had just been miraculously
set free from unforgiveness and other sins. Several people raised
their hands, with two of them testifying privately because of the
personal nature of their situation.
Testimonies
received from Brazilian pastors after the Training:
- Pastor
William,
Paz seja contigo! Eu trouxe o powerpoint no pendrive e fiz uma
mensagem para apresentar para a Igreja no domingo dia 15 de junho,
a pregação
foi uma bênção, convoquei os leigos para
uma reunião de treinamento na quinta-feira 19 de junho,
ensinei, orei junto com eles e no culto ministramos cura sobre
diversas pessoas, eu os coloquei para fazer isso. 3 pessoas foram
curadas na hora, uma mulherraços de asia no estomago,
outra de uma dor na articulação do joelho que a
impedia de andar, e uma jovem que foi curada de uma dor na perna
que a impedia de ficar em pé. Muitas pessoas vieram na
frente para receber curas de doenças crônicas, iremos
constatar nos próximos dias por meio de exames laboratoriais.
O
mais impressionante foi o que ocorreu na minha família,
chegando em casa na sexta-feira, meu filho que está na
Espanha me ligou, ele havia tomado duas injeções
de benzetacil para combater um rota vírus, ficou 4 dias
sem poder se alimentar e ainda estava ruim, minha nora havia
sido trazida pela patroa para casa, pois o rota vírus
a pegou, estava com diarréia, febre alta e vômito.
Usei o poder real que aprendi na terça, quarta e quinta
com a vossa ministração, eram 12 horas do dia aqui,
lá na Espanha 17 horas, pedi que me ligassem para dar
o testemunho a tarde daqui e a noite de lá, quando eram
18 horas daqui eles me ligaram, haviam se alimentado, a diarréia
e o vômito desapareceu, também as dores e a febre
alta foram embora, e na igreja o meu filho pregou naquela noite
e um demônio se manifestou e ele expulsou.
Minha
esposa ficou gripada, infecções na garganta
e eu também, usei o poder real e eu e ela ficamos curados
no mesmo dia!
Abraços fraternais
Pastor Valdiney
Maringá - Paraná - Brasil
- Graça
e paz amado! Louvo a Deus por ter participado desse seminario
ministrado pelo
irmão, fomos grandemente abençoados com as suas
ministrações com certeza vamos dar sequencia naquilo
que aprendemos na pratica vamos exercitar a autoridade que Jesus
nos outorgou e com certeza tão logo estaremos passando
informações de curas e libertações
para o amado irmão divulgar. Um grande abraço foi
um prazer conhece-lo e espero tão logo reencontra-lo.
Pr.
Aldanei Martins
- Eu
já tenho
orado por pessoas enfermas e o Senhor as tem curado. Tive
oportunidade
de orar por pessoas com dores no corpo e foram curadas. Gloria
a Deus. Deus te abençõe.
Maria Lúcia
- FICAMOS FELIZES EM RECEBE-LO NO BRASIL,
JA ORAMOS POR ALGUMAS PESSOAS E ALGUNS MILAGRES
ACONTECERAM, DE DOR NA COLUNA, DOR NO SEIO, DOR
DE CABEÇA, FORAM 5 MILAGRES DURANTE UMA
TARDE NA VISITACAO DE DEUS, NUM BAIRO DE IVAIPORÃ,
FOMOS EM 20 PESSOAS, 10 DELAS TINHA PARTICIPADO DO CURSO,ESTA
SENDO MARAVILHOSO. DEUS CONTINUE
TE USANDO. ABRAÇOS.
LUIZ CARLOS
