Brasil 2004: Addendum from Brasil
Two girls with considerable native background reflect in a Chapel in a public park in Cuabatão.
I am sending this addition to those of you who are Christian brothers and sisters who I think might be encouraged most to hear about how God is moving here in Brazil in the last few years.
Back in 1998, the Baptist Church of Lagoinha in Belo Horizonte (the third largest city in Brazil) recorded a CD of its worship songs in their church. They have a woman there that is a very talented song writer. She started with a desire to do for Portuguese worship music what Hill Song in Australia has been able to do for English language worship music. Their CD included a Portuguese version of Hill Song's Shout to the Lord. They named this CD Diante do Trono (In the presence of the throne) and thought they might sell a few copies.
The CD proved popular. It is still on the market here in Brazil. They then recorded a second CD they called Diante do Trono 2, and it also proved popular.
In 2000, they recorded a third CD during a special time of worship, and 70,000 people from all over Brasil came to their church to form the chorus that was recorded.
No longer thinking small, for recording the fourth CD they rented out the estàdio do Mineirão. As you can imagine, in Brasil there are many large futebol stadiums. Some 210,000 people came for a special 14 July 2001 night filled with worship.
This past week, I purchased CD number 5. I had been unable to purchase it on my previous visit, but I had heard rumors of it. 13 July 2002: the church worship group performed during yet another special evening performance, but this time they did not perform in Belo Horizonte. Instead, the performed on the Esplanada dos MinistÈrios in Brasilia, the capital city of Brasil. This is something like our reflecting pool and mall in Washington DC. The city was designed from the start to be a prime example of secular modernism. Some 1,200,000 people are thought to have showed up on the Esplanada for the recording of Diante do Trono 5, and dancing in honor of the Lord among the structures designed to encourage thoughts that God is outdated.
While talking to the Christian store owner where I bought the CD, I was told "You know they just finished recording CD number 7?" That's right! It has developed into a pattern of sometime in early or mid July, hasn't it. "Yes, and millions came this time. It will take at least another month before the CDs are ready for sale though."
I don't even know where CD number 7 was recorded yet, but it seems obvious that the hand of God has touched the ministry of that church. These are not professional Christian musicians that run around the country giving concerts. They have become a little more commercialized as time has gone on (they had to be in order to meet the demands for people wanting to buy their CDs), but for the most part they are still just a worship team at a Baptist church in Belo Horizonte.