Jesusluvsall's Blog

It’s hard to believe it has been four years already since we had a couple of hundred Brazilian students studying at the university here in a program that was called cientistas sem fronteiras. It was a program Brazil had to send undergraduates to another country to study for one year.

One day in late August 2014, I went to have lunch with a visiting professor from Brazil, my friend Rodrigo. We went to the student union and as we were getting out lunch, I heard some people speaking Portuguese. I turned around and greeted them and introduced myself in Portuguese. That began a year of getting to know many of them and friendships forming.

God connected all the dots for it to happen. I went to Brazil in June 2013 and as a result of the trip studied Portuguese for one year. My church has sent groups to Brazil each year for many years which include high school students, so we had many university students at my church who had been to Brazil. In November 2014, we had our first lunch at church for Brazilian students to meet the American students at my church.

We had three specials lunches that school year for our Brazilian friends. It was a wonderful year with them. Sadly, the program was canceled due to economic crisis in Brazil, but we had a year together that I will never forget.

That year actually began one year before when in pray, I felt God show me that he wanted me to study Portuguese. It also began before that with Brazilian friends I had met before. It also began with my first trip to Brazil.

God will guide us to do things that lay the groundwork for future opportunities that we have no idea will happen. When I registered for my Portuguese class in August 2013, I had no idea my life would be blessed by meeting so many friends from Brazil the following year.

It reminds me of what Ephesians 2 says:

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

God knew my Brazilian friends would come and put pieces together for me to be prepared for that special year.

If we follow those promptings from God, they can lead to wonderful adventures.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.