By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
MANAUS, Brazil (LBM) – During a mission trip to a city located in the center of the Amazon rainforest, Louisiana Baptists experienced a Gospel harvest of 647 Brazilians.
“The theme for this year was ‘Hope for Manaus,’” David Denton, senior pastor with Highland Baptist Church, New Iberia, told the Baptist Message. “We partnered with local churches to help them fulfill the Great Commission in their vicinity. Much like Louisiana, Manaus was hot with high humidity. We sweated a lot but had great Gospel conversations.”
GOSPEL HARVEST
Fifty members of Beyond the Walls, a Louisiana Baptist-led mission team from Louisiana, Texas and Utah ministered, July 10-21 in Manaus, known as the “Heart of the Amazon.”.
While there, they split into 12 ministry teams and participated in personal visits, drama ministry, construction, street ministry, Vacation Bible School, medical ministry and compassion ministry that included distribution of food baskets – each as a bridge to Gospel conversations.
IN THEIR WORDS
Among those Denton saw come to Christ was Jonathan, a recovering drug addict he met during a visit to a local park. During the
the conversation, Denton shared the Gospel and the young man accepted Jesus.
“He was tuned into what we were saying, and you could tell he was interested,” said Denton, director of Beyond the Walls. “He even spent his last paycheck on water he bought for our team and a meal for himself. I gave his name and number to the Brazilian Baptist Convention, who, when I called them after we returned, told us that they in fact had made contact with him and that he was attending church locally.”
Craig Beeman, pastor with First Baptist Church, Winnsboro, participated in his fifth mission trip to Brazil and fourth with Beyond the Walls.
While walking through downtown Manaus, Beeman met and shared Jesus with a man named Marcio.
Many years ago, Marcio attended church but never accepted Christ. Beeman then offered him an invitation to do so.
“I asked him if there was anything preventing him from accepting Christ and making that decision to follow Jesus,” Beeman recalled. “He said ‘No,’ and then looked at me and smiled. I asked, ‘Would you like to do that today?’ He said ‘Yes,’ and accepted Christ.
“He then looked at me with a big smile on his face, and I told him, ‘You have been forgiven’,” Beeman continued. “His smile got even bigger. There are people on the verge of accepting Christ all around us. It is up to us to engage them where they are.”
Brandon Edwards, worship pastor with Highland Baptist, led a team who shared the Gospel during in-home visits. At one house, they met three young men “who were up to no good, making money in dangerous ways,” he said. “Through the conversation, the team members believed God had placed the men there to hear the Good News.
“Their hearts seemed to be fertile soil for the Gospel to take root,” he said. “They were not satisfied with the way they had been living and ultimately prayed to receive salvation.”
Later in the week, team members met brick layers at a construction site who not only accepted Jesus but invited their co-workers and supervisor to hear the Gospel.
“I think one of the biggest takeaways for me on this trip is that people were hungry for the truth,” Edwards said. “The only thing standing in the way was our willingness or unwillingness to share it. Some Christians cite fear as why they don’t share. I have come to realize it’s not fear, but a lack of love for the individual in front of them. If we truly loved them, we’d tell them the truth.”
