Missions

This last trip to São Paulo, Brazil, had some amazing unexpected surprises.

We arrived expecting to be speaking with several major Christian leaders at a conference for about 5,000 to 10,000 people. However, this plan fell apart due to several reasons, including natural disasters in Brazil and prior terrorist attacks on some of the Iris Ministries locations in Mozambique, which hindered our planning.

Upon our arrival in São Paulo, the only person scheduled to speak at what remained of our conference plans was Heidi Baker. We attended the 15,000-person church, Lagoinha, in São Paulo, to watch her speak, which was truly a sight to behold. We also had the privilege of meeting and spending time with some of the pastors and staff.

Having only 10 days in Brazil, we quickly shifted our plans with the help of Pastor Dirceu, one of our closest friends, and a man who has helped to launch various men and women into international ministry. With only one church available for this weekend, which was Pastor Dirceu’s, we prayed and made some phone calls. Amazingly, many churches were open to us, and most of these were churches with pastors we had known for a long time. We were busy almost every day, preaching and ministering.

Don spent much time speaking on restoration. The Brazilian pastors expressed how much of a blessing this was, as many churches in Brazil were growing, but the pastors were struggling to keep up with the stress, experiencing failures, and facing challenges they didn’t know how to address.

Several of our pastor friends requested that we translate our materials into Portuguese, which we are currently working on. We enjoyed spending time dining with these pastors and getting to know them better, while also forming some great new relationships.

Currently, we are translating our materials and writing a book together with Pastor Dirceu and several other Christian leaders. This book will be used in an ongoing conference called “Open Heavens.”

I also did some connecting through my coffee business "Brazilian Gold Coffee". I tested out our Brazilian coffees which we have imported and roast ourselves in the United States on various Brazilians including one really nice coffee shop in our hotel. As I learned in Brazil long ago, great coffee is a great way to establish and maintain meaningful relationships.

It was amazing to see the hand of the Lord working during this time. What initially seemed like a trip falling apart was suddenly put back together in an incredible way. Sometimes the Lord asks us to take a step of faith, but He always provides a solution when we are faithful to take that step.

Morgan Champion and myself had a very different trip in Brazil. Nothing was as we expected. Having begun a trade in the coffee business as part of my missionary journey, we met many new people and were able to travel to Santos Brasil, one of the largest ports in the world. I had my plans for the trip, but God had his. I ended up spending several days with an outstanding barista who allowed me to stay at his house in Curitiba, Brazil. In São Paulo, Morgan and I preached, ministered, and spent valuable time with the youth and ministers.

When Morgan and I first arrived in Sao Paulo, we were surprised to meet several other missionaries staying in the favelas with us from Portugal and South Africa. These people had an impact on our lives as we did on theirs. Morgan was forced to step out of her comfort zone with some of the other missionaries as well as the locals. She did a great job ministering and communicating to others, even though she does not speak Portuguese very well. We preached and ministered at various churches, including Casa de Jesus (our sister church) and Redimidos under Pastor Jadis and also spent some time ministering in the favelas.

Some of the most memorable times for me were the times with the youth of the church of Casa de Jesus. I really love those young adults and teens. They have become like family to me. I see them struggling to hold strong amidst the chaos and temptations around them, and they are doing a good job. It is a privilege to be able to be in their lives and encourage them as they encourage me.

The connections that Morgan and I made in Brazil were very deep. We made new friends as well as business acquaintances who had a heart for missions and helping out the impoverished communities of Brazil. If Morgan and I learned anything from this trip, it was — sit back and trust and watch God work. He was always surprising us, and we were so happy to see Him working in our lives and using us to touch the lives of those living in São Paulo and Curitiba, Brazil.

Morgan Champion, and myself arrived in Sao Paulo but had no idea what we were about to experience. It wasn’t a trip overfilled with activity as some trips are, but one in which we were able to spend personal time with individuals living there in Sao Paulo. More than anything, we learned to relax and hear and see what God was doing in the moment. One of my most important sermons came while I was relaxing with a cup of coffee on the top level of the missions base. I read Revelation 2, and taught the congregation on the subject of intimacy with God. I explained how intimacy with Him is so much more important than the works we do for Him. In turn, several of them would repeat to us the importance of coming to the feet of Jesus as did Mary Magdalene and also the woman whose daughter was possessed (Mark 7:25).

Morgan and myself had to step out of our comfort zones several times, especially Morgan as she shared part of her testimony and prayed for people in public for the first time outside her home church, none of whom spoke English. I sang a song which my own father, Archie Jordan wrote decades ago for B.J. Thomas. The name of the song in English is, “I Need to Be Still.” I’ve translated it into Portuguese and sang it at several churches, a hotel for hospital patients, and a Guacho (Brazilian Cowboy) dance in Curitiba.

The last several days I spent with a friend of mine named Antonio Valnei. He lives in the city of Curitiba, is a Guacho, and continues to minister in Curitiba and around the world, often as a mime. It was through him I attended and sang at the Guacho Dance, spent time with people from two of the youth mission bases, and was invited to spend an hour at the house of one of the famous Guachos named Guacho Juva there in Curitiba. Antonio has been a great friend and influence to me for many years.

The trip was not without hardships. I saw and experienced a few things that affected me deeply. But I learned and practiced trusting God through it.

Joshua Prior and I set out for a big trip in Brazil. We began in the city of Sao Paulo, spending time with a group of youth from our sister church "Casa de Jesus". During our time, we played sports, took them out for pizza and spent much time praying and listening to them share about their lives. These amazing young guys and girls grew up and currently reside in the drug and gang infested slums of Sao Paulo. They see things every day many Americans never have to see in their entire lives. But they are so loving and caring, and strong in the gospel. Along with this, we preached at several churches and cell groups in the Sao Paulo area, and ministered to various individuals throughout the city.

After a week in Sao Paulo, Joshua and I, along with Pastor Dirceu, traveled to the Northern city of Fortaleza for an Iris Ministries missionary conference. During this time, we met many of the leaders and workers of Iris Ministries who invited us to come and minister with them in several cities throughout Brazil. God gave us many words of wisdom and counsel for the various leaders and workers at the conference. Most of them are full time missionaries and have sacrificed nearly everything to be a long term missionary. They appreciate very much when others come to encourage them and assist them in their work. One of the highlights of this portion of the trip occurred when Joshua and I ministered to a man named Janilson who was a bus driver for the missionaries. I led him to Christ in Portuguese, and his face completely changed as he was asking Jesus into his heart. It was amazing to see such a rapid change.

I was alone during the last week of the trip in which I returned to Sao Paulo. God was speaking to my heart about continuing to reach out and love people, even when they rejected me. He reminded me of the passages concerning Him on the cross, how He loved even those who shook their heads at him and helped put him up there.

Joshua and I were busy talking to so many different people about the simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Namely, that He has given us His Holy Spirit who has been given to us to guide and direct us. We spoke to several young teachers at a school who were anxious to know more about how to recognize when it is God’s voice leading them and when it is the voice of deception.

We spent much time with the children as well, both in the village of Chawolo as well as the town of Tororo. We would begin with a Scriptural themed puppet show, which they went completely crazy over. Next we would give our testimonies with an African English accent in order that they could understand us.

In Tororo, we ministered by speaking at the TASO AIDS Clinic as well as by praying for the sick in the general hospital. We spoke to the HIV patients in TASO about our former missions coordinator Mark Carmack who was diagnosed with HIV and given only two years to live. Then we told of how God did a miracle in his life and he ended up living for more than 26 years and became an elder in our church and our missions coordinator.

Neither I, nor Joshua fell ill this time. In fact, we felt so well that we played soccer and Frisbee three times a week with the kids and young men. We were treated very well by our hosts in the village, Tim and Wilma who kept us very well fed.

Tim and Wilma oversee the orphanage and school in Chawolo, and I cannot tell you how much change this place has made in the community. Hundreds of children are getting a world class education that would otherwise have no hope of bettering their lives. The facility they have constructed also offers food for the students and a water well for anyone in the village who needs water.

We also spent time with David and Zipporoh Omalla, the parents of Tim, who have changed countless lives in the country of Uganda. David ministered and translated for us.

One of the biggest highlights of this trip took place in the City of God, which is a very rough favela (slum) in São Paulo, Brazil where many women are left alone with their children and don’t know what to do with themselves. Joshua Prior, a fellow minister in my church, along with myself spoke three times in a soup kitchen in the middle of this favela in which about 20 or 30 women showed up with their little children. Men rarely show up to this soup kitchen service.

As we preached, the love of God moved on us heavy for these women. I gave part of my testimony in Portuguese, without Joshua knowing what I was going to say. Joshua ended up preaching on the same subject of which I was giving my testimony. The subject was how God loves us no matter what we may do, and no one can take this love away from us if we can only receive it. These women were so touched that they were crying and asking us to pray for them and their children. Several of them committed to meeting with each other every week to pray for and help the community which is in miserable condition.

God gave us a very clear message for everywhere we preached. We preached from the book of Romans chapter 7 and 8 which speaks of the Law of the Spirit of Life being greater than the Law of Sin and of Death. What we spoke to most everyone we met was this message, that God loves them and does not judge them according to a harsh law. He loves them right where they are at, and all they need to do is receive it and He will change their lives and heal their hearts. We told them that only His Spirit and His grace could heal their lives and help them to be better people, not their own willpower.

Joshua and I spent a good deal of time walking around the community, praying for people, and inviting people to church. During the services in the favelas, we led one boy to receive the Lord, and spent time ministering to children, teenagers, and older women who poured out their lives.

The time Daniel Prior and myself spent in Brazil was very productive. Before we arrived in São Paulo, a fire had burned down much of the favela of Heliopolis. Over one thousand people lost their homes. We helped round up blankets to distribute to the people as the temperatures dropped rapidly.

The majority of our ministry took place in local churches located in São Paulo and in homes of people we knew. One of the messages which I preached in Portuguese was that of the prodigal son, giving my testimony of how the Lord had mercy on me even after my worldly lifestyle. At times, Daniel and I would preach and minister until nearly midnight. The people of São Paulo were also very much touched by Daniel’s teachings and begged him to return.

We also spent time bringing food into the favelas and ministering to those who live in those areas. Quite a few of them ministered to us, inviting us into their houses and giving us strong Brazilian coffee and the Brazilian specialty feijoada (rice, beans, and pork).

We have made many close friends in Brazil. I keep in constant contact now with several of the people and hope to return soon.

Mark Carmack and myself had an amazing trip preaching, ministering, and watching God perform several miracles in front of our eyes in East Africa. One of the most profound things that happened was watching a child who was paralyzed for one month climb out of the hospital bed and begin walking as we and others were praying for him.

Mark and I were very well-received in the town of Chawolah, Uganda. People were asking us to come to their huts to pray for their relatives, and the children in the orphanage really enjoyed our puppet shows and teaching. In Kenya, we preached at a church that was made entirely out of mud. We were the first white people to preach at that church. The leaders in Uganda and Kenya thanked us for our ministry and time, letting us know that many people have been touched by God.

Mark Carmack had a miraculous life and everywhere we went and preached we saw miracles happening. Mark began the missionary program at our church and was a fearless leader who loved everyone he came into contact with. He trained me how to work hard on the missions field as well as how to enjoy the culture and get to know the people. I was glad to have such an incredible trip with Mark Carmack before the Lord took him home.

— Josh Jordan