The Apostolic Faith work was established in two cities of Brazil, Brasilia and Fortaleza, following some years of contact by mail, and the visit of a headquarters representative, Reverend Sam Ajayi, in April of 2007. The group in Brasilia is comprised of mostly Apostolic Faith Church members from Africa who are on work assignments in Brazil. The Fortaleza group consists of Brazilians. Nivaldo Piexoto, who has been in contact with the Apostolic Faith headquarters in Portland, Oregon, for about twenty years, is the leader of the group in Fortaleza.

Following Reverend Ajayi’s initial visit, the group in Brasilia has spearheaded an effort to translate the Apostolic Faith Sunday school curriculum into Portuguese. A weekly Sunday school conference has also been established between Portland headquarters and the groups in Brasilia and Fortaleza, which has gone very well.

Fortaleza is the capital city of the state of Ceará in the northeastern corner of Brazil. It is a sprawling city of about two-and-a-half million people, and is the fifth largest city in Brazil. The Apostolic Faith Church group is located in Jurema, one of the suburbs of Fortaleza. Jurema is one of the poor sections of the city, but the people there have received the Gospel gladly.

Reverend Ajayi made a second trip to Brazil at the end of July, 2008. Most of the first week of his visit was devoted to some one-on-one teaching with Nivaldo, and the selection of new church workers—mainly Sunday school teachers. This was followed by two weeks of teaching and evangelistic services in the evenings. The teaching topics included: The Three Basic Christian Experiences of Salvation, Sanctification, and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit; Consecration; Tithing and Offerings; and Marriage. The Lord blessed in all of these services, and at the end of the first week, one of the women who had attended all the meetings was disappointed that there would not be a meeting on Saturday because of the Sunday school conference. She was delighted when she heard that there would be another week of meetings! The peak attendance was a little less than forty people during both weeks.

The Lord is blessing the Sunday school effort in Fortaleza. When they started their Sunday school, only two children attended the first Sunday. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, the children were challenged to invite their friends and neighbors. The following Sunday, seventeen children came to Sunday school! That number has held steady since then. The adult Sunday school class has been blessed with a gifted teacher. As a result of the growing attendance, Sunday mornings have been devoted entirely to Sunday school. The children have their class from 8:30 to 9:30, and the adult class is conducted between 10:00 and 11:00. The children are also enthused about learning music, and Lord willing, the hope is to start the children in learning some rudimentary instruments before long.

Around fifteen minutes before the evening services begin, prayer requests are read and those in attendance take these requests to the Lord in prayer. It is heartwarming to witness how the people have also adapted to praying after the service. The people gather at an altar bench, and they usually pray between thirty and forty-five minutes after each service.

The music in the Fortaleza church services is very mellow. Nirvando leads the song services and Nivaldo accompanies on the guitar. Most of the songs and choruses are familiar, though they are sung in Portuguese.

During the second week of Reverend Ajayi’s visit, he and others embarked on neighborhood evangelism, distributing tracts and sharing the Gospel with the people in that vicinity. They also visited with some of the people who had just started coming to the church. One man whom they shared the Gospel with was very impressed and voiced his appreciation by saying, “Most missionaries come here after the church has grown, but your organization has come to establish a church among our people. Thank you, and I promise to come sometime.”

One of the most humbling moments during Reverend Ajayi’s visit to Brazil was when the interpreter, who had witnessed all the meetings, asked this poignant question: “How come your church has not been in Brazil until now?” He appreciated hearing about the Latter Rain Gospel, the methods that were used to propagate it, and the reliance on the Spirit of God in every aspect of spreading the Gospel.

The name Fortaleza means “Fortress,” and the city is also nicknamed “Daughter of the Sun” because of its year-round sunny weather. Please pray that the Apostolic Faith work in Fortaleza will be a Gospel “fortress” to many Brazilian souls, and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the Light of the world—will shine brighter in this beautiful city.