Quatro Barras, Curitiba, Brazil
October 2011
Reports: The Elijah Challenge in Brazil
Quatro Barras is one of many similar hamlets spreading out on both sides of the expressway which takes you the big city of Curitiba, the capital of the state of Paraná, maybe 20 km away.
Our host here was Pastor Manoel of the Christian Community Church of Quatro Barras, a relatively new congregation of mostly younger couples, young adults and children. At the demonstration of healing near the end of the initial Training session, an elderly couple hobbled very slowly to the front. Both had heart conditions. Two brothers and two sisters came forward to minister healing to them as Jesus might have done as recorded in the gospels. They laid hands on them and exercised authority over the heart disease in Jesus’ name.
Elderly couple now runs down the stairs
Afterwards the wife was able to jog (slowly) to the back of the church and then back to the front—feeling fine. She testified that earlier she was dizzy and could barely walk. Her husband also testified that he felt fine as he walked back and forth at the front. (The wife asked why her husband was not told to run as she had.) After the meeting they refused a ride home by car but instead walked home on foot.
We heard the next day that the two were running down the stairs in their home.
The following Sunday morning we were told that for a long time the wife had felt cold in her face because of poor blood circulation due to her weak heart. After Thursday evening her face felt very warm. At first she thought that she was coming down with a fever, but it turned out that with her heart beating normally the blood circulating to her face had warmed it up.
Her formerly invalid husband is now causing concern for their adult children—the old gentleman now likes to take morning walks by himself in the neighborhood. Praise the name of the Lord.
On the second day of Training, Pastor’s Manoel’s father-in-law came forward during the time of demonstration. He had suffered from constant back pain for twenty years. Because of it his doctor had advised to take early retirement. Two brothers came forward and laid hands on his back, rebuking the pain and commanding the back to be healed in Jesus’ name. The man then realized that the constant pain had disappeared. He testified dramatically, jumping up and down, twisting his back this way and that, and even lying down on the floor to show that the pain had completely disappeared.
At the evangelistic healing service on Sunday evening which climaxed the event, the gospel of Jesus Christ was preached. The infirm then came forward to be healed by the trained believers. Many were healed and lined across the stage to testify of what the Lord had done for them. (Since there was no translation into English, I could not understand the testimonies.) The miraculous healings showed that Jesus has authority to forgive sin. Pastor Manoel then stood up and challenged the people to believe in Him. People responded and came forward, lining up in front of the stage.
My translator, a young woman named Sheila who had just recently returned to Brazil from living in England for ten years, had invited her mother, sister, brother, and sister-in-law—all Catholics—to attend the meeting. All four of them came forward to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior at the end.
A impressive man perhaps in his thirties, the operator of a local radio station, had come to the meetings as an unbeliever. He had been operating some type of machinery when a part flew off the machine and struck him near his left ear, leaving him with only 5% of normal hearing in that ear. He experienced a miraculous healing from the Lord as two brothers ministered to him, and at the end of the Sunday meeting he testified at length. Now his hearing with his left ear is better than with his right “normal” ear. When Pastor Manoel challenged people to accept Jesus Christ, he was one of the people lined up at the front. We believe the Lord will use this gentleman fruitfully for the gospel in this area.
In the days following the Training…
Cell leader Gilberto Luiz of wrote us:
“Do you remember that girl who had cancer in his blood? She had a checkup and the cancer didn’t appear, but she prefered to have the surgery because the doctors said that the cancer can disappear and appear again. I believe she has been healed, but she wants to have the surgery.
We’re excercising our authority in Jesus’ name and several persons have been healed in our services.
Next month we are going to conduct a Visitation of God [in which trained disciples go door to door to heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God] in another city in São Paulo, named Barra do Turvo, where we have a church that we are helping and giving spiritual covering.”
My interpreter wrote us:
“I can tell you that your visit to our city was for sure unforgettable, not just for me, but for many other people. I just can’t get over the fact that my mother and brother [who accepted Christ at the final meeting] now want to go to church more often than I could imagine. I’m thrilled, and again, thank you so much for your ministry for me personlly. I can tell you that I see a big change in my personality already. Friends and family have noticed this change too, which is a blessing!”