(written by Mary Beeke)
We are thinking it is Joel’s twelfth trip to Brazil, and it is my fourth. We met in Detroit, him flying in from Seattle and me from Grand Rapids, then on to São Paulo on an 11-hour overnight flight. Four hours by car—hills and curves—brought us to Águas de Lindóia, where the FIEL Conference is held. In total, it was a 31-hour trip for my husband, and 25 hours for me. The place and the people have become pleasantly familiar. This year’s conference drew 1900 people at which time they cut off the registration due to lack of accommodations for more people. About 70% of the attendees are pastors and their wives. Five to six thousand people heard the addresses through livestreaming. Many thousands more will tune in in due course, we were told. God is doing great things in Brazil.
FIEL Conference Attendees
This year’s theme was “The Work of the Holy Spirit.” Kevin DeYoung spoke on how the Holy Spirit speaks to us, the Spirit’s role in our holiness, and on the conscience. R.C. Sproul Jr. spoke on the Holy Spirit as Lord and Giver of life and on sanctification. You may recall R.C. lost his wife about two years ago to leukemia. Their eight children range in age from 4 to 20 now. He spoke of how God is glorified through struggles, and that He sends trials for our good and for His glory. Deep ways—I can’t imagine. The tears flowed—his and ours. The Brazilian speakers were Davi Charles Gomes, Franklin Ferreira, Leandro Lima, Mauro Meister, and Silas Campos. Skilled interpreters were Heber Campos Jr. and Eros Pasquini.
Most of the FIEL Speakers and Wives
Joel’s first two addresses were on the importance of the Holy Spirit’s saving work and on the Spirit’s role in bringing believers to full assurance of faith. For his last address, which was the closing address of the conference, he decided to change it to something that the people could go home with, something to encourage and inspire them, something to apply all the other messages to their hearts. The Lord helped him in a wonderful way as he preached from Revelation 21:1–8 on the glory that awaits God’s people as the culmination of the Holy Spirit’s saving work in their lives.
It was great for us to meet old friends again. Joel enjoyed seeing Augustus Nicodemus Lopes again, a friend who served as president of Mackenzie University for ten years and is now pastoring a church of twelve hundred. We are also very fond of Bill and Mary Barkley. Bill translated and published Meet the Puritans in Portuguese. What warm, loving friends they are! And of course, we again enjoyed immensely our time with Tiago Santos and Rick Denham, able leaders of FIEL.
PRTS Alumnus Roberto Azevedo and Wife Marta. God has used them to plant 8 churches in Brazil.
Between the addresses, many people like to have their pictures taken with the speakers, have them sign books, and show appreciation and affection. There was lots of boisterous talking, smiling, and hugging. My husband’s new book, in Portuguese, Puritan Reformed Spirituality, sold 650 copies, and his Living for God’s Glory sold 300 copies. It is very special to hear how God has used books and past sermons and addresses to touch people’s lives. A sampling of some of the stories we heard were:
- Two formerly Pentecostal pastors told Joel that reading Living for God’s Glory was used by God to enable them to fully embrace Calvinism, which has transformed their lives and ministries.
- Several people told Joel that after his talk on family worship a few years back that they started family worship for the first time and were blessed in doing so. Others revived the practice. One brother told Joel movingly that his quotation of Thomas Brooks that a family without daily prayer is like a house without a roof exposed to all the storms of heaven deeply convicted him. He started doing family worship again, and his family’s life has been transformed.
- One husband told my husband that the Holy Spirit used his and Steve Lawson’s addresses two years ago to deliver his wife from spiritual bondage. She found freedom in the gospel for the first time in her life.
- One woman told us with tears how my husband’s address on the Spirit’s work in bringing His people to heaven where they will gaze on His face forever was an overwhelming blessing to her. She also said that a blind man sat next to her and wept throughout the address, longing for the day when he will be able to see Christ forever.
- Several ladies told me how my book on kindness and speeches a few years ago impacted their family life.
(to be continued in part 2)
