Pastor Reinaldo has built the church — the people and the buildings for them.

Reinaldo and Virginia didn’t need Jesus. They had success. But in 1989 an illness in Virginia’s family forced them to leave the big city of Manaus and move to the tiny village of Anã, on the Arapiuns River.

“It was a very difficult time for us,” recalls Reinaldo. “We were not accustomed to life outside the city. I didn’t know how to hunt or fish. At that time, we had three children. Then our youngest got meningitis.”

Their suffering and desperation drove them to a PAZ prayer meeting in Santarém, where they both gave their lives to Jesus. Excited over the new life they found in Him, Reinaldo and Virginia returned to Anã determined to share all that the Lord had done in their hearts!

But the people in Anã were extremely resistant to the Gospel. Other missionaries had at various times tried to start a church there, but the villagers had refused even to let them land their boats.

“It was a shock to the people there when we gave our lives to Jesus,” says Reinaldo. “Many times they threatened me with death. At our first service, they fired five shots at us — two at the boat, and three over our house. There was a strong demonic presence in the community. When girls turned 12 years old, they would be overcome with demons, jumping and dancing in an evil way. Even the name of the village — Anã — comes from the name Moanã, which is a pagan god, or demon.

“Now, looking back, I can see that the spiritual pressure we felt in those days really contributed to our growth,” he adds.

Despite the opposition, Reinaldo and Virginia pressed forward. Often they would pray for the needs of those who persecuted them.

Reinaldo decided to build a little church on the outskirts of the village, thinking it would be distant enough from the community’s center to avoid trouble. Even so, the entire town leadership came out to the site with shotguns to try to stop him.

But Reinaldo stood his ground. “I told them that they could tear out the posts that I’d set for the building, but that I’d just build another one in the center of the community. At that, they gave up.”

But how were Reinaldo and Virginia to reach the hearts of these people with the Gospel?

Through prayer, they discovered that God indeed had a plan.

Anã was in desperate need of a government health agent to care for their many sick. Because of Reinaldo’s advanced education, the community leaders asked him if he’d be willing to complete the necessary training. Soon, he qualified himself for the post and was attending all the families in Anã, developing friendships and engendering trust.

One by one, the people of Anã came to the Lord through Reinaldo and Virginia's witness.

“One by one the people began to come to Christ,” says Reinaldo. “After four families converted, they asked me to move the church’s gathering place closer to the village center. But each time we brought up the subject at the community meetings, there was a big argument. A year later, after a huge fight, they decided to allow us to move the church to a piece of land closer to the village.”

The church in Anã grew like wildfire. “On weekends, after working at the health post during the week, I would visit other communities, evangelizing. I started seven churches!”

After receiving Bible training, Reinaldo was ordained as a full-time PAZ pastor, and founded a regional training center in Anã. By the grace of God, he now has supervision over 87 PAZ churches on the Arapiuns, the Tapajós, and portions of the Amazon River, with a network of volunteer leaders working under him.

One Response to “Gospel Power”

• Emory Guinn
  Apr 03, 2010

  It is truly encouraging to see and hear the great work that our Lord is doing in Brazil. God is truly a Gracious God. The fact that God in His mercy would look to people who are rebellious to Him and have no desire to worship Him and then change many hearts and bring new life just puts blows me away. I came to Brazil at the beginning of April in 2009 for a 2 week mission trip and was blown away by how he was moving in the Amazon Basin. I pray that the Lord would have mercy on America as He has in Brazil. I look forward to possibly doing an internship with PAZ some time in the future. Stories like this only heighten my interest in serving with PAZ. Perhaps He will lead me back to Brazil. In the mean time I pray for the Lord’s will in my life wherever He may lead. I pray for the PAZ church constantly. Bless you all and may the Lord do even greater things in Brazil. Hope you all grow much as we observe Christ’s death and resurrection over the next few days.