Manaus Prayer Team Part 1

What is the first step in opening a new city? Prayer. A group of ten gathered in one of the most isolated cities in the world, Manaus, Brazil where the Amazon river begins. They came to pray for the city and its people and help evaluate the need for a Bible believing church.

What did they find? What did they do?

They found a people proud of their city; a people united by soccer, but not Christ.

In the two largest malls in the city they found a few book stores .... but not a single Bible for sale.

They knew that their coming here was not an accident. That God wanted them there.

They felt frustration at not being able to speak Portuguese, overwhelmed that they are just one person, and homesickness for their families and American food.

They saw things in the city that broke their hearts and God heart. They saw ways to engage the people and their passions

They found Wallace, Josara, Beg and other real people who do not know Jesus, real people who need their prayers. The spoke to them and heard their hearts

They experienced fear for safety, poverty, paying to go to the bathroom, the markets, busses and a little of the lives of the people.

They showed some what the body of Christ should be like.

They learned that for some life is hard, that life there for many does not take care of itself and may be devoid of future hope for a difference. That there was frustration, but there was also joy in missions.

Please see part 2 for the rest of the thoughts and pictures!

Manaus Prayer Team Part 2

They saw God at work in arranging the teams logistics and at work in their own lives. They picked a bus, switched to another bus they picked and one time got off at a place that was not even a bus stop and saw God lead them to some special people who they learned from, helped and witnessed to.

They saw people whose focus was not Christ; but where Mary or Saint Sebastain filled the front of the church.

They started the foundation of prayer in the spiritual battle for the city.

They learned about the lives of missionaries, Brazilian church planters and planting churches in Brazil.They saw despair and fear and anger and joy and hope in the faces and eyes of the people.

They made contacts for the future.

They went away knowing how to be part of the future process – to pray, to tell stories, to keep Manaus alive in their hearts and the hearts of the people they know.

They were unanimous as a group – Manaus needs a Bible teaching church.

They were reminded of how big God is and the glories of His creation where the Negro and Solomoes rivers come together to begin the Amazon.

But only the teenager, Tyler was brave enough to swim in the river with the Piranhas!

They learned that churrasco means BEEF!

Sunday 10:12AM...In front of our church.

“In the parable of the sower and the seed what did the ... “, began the Sunday School teacher when suddenly we heard a crash on the street outside. A second crash of shattering glass soon followed, and, as we turned to look at the street in front of the church, another and another. A bus had been attacked by a gang. It had tried to back away, but stopped in front of our church.

The gang continues to attack the bus, with logs and heavy sticks they shattered all but one window. Bottles filled with kerosene and fire were tossed inside and smoke billowed forth, but they failed to ignite the bus. The church people watched from the windows. After the second crash, the children who had been outside on the side of the church were quickly hurried behind it, away from danger.

Meanwhile, shaking as he hid behind the pulpit, the teacher called the police. He would not want the gang to know he was the one who made the call. We were shocked when a short time later a police car and a fire truck actually showed up. ( It is not the norm for a quick ,or even at times any response to be had) Passersby stopped to gawk, joined by some of those who had attacked the bus. No one would rat. Fear of retaliation was too great.

Broken glass lay all over the road as a few cars and trucks passed by, driving over it as they passed. The driver, who had been hiding came out and tried to start the bus; it failed to start. Slowly most of the spectators left.

No one, though it seemed, really knew why the bus had been attacked. I asked several people and received almost as many answers as those I asked. Maybe it killed someone....they changed a bus route and the people are upset....the fares just increased ...the bus owners are upset at the violence on the bus routes here and substituted old busses for new ones... its an Icoraci bus.

Attacking busses as a form of protest has been common enough the last few weeks as people protested a fare increase of 5 cents. This was not the first bus we have seen attacked. But usually just he rear and front windows are shattered. This one was well planned and more violent.

I happened to have my camera and quickly snapped a few pictures through a open window.