How do you like these names: Ubaúna, Tianguá, Araticum?

Weird, huh?

To me, they are some of the sweetest words to roll off my lips. They are all towns in northeastern Brazil where Gospel for Brazil has churches that are up and running. This trip added Araticum and Tianguá into the fold.

Other new names you’ll be seeing me reference in the coming months on a regular basis: Dona Maze, Danilo, Fátima. These are the primary workers in Araticum and Tianguá. I want to so cover them with prayer that they’ll think they’ve been slimed with a molasses balloon!

It’s becoming rather humorous where God is leading us in this region. Instead of the places where we might experience the equivalent of a spiritual slam dunk, we’re being taken into hell holes where darkness rules. Tianguá is the focal point of child prostitution, drug addiction and violent child crime; Araticum is a fortified stronghold of mystical Catholicism that has only a very thin veil of Catholicism overlaying pure spiritism.

We’re not welcome in either place. We’re the cold water on a hot fire, or, in the words of someone that had a better handle on analogies, we are the light in the darkness.

We had almost 200 present in Tianguá and 150 present in Araticum.

Tianguá saw 13 people accepting Jesus and approximately 35 healed of some pretty significant issues. Araticum had everything working against it: rain on an outside service, no cords for microphones and guitars, sick team members, hostile locals but ended up pulling a standing room only crowd that overflowed up and down the street.

Now add these to the list of funny sounding places: Aroeiras, Coreaú, Frecheirinha.

1, 2, 3… Go!