Sao Paulo, Brazil
February 2012
Reports: The Elijah Challenge in Brazil
Online Videos of Training Sessions
Heart diseases healed at the first Training session
On a Friday evening we began the Training before a full house at Peoples’ Baptist Church in Sao Paulo, a bustling city of 22 million inhabitants. The Lord enabled us to teach very clearly and to the point. After the teaching he asked for people with heart conditions to come forward for healing as a demonstration of what had just been taught from the Scriptures.
The first person to come forward was an older woman, the sister-in-law of Pastor Eneas, the 98-year-old retired founder of the church. She had a host of symptoms due to severe blockage of her arteries—we can’t remember them all. But among them was pain, severe weakness and an inability to walk for any distance—let alone run. She could not pick up objects weighing more than a few kilos. She was due for surgery. According to her testimony, she was in very bad shape indeed.
We had two sisters come forward to lay hands on her in front of the crowd. Then we led them in exercising authority over the disease by issuing commands in Jesus’ name. At that time she felt a burning sensation entering her body and healing her heart. We could see a smile break out on her face as they were ministering to her. Afterwards I asked her to walk around. She strode briskly to the back of he sanctuary, and then ran back to the front looking and feeling fine. I asked her to pick up a heavy object. A sister in the front row grabbed her heavy tote bag and brought it to her. She waved the bag aside and put her arms around the woman and lifted her up off her feet! The crowd roared giving hearty thanks to the Lord. There was great excitement in the air.
Click here for a photo of this sister receiving her healing. Keep clicking on the right arrow to the right of the photo for many subsequent photos depicting the entire miracle, including the sister lifting a woman bodily off the floor to demonstrate her healing.
Then we asked for others with heart conditions to come forward to be healed. Many people came up filling both the stage as well as the front of the sanctuary. We have never seen so many with heart disease in one place. Trained disciples came forward to lay hands on them. Many more were touched by the Lord in the same way and testified. In particular a Sao Paulo journalist had brought a small, frail-looking 13-year-old boy who had already undergone four heart surgeries likely due to a congenital heart defect. He testified that the Lord had healed him. I asked him to run. He took off like a rocket and disappeared behind the stage. He reappeared a few seconds later leaping up and down like a basketball player. We looked around for a heavy object for him to lift. There was a large sound monitor on the stage at his feet. He bent down and picked up the heavy monitor with little effort. The people exploded with delight. The Lord had done amazing things through His disciples.
Click here for a photo of the boy testifying, and click on the right arrow a few miore times to see him reappearing from backstage and lifting up the heavy onstage monitor with little effort.
Many more healed on Saturday night
The following morning we taught Session II of the Basic Training. Many were healed of knee problems during the ensuing demonstration and testified. Then in the evening we ministered at the regular Saturday evening worship service. The sanctuary and balcony were filled and latecomers were directed to an overflow hall. Very many of them had come to be healed. We preached from Mark 2 where Jesus healed the paralytic to prove that he had authority to forgive sin. Then we prayed and asked the Lord to heal many infirm people present for the very same purpose. And the Lord was gracious to release great power and authority to heal through the disciples. Many amazing miracles of different kinds were reported…so many that we cannot remember them. One man had been in an accident and injured his foot. He was standing on the stage appearing to be leaning on crutches or a walker. His doctor had told him that he could not put any weight on the foot for another two months…we suppose following the surgery. But he let go of the crutches/walker and proceeded to walk around on the stage triumphantly on his still-bandaged foot. As he walked off the stage he held his crutches high over his head as a trophy to the Lord.
Photo of this gentleman giving his testimony. Keeping clicking on the right arrow to see him walking off the stage holding his crutches up high.
There were other testimonies which amazed us but we cannot remember the details—only that we were amazed. A woman was healed as she watched the service via streaming video over the internet. The crowd gave themselves to the Lord after witnessing all the miracles which confirmed that only Jesus can forgive our sins and grant us eternal life.
Gallery of all photos taken on Saturday
Even greater works on Sunday
The Lord’s grace appeared even more evident at the Sunday evening worship service. We preached Jesus Christ as the only way to the Father from John 14. Then we asked the Lord to perform many miraculous healings as evidence that He actually is who He says He is. We and the disciples ministered healing in two separate stages: first at a distance (just as Jesus healed the centurion’s servant in Luke 7), and then one-on-one through the laying on of the disciples’ hands.
During the first stage, many were healed at the same time by the Lord and came up to the stage to testify. So many testified that it took quite a while. There were different kinds of healings. Then during the second stage many more were healed as the trained disciples ministered through the laying on of hands—all kinds of miraculous healings that we could not keep track of, especially in view of the testimonies having to be translated from Portuguese into English. We do recall a woman saying that she could no longer find the tumor on her breast. Eyesight was being restored to a totally blind man. A woman ministered to someone with a heart condition over her mobile telephone during the time of ministry, and the person reported feeling fine. Some wept with gratitude to the Lord as they testified. One young man was so touched by the Lord in his body that he declared with trembling voice to the crowd that he would surrender his entire life for service to the kingdom of God. The believers were overjoyed hearing about the mighty works of God.
We even received testimonies from people who were watching over live streaming internet. One woman testified that her breast tumor had disappeared as she watched. One brother who had watched one of the earlier Training sessions over the internet was led to go the hospital to minister to someone who had been admitted for severe tachycardia, or rapid heartbeat. The doctor was amazed as the heart rate monitor showed the person’s heart rate dropping to normal during the laying on of hands!
It seems we are beginning to see greater and greater works. Praise the Lord for His wonderful grace.
After the testimonies we left the meeting in the hands of Senior Pastor Jonas, and we are sure that he took full advantage of the miracles by challenging the people to come back to the Lord and to serve Him with all their hearts.
Gallery of photos taken on Sunday
Monday: ministry of healing handed over entirely to the Brazilian believers
During the Saturday and Sunday meetings many people testified of being healed by the Lord as the trained disciples ministered to them. By Monday they were ready to minister healing on their own without us on the stage to lead and direct them. After we taught at the Monday morning session, we asked how many people wanted to be healed of their infirmities. A sea of hands went up. Then he announced that he and Lucille were going to leave and return to their hotel, and that the ministry of healing would go on without them. He directed Alex, the young Church Administrator who was translating for him, to lead the healing ministry instead. Alex was speechless for a moment, but soon regained his composure. Then we left the church.
Many were healed and testified during the ensuing ministry by the disciples. One testimony was particularly riveting. A young woman from was in Sao Paulo from Goiania (about a thousand miles away) for medical treatment. She had a hard and painful tumor in her stomach which gave her the appearance of being four months pregnant. Her doctor was extremely concerned at her serious condition as revealed by tests and x-rays. She heard about the miraculous healings taking place at the Baptist Church, and came to one of the Monday sessions where Alex was leading the healing ministry after we had left the meeting.
She went forward to receive ministry from one of the trained sisters. The sister laid hands on her stomach and rebuked the tumor in Jesus’ name. Feeling discomfort in her stomach the woman ran to the ladies’ room. Evidently at that very moment she passed something out. On Tuesday she went to her doctor who examined her and took x-rays. The x-rays showed that the tumor was gone. The doctor pronounced her healed. On Wednesday the woman came to the final Esther Challenge session to testify of what the Lord had done for her, brandishing in her hand a CD/DVD containing the results from her doctor.
In all, Alex and the trained disciples ministered to the infirm at all four sessions over Monday and Tuesday. It did not matter at all that we were not there—perhaps it was even better that we were not. Many infirm people were healed and testified during the four sessions after we left the meeting. Videos of all the meetings and the testimonies will be available on the church’s website soon.
During the teaching we addressed some of the unscriptural practices found in quite a few Brazilian charismatic churches, like “anointed” socks, soap, salt, oil, and keys said to bring blessing to those who obtain them in exchange for generous offerings. We also taught about the grace of God which teaches us to live holy lives pleasing to the Lord. It was well received by the scripturally-grounded Baptists.
It seems that God’s grace upon the work is now at another level.
We sensed that this Training event was the most fruitful Training event we had so far held for a single congregation anywhere. Senior Pastor Jonas announced from the pulpit that he agreed 100% with what had been taught. He was gracious to say that although he has taught at the Seminary level, that he did not know as much as he thought he did as he sat through every Training session.
We received many extremely encouraging comments from the disciples.
Gallery of photos taken on Monday (includes The Esther Challenge with the ladies)
Gallery of photos taken on Tuesday
Follow-up report after we left Brazil
“The effects of the seminar continue! Lives are being healed of various ailments. We have applied the principle learned: preaching, healing, salvation. In every service we have given space to minister to the sick. The most recent case was that of a Jewish woman who had nearly completely paralyzed leg muscles. She was under medical treatment for months. Her physical therapist, who is from our church brought her to a prayer meeting for women. Sisters ministered healing to her and she left jumping for joy, totally healed.
She came to give her testimony at our 5 PM Sunday worship celebration. She said: ‘.. I have been to three universities and did not believe in these things, I do not know how to explain it, but it is real. What enchants me most here is the faith you have!’
At the end of the preaching of the word of God she was amazed at everything and said that her heart (which before was closed) was now open to hear the gospel.
May God’s grace be upon us, grace upon grace and may He confirm the work of our hands!” Psalm 90:17
Sincerely,
Pastor Paulo Sergio Falçarella
Family Network
People’s Baptist Church
“I have a happy testimony to share with you too: one of my maid’s ears was completely deaf. So, two weeks ago, I ministered to her and she was completely healed!!! Now she can listen well from both sides! She told me that her children found it strange the fact of no longer need to repeat many times as they used to when they were speaking to her. I’m very happy that God is encouraging me to keep doing it.”
-Veronica