Sunday Worship with FBC Pinhiero

1 Igreja Batista na Vila do Pinhiero isn't far from the entrance to the favela.

The people there are warm and kind. Each day during the week several church members would join us each day as we went door to door telling people about God's love and how they could know Jesus in a personal way as their Savior and Lord. Pray for them as they follow up on the many who prayed to accept Christ. It is difficult for people to feel comfortable joining a church because they know they have to quit smoking and drinking. We kept telling them we weren't there to have them join a church or start following a set of rules, but we wanted them to know Jesus.

The service Sunday morning began with some congregational singing.

Hmmmm, can't find a picture. They sang wonderfully. They used an overhead projector for the words and sang with some accompaniment tracks. They had a couple of guys and Ii think I remember three girls leading - singing in microphones. This is a picture of the congregation as we read Psalm 145.

Scripture reading. A testimony. A prayer. The man in the yellow shirt is their Associate Pastor. The Senior Pastor was out of town.

Our mission team sang "How Great Is Our God".

I played "Amazing Grace" in Portuguese. This violin belongs to Ray's son. It is a wonderful instrument.

Then I preached. Tulio, who had been my interpreter all week, was my interpreter Sunday morning as well. He did a great job.

The church members presented us with gifts after the service. The painting was done by the guy in the middle. He was the church member that went with Cheryl and I each day. His wife (on his right) crocheted the edges of the dishcloths. It was so wonderful to get handmade presents.

After church we went to a Mexican restaurant and met up with the medical mission team from Atlanta that was just beginning their mission.

Then we shopped a little at the Hippy Feira (an outdoor area - I would describe it as a bazaar.) We bought t-shirts for our grandchildren.

They had a lot of beautiful paintings.

I REALLLLLLY wanted one of these bamboo saxophones. They were sooooo cool! Some were shaped like clarinets too. But they were R100 (which is about $70). I figured Mike wouldn't be too happy if I used the church credit card to buy one - but it was very tempting...

We ended up the day with a wild ride to the airport. I guess the driver thought we were behind schedule. I don't think the van had any shocks. If you've ever ridden The Runaway Mine train at Six Flags over Texas you have an idea. Wheeeeeee! It seems faster in the tunnels.

Tomorrow I'll post about our adventure coming home titled Surviving the Streets of Rio Only to Almost Die on I-24. You won't want to miss it.

Here's a picture of Ray and Sharron Fairchild, the missionaries we partnered with.