Lately my notes have been rather dismal. But let me assure you that God is at work! You might remember that a few weeks ago I related the story of Ana Luiza (“Something Happened on the Way to the Orphanage”, and pictured at left in her "car" that I made up for our Sunday school contest). God has used this little girl recently to impact several lives.
She is an incessant little missionary who is always inviting her friends and family to come with her to church. In fact her dad, Paulo, has told her on a number of occasions that he would come.
Almost every week Ana comes to me and says, “My dad is going to come to church next week.” I know that for some reason he is stalling and my mother's old saying comes to my mind, “Tomorrow never comes.”
Ana, however, doesn't give up! Just the other night after service she interrupted a conversation that I was having with one of our men, “PASTOR... come quick!!” “Ana, just a minute I am talking with Nelson.”
Out of the corner of my eye I could see that she was squirming with excitement. She interrupted again a few seconds later “PASTOR... come quick! My DAD is outside!”
I hastily excused myself from my chat and literally bolted out the front door to greet Paulo. He seemed to be hiding around the corner but I went after him. I grabbed him and acted as if I was going to drag him into church (sounds drastic doesn't it. It was!). “I can't come in pastor! I'm in shorts!”
Needless to say he was a bit embarrassed but I really wanted him to know that we wanted him in church. As we talked he again promised that he would come ... “next week.” He's still a no-show.
But recently, another development has surfaced that might speed Paulo's arrival. Tais, one of his blood daughters, went to Japan to work a few years ago. Many Brazilians do. They go to make the big bucks and hope to return with money to invest in a house or a car. Tais went for exactly that reason but while there she met a young man named Miller.
Miller is also a Brazilian who went to Japan to make money. Through a set of circumstances they were introduced and fell in love. Miller and Tais were married just about a year ago in Japan.
Now, however, both have moved back to Sorocaba and are living for the time being at Ana's house. So, you already know what has happened; Ana has invited both of them to church. Last Tuesday Dawn and I made a visit and also invited this young couple to church. Both Miller and Tais seem to be searching for some type of a “religious experience” and I was able to share some of the Gospel with him. Wednesday Miller came with Ana and later told her that he really liked the Bible study!
So, let's pray that God uses Miller's excitement coupled with Ana's dogged determination to help all three (Paulo, Miller, and Tais) to realize their need for Salvation in Jesus Christ. That would be another exciting chapter in Ana's story!
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