Beautiful Brazil
Posted by Pastor Kye
Well, the Brazil has just gotten back safely from the mission trip … Praise God! It was an amazing time in Brazil and we look forward to sharing the stories of the relationships that we built there. But in the meantime, I wanted to share with you what I wrote in their church bulletin to thank them and encourage them.
Beautiful. That’s the one word that keeps coming up in conversations with those who came from America. We see this country and see the mountains, the city, and the food (pão de queijo), and it’s beautiful! I had the privilege of coming here last September to see firsthand how beautiful Brazil is. And when I went back home, I showed pictures and told everyone. When I told the team of 12 people that came from our church how beautiful everything is, I’m sure they believed me. But when they saw it firsthand, like I did, they were just as amazed at everything as I was. I heard comments from our team like, “If I wasn’t Korean or American, I would want to be Brazilian!” Or one team member asking a Brazilian if they wanted his return ticket to America, because he wanted to stay here. We have truly fallen in love with the beauty of Brazil. But as beautiful as Brazil is, there has been something more beautiful.
We have been blown away by your hospitality and generosity. The selflessness of your church community has been amazing. From allowing us to stay in your homes, to making sure that we have delicious meals, to building relationships and friendships, it truly has been a blessing. The most beautiful thing about our experience here in Brazil has been YOU.
That has been our prayer as well. We don’t have much to offer, but we came here hearing in Isaiah 52:7, “How BEAUTIFUL on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” Our prayer was for us to have beautiful feet! We pray that as we spent time with the kids in the baseball clinics this week, that God was glorified and that we were able to partner up with you in bringing good news and proclaiming that “God reigns!”
We have been praying for you and your congregation. We know that you are going through and will be going through some challenging times as a church as you move locations and transition to another place. But I trust in God’s word that He will make all things BEAUTIFUL in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). I pray that GOD would use this time to unite you together as a community and a time where your trust and confidence in God would grow. We will continue to commit to praying for you.
More than anything, all of this is a testimony of how BEAUTIFUL our God is. How incredible and mighty our Savior is. And how powerful the Spirit is in all of our lives. I pray that we would glorify our Heavenly Father, who doesn’t see us as who we WERE, but who we ARE in His eyes … beautiful.
Rev. Kye S. Chung
Lead Pastor of Binnerri English Ministry
