The 7 days that we spent in Brazil were an incredible blessing for us. We went to serve the people there and once again, our hearts were so touched and encouraged by those we went to serve. It is a common theme in missions. We go to change the world and we return changed. 

If you aren’t familiar with the story about how we got connected with Brazil, you can go and read this blog post and then read this one. 

The trip to get to Pomerode, Brazil took us about 26 hours total. We flew from Florida to Sao Paolo to Navegantes and had a layover in between. Landing at the airport in Brazil, we still had an hour drive to the city where we would be staying.

The first thing that God did was connect us with Pastor Jose Orlando. Pastor Orlando drove Pastor Dumassais to the airport to pick us up. He and His wife pastor the church where the Haitians meet for their service, and he has been an advocate for the Haitian community living in Pomerode.

We were so blessed to be able to say in the home with Pastors Dumassais and Renette and their six roommates. Staying with them was literally like being a part of the first church in Acts. They live together, worship together, break bread together, and combine their funds to do their own branch of missions which includes supporting children in Haiti to go to school! Everyone in the church also works together to set aside money each month so that every quarter, they can pay for someone to come over to Brazil from Haiti.

The name of our adopted church is Maison de Restauration which translates into English as Restoration House. Their vision is to see people physically restored to their families and spiritually restored as children of God. There are 42 people who attend Restoration House weekly and those people represent about 37 different families who are separated. After the earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010, many husbands and fathers left the country to find work and send money back to their families. Since then, they have been faced with many difficulties such as closed borders and corruption resulting in fines, discrimination, and low wages. Minimum wage in Haiti is about 75 cents per day, which is roughly $15 per month. In Pomerode, Brazil, the minimum wage is $310 per month which enables the Haitians living there to support their families in Haiti.

The main purpose of our mission trip to Brazil was to establish the church there. The church started over a year ago when it began in a home with only ten people. Today, there are 42 members and it is steadily growing as new people come into the country. We held a leadership training for the leaders of the church, equipping them in the practical and spiritual aspects of leadership. We also held a family conference at the church and an ordination service. In Pomerode, it is illegal to evangelize outside of the church walls without permission, so one of the challenges that we faced was the need to go to the local authorities and have paperwork made up and notarized so that the Haitians could legally spread the gospel. We had the blessing of Pastor Orlando who came in and helped us complete the paperwork since neither we nor the Haitians knew exactly what was required in Brazil, but God does know and He sends people along the way! The best part is that God was so gracious and all of the paperwork was approved so that the Haitian Church can now legally spread the gospel in their community!

As soon as we got to Brazil, God started making connections for us and showing us where He had already gone before us and ordered our steps! Pastor Orlando invited us to speak at his church one night. Another night, we visited a prayer service where we met Pastor Alvimar Schwarz and his beautiful family, and Chris ended up being invited to preach the whole message!! We were reminded of the verse in the Bible about being ready in season and out! We were also able to visit the homes of the Pastors that we met and get to know them and their families.

Because of our amazing sponsors and everyone who donated supplies and money to this trip, we were able to bless the Haitian church with a laptop computer, cordless microphones, Bibles, and clothing!  One of my favorite parts of the trip was going with Pastor Dumassais door to door to greet people, invite them to services, and pray for them. I loved it so much because we were joining in with what he was already doing. Being able to see the love and support among the Haitians was so encouraging. The church and the pastor’s home are both hubs of community where people are constantly coming and going, ministering to one another, doing life together, and encouraging one another. Because of the difficult situations that these people face (imagine being separated from your husband or wife, or even your young children, and being completely at the mercy of a legal system that doesn’t necessarily work on your behalf) they are constantly meeting together for prayer and encouraging one another with God’s word.

God is doing an amazing work in Pomerode, Brazil through Pastors Dumassais and Renette and their church. We were also so blessed to see what God is doing in the Brazilian community there through the wonderful pastors that we met during the week. Thank you so much to everyone who donated and prayed over this trip! Lives are being changed because of your love and support. We are so blessed to play a small part in what God is doing in Pomerode and we are so excited to continue to support Restoration House and the ministry that they are doing in Brazil!

 

With love,

 

Ellyn Hunt