April 23, 2010
By Ruth Davis and Jo Kiel, serving in Brazil
Editor’s Note: Jo Kiel, an Alliance international worker in Brazil, has developed an evangelistic tool in which she demonstrates the use of colors to accentuate outer beauty while introducing women to Jesus, who can make them beautiful on the inside. Recently, Jo and her colleague, Ruth Davis, hosted eight color seminars in São Paulo, where they shared the message of Christ with women from all walks of life. Read about how God is using this dynamic ministry to reach many for His Kingdom.
We want to thank all our friends who prayed for us as we organized eight color events in the past week. Throughout the week, we felt God’s presence and are grateful for your partnership in ministry. In total, 240 women attended, and 51 circled vases on their information sheets, indicating that they wanted to give their hearts to Jesus-to let Him clean up their lives and give them a new flower arrangement.
One presentation, held in a hotel during an afternoon tea, was sponsored by members of a prayer group from a Nazarene church who had prayed and fasted for weeks prior to the event. The results were clearly orchestrated by God. With 70 women present-some bejeweled as they advertised for a jewelry store-it was a tea fit for a queen, with roses at each place setting. We could sense God’s Spirit moving as Jo explained the gospel message. The presence of the Lord was so evident in the place that she had trouble presenting the good news without crying.
A Spiritual Adventure
We developed a tradition of giving a pink women’s devotional Bible during a drawing at the conclusion of each event. The recipients always seem to be handpicked by God, just as we pray they will be. On Saturday in a private home in Alphaville, one young woman was chosen from 20 names to receive the Bible. She told us she had just started going to church with her boyfriend, and it was wonderful to receive the Scriptures.
The young woman brought her mother to the Wednesday event at the church she is attending. That night 70 women attended, and her mother’s name was drawn to receive the pink Bible. Mother and daughter can now read God’s Word and seem to be embarking on a spiritual adventure together.
“The Event of the Year”
Initially, our goal was to reach professional women in Alphaville. But we also accepted an invitation from Baptist missionary friends to present the workshop at a church in a poverty-stricken neighborhood sandwiched between a bar and a bus stop. The women were so grateful that we came, calling it “the event of the year.” They could not afford anything like this, and no one they knew would be willing to travel there for free. Jo said, “If you can afford to buy only one outfit, at least you want to have the right color.” Likewise, all women need Jesus, and if you call on only one name, that better be Jesus.
This outreach also resonates with women who have gone through chemotherapy. One woman came forward at our last event in Alphaville, broken and crying, touched by the message after having survived cancer.
We continue to be amazed by the way God puts all the details together and how we see Him operating in each one of these opportunities. Thanks for praying!
Learn More
Watch a video of Jo Kiel expressing her heart for the women of Brazil.
Check out our Alliance work in Brazil.
What You Can Do
Pray that the women who made decisions for Jesus during this outreach will grow strong in their faith and make disciples within their circles of influence.
Give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries to help bring Christ’s message of redemption to lost people in Brazil and around the world.