I want a heart like that!

I thought that I would take a little break from all the crazy stories of life in Brazil and family stuff and share with you all about a person that I admire. It is true that Nathan and I are blessed by everyone in the church body but I want to introduce you to someone that inspires me. Someone that I look at and say “Wow, I want to be like her”. Maybe she will encourage one of you.

Dona Maria is one of my very favorite people that I have ever met. She is about the age of my Grandmas, she is tiny, a little loud, and can break into dance at just about any time. She is always making us laugh and her smile is contagious, these are a few of the things that I love about Dona Maria but my VERY favorite thing is her heart for the Lord.

Nate and I first met Dona Maria when she gave us the keys to the then abandoned church building that we moved into three years ago. She introduced us to homeless man that she let live in the church, and I could tell then that she had a heart for people.

A few months later Dona Maria came to a bible study that we were having and she pulled Nathan aside. She said “ I have something for you, it is my offering. I have been saving it for a really long time. There used to be a pastor that would come and pick it up from my house but he has not come for a long time.” She then gave Nathan a very heavy envelope filled mostly with change. It added up to be enough to pay about two months rent for the church building. Nate was shocked. He knew that this sweet lady was not by any means rich. She does not have a car, and we had seen her walk to the store in the rain on more than one occasion. In my head I could just picture her getting R$10 and taking R$1 out and saving it for Jesus. It reminded me of the story in the bible about the widow and the two mites. She didn’t have much but she gave all she had. We knew that Dona Maria was a sweet lady but it was not until about a year later that we found out a little bit more about her story.

When Dona Maria’s son was in his early 20’s he was tragically killed in an auto accident. At the time Dona Maria felt the Lord put it on her heart to use the land that was supposed to be for his house, as well as her own money to build a church for the people of Rio Vermelho. The building was started but never finished. You see, Florianopolis is referred to as the “church cemetery” . It is very difficult to grow a church (in the flesh without the Lord) that is capable of supporting itself financially in such a small, poor town. So after seeing this the church body that Dona Maria had given the money to (which will remain nameless) decided that it would be better to focus on a more populated location. Thus the church building was abandoned and locked up.

It would have been easy for Dona Maria to be bitter as her other living son still is. Rather than getting angry that she had been used and abandoned however, she did something that we all so easily forget to do, she prayed. She prayed for years that the Lord would bring someone to open the church and bring the Word of God to the people of Rio Vermelho. When Calvary Chapel Mocamba started renting and fixing up the building she could not have been more excited!

Dona Maria once told Nathan and I “ If my son had to die for ONE soul to come to know Jesus I am happy.”

I want a heart like Dona Maria has, I want to be sold out for Jesus and to be able to honestly say “Not my will Lord but Yours be done.”

Dona Maria is currently co-leading an Art Class at the church for some of the local ladies. It is a group of about 50 older ladies, most of them Catholic. It has been such a blessing for me to hear some of their stories and listen to them talk about what a joy this class is for them. They may not currently have a relationship with Jesus but they know that they see something in the women that are leading this group. It is something that they are starting to realize that they may want for themselves; and that something is Jesus.

Be praying for the Ladies Art Class, for many of the ladies that are attending this may be the only time they will ever listen to anything about Christ. Please be praying for soft hearts for the ladies who are attending and wisdom and boldness for the gals leading the group.