Happy May Day!
As you begin trading out the sweaters for t-shirts and the coats for windbreakers, may you feel the Holy Spirit clothing you in your new attire for the coming season!
Perceiving with open eyes and receiving with open hands the new thing He is doing within and through me has been my experience the last few weeks in Machado, Brazil. (Isaiah 43:19)
God presented Morgan and I with the opportunities (to which we said “Yes!”), and He empowered us to speak in several church leader meetings and on Easter Sunday morning at a local church where the Holy Spirit fell with power and presence, including six people publicly confessing belief in Jesus Christ as Messiah! Glory to God! Driving home afterwards, I voiced the significance that morning will forever hold in my life. Though I don’t yet know the fullness, I trust the work He has begun within me and the receivers of the word I shared Easter 2022 will be carried on to completion for His great Name’s sake!
When the Lord starts a new thing, the redemptive gift of Giver (Romans 12) has a special anointing to steward the birthing and nurture the new life to a mature level so that it becomes self-sustaining and eventually life-giving itself. As I reflect on the timing of when the Lord brought us to Machado, I believe He intentionally brought two Givers to the birthing of a brand new private, Christian school in order to steward and nurture this new life in the direction of its maturity. (Since we both grew up attending schools similar to this, it’s a match only God could have made for such a time as this!)
The leadership at Covenant School (Colégio Aliança) is walking in step with Jesus, and as I pray for them each night from Colossians 1:9-11, I trust that even as we plan our final classes with our students, goodbye açaí dates, and a last worship night hurrah, the future of this mission is in capable, submitted-to-Jesus hands!
We were invited by a Kenyan friend’s connection to come stay with her for a weekend in Rio de Janeiro. You’ll notice a theme in my Brazil mission: timing. Because of the calendar, Carnival in Brazil is always in February. They postponed for Covid-19 issues this year. Completely unaware, we booked our bus to Rio for a weekend in April…the same weekend they rescheduled Carnival to take place! We were able to pray over and bless the people with the knowledge and revelation of God through the blood and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. We prayed over and blessed the city and the land from the high point of Cristo Redentor and the strategic coastlands. On Sunday morning we found an English-speaking church to fellowship with and share glory stories. Our host works for the Brazilian Air Force, and our moments together encouraged each other in our faith and hope for the Lord to move in our futures.
I could tell stories in detail of each of the following, but I will bullet point them for now. If the Spirit highlights one within you to ask for more, I will be happy to share!
• First Presbyterian Church youth night leaders encouragement from Isaiah 49:16 and Romans 8 and prayer together.
• Onda Dura leaders encouragement from Exodus 17:8-15; we bear burdens together and ultimately the battle is the Lord’s.
• Teaching Bible stories in our English classes while having them act out and play review games (The intention in these last few weeks is to act out the Gospel and invite our students into a saving relationship with God.)
• Prophetic activation with our classes, praying over students’ health and their families with them.
• Praying with our host family’s live-in housekeepers’ children.
• Harp and Bowl worship on the farm with ukulele (The sound in this valley carries! Our worship with the Word is shifting the atmosphere from seedy to spirit of joy and restoration!)
• A girl’s back pain was healed after praying for her during an English class
• Physical healing and mental healing testimonies from our Easter Sunday morning at Quadrangular Church. The Holy Spirit came and filled believers (Acts 2:1-4), and there was a woman delivered from an entity that was not bowed to Jesus so it had to go.
• Four men and two women confessed new salvation in Jesus Christ that morning at Quadrangular Church…glory to Jesus!!!
Prayer Points: (Please be praying with us for these! I am expectant of how the Lord will move, and I will share the glory stories as they roll in.
• English Class salvation stories
• Weekend (May 19-24) in Salvador to bless the Pastor and his wife there, their son and daughter, and the church
• Time with Lara, Kity, Duda, Vitoria, Hawi, Pastor Arruda and Miriam, Luiza, Julia and Davi, Bianca and Isaac and baby Mariana, Pastor Eduardo and Angela, Pastor Fabiano and Alessandra
• More healing and deliverance testimonies
• Continued shift in Machado’s atmosphere from hopelessness to life, purpose, faith as their substance, hope as their anchor
To God be all the glory, for He has saved me by His grace! I am renewed in Christ each day, and Holy Spirit equips me for the work planned for me. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
May God bless you, keep you, and shine the Light of his Face upon you today.
stay lovely,
the tall girl
the tall girl tells all 
Thanks for sharing Kelli Girl.
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Thanks Kelli for your faithfulness and sharing His testimony through your Service. Can’t wait to see you at the Y and hear more of what you experienced!
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