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So out we headed on the first day in Curitiba, full of expectation, and clueless as to the how/what/where of what would happen… Ofelia got us off to a fast start, as we grabbed a breakfast in a local lanchonette (informal cafe/restaurant) – chatting to a journalist and advertising Lingua Clara, as well as a few other locals in the shop.

We got onto a tourist bus that does a circuit around the city, and were privileged to experience a city even more beautiful and interesting than we’d expected – art galleries, historic buildings, beautiful homes, parks, great views… We chatted with a family on the bus from Barcelona (ola, Ozzy!), who were in town for a wedding. Everyone seems very intruiged by why we’re here – ironically, we have more of an open door in engaging people in conversation than someone from Brazil, as people are very interested in why we’re here, and why we’d come…

We were upstairs on a bus, and there is a camera feed to the conductor downstairs, to make sure everything is ok. Ewen went downstairs and commandeered the microphone, and we all put on a bit of a show for the locals…

After some lunch and prayer in the beautiful botanical gardens, we took the next step and started to engage people and tell them about Jesus. The girls got off to a start with some teenagers playing cards (Ofelia’s Portuguese is amazing!), and Ewen and Paul got hold of two young guys, one of whom was backslidden – it was amazing how the conversation shifted from casual, to a place where these guys were experiencing conviction – I asked if we could pray a quick prayer with them, and they said “yes!” and put their arms around us, so there we were in the park praying for them. Amazing to see God bring conviction on people.

Zeca (our friend from Sao Paulo who has come to help us meet and talk to people) brought over 3 teenage girls to join the conversation – interesting the way God sometimes singles out a specific person, one of the girls, Bruna, has just started reading a Christian book, and that morning they were talking about finding a church etc, and at school they’ve just been learning about Christian influence in South Africa! She was very open and impacted, and insisted on getting hold of contact details. We have her a South African R1 coin, and told her there was accommodation waiting for her in Cape Town if she wanted to come stay.

After a stop at an art museum, and Kev and Paul engaging some muso’s over a guitar, we climbed on a bus to head to the Italian Gastronomical sector in town, and there were a whole lot of Brazilians from up north on the bus. Again, God opened doors, and soon we were finding out about them, asking questions about church, taking photos, exchanging contact details, and even singing Brazilian/South African songs! It was about a 45 minute trip, and we all had so much fun together, an had some good moments of making people from Mormon and Catholic backgrounds thing about Christianity in a different light. Here Zeca (our friend) is preaching to the guys…

After an amazing Italian dinner, we headed back to our hotel rooms, and spent a few moments in prayer, thanking God for small beginnings in a big city and massive nation, and asking for more favour and faith for the next day!

Thanks for all the prayers, we’ve experienced such grace and favour here, and we know it has a lot to do with faithful people teaming with us in prayer back home!

Love you guys,

The GCI Brasileiros

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