Nelio’s Church

“May the peace of the Lord Jesus be with you, sister!  How is your health and how is God’s work going?”  I didn’t recognize the number from which the text originated, so I asked who was contacting me.  The sender responded that he was Pastor Nélio, adding, “You’re right, you don’t know me, but I’d like to meet you one day for the honor and glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”  Unenthralled by such a gushing greeting from a stranger in a society where a single white foreigner is prime romantic material, I proceeded to inquire how he’d obtained my number.  He explained that he’d conversed with a pastor in a different town whose church I’d visited months previously and wanted me to visit his church too.  When I questioned the purpose of such a visit, he said that of course I’d preach; and when I replied that that wasn’t my role as a woman, he told me that I could teach the women.  So I suggested that he invite the ladies of his church to my ladies’ Bible study – half-hoping that would end my contact with him.

That was in 2024.  To my surprise, Nélio’s wife Isaura and her friend Farizana did in fact participate in my ladies’ study for several weeks, and I appreciated their eagerness to learn from the Bible.  Nélio began messaging me occasionally with updates and photos from his ministry.  He and Isaura attended an informational meeting about our women’s Bible reading clubs and enrolled their church in the program.  At my invitation, they both volunteered at our 2025 pastors’ conference, and came over on a different day to share their testimonies with me.  Nélio repeatedly requested employment, but I had none to offer him; yet our friendly acquaintance continued.  The couple kept inviting me to visit their church and their home, so a few months ago, I finally scheduled my visit:  August 30, 2026.

Alberto is a mature brother in Christ from two provinces away whom I met several years ago at a women’s seminar at which we both taught.  He married Jessica in February of this year, and in June they arrived for a four-month stint at our organization to help us prepare and run our annual conference.  I invited the couple to accompany me to Nélio’s church, and they accepted.  Best of all, Nélio asked Alberto to preach, and he agreed!  I thanked God for this opportunity to expound the Biblical gospel to a congregation that may not necessarily be well-versed in it.

A few days before the visit, a sore throat shot my voice down to a whisper.  When Pastor Nélio called me that Saturday evening, instead of answering, I texted him about my condition, confirming our visit for the following day and asking him to message me instead of calling if he had something to communicate.  He responded, “We’re praying for you and your team.  May God send you healing.  By midnight, this congestion behind you!  May you not come tomorrow with this pain.  In the supreme authority and power of our Lord Jesus Christ, I decree and declare you healed.”  Amused, I replied, “I trust that our sovereign God sent this cold for a good purpose, and I’m happy to remain ill for as long as He deems best” – to which Nélio simply answered, “Amen”.  I rejoiced that the Lord could use my discomfort as a testimony to the pastor regarding a Christian response to suffering.

On Sunday morning, I was still voiceless, but I picked up Alberto and Jessica at the specified time and drove to the school that Pastor Nélio had indicated.  In typical local style, upon arrival at the landmark, we called him for further directions, and he described the path we should follow to where he was waiting for us.  Sure enough, we encountered him by the roadside, and he entered the vehicle to guide us the rest of the way to his church’s meeting place.  It was a spacious concrete-block structure with a metal roof.  The congregation of about 50 adults and 25 children sang to welcome us as Nélio ushered us to the front row, where a small, low table was provided for our Bibles and bags.

Like most local churches, this one sang a lot during the service.  Choirs of adults, youth, and children presented several numbers each, in addition to various congregational songs.  Pastor Nélio waxed eloquent about my having left the comforts of the United States to serve the Lord in Africa, and he called my companions and me up to the stage to introduce ourselves – though since I couldn’t talk, Alberto spoke for the three of us.  Two other visitors were also recognized.  During the offering, everyone sang as givers danced forward to drop their coins into one of two buckets:  the leaders contributed in one and everyone else in the other.

As I had hoped, Alberto’s sermon was indeed dynamic and gospel-focused.  Using John 10:15-16, he explained how the despised tax-collectors in the Jewish society could be among the lost sheep that Jesus came to call.  He described God’s overarching, eternal plan to save His elect.  He spoke of the crushing weight of our sin before a holy God and the folly of hoping that our good works counteract our bad ones.  He proclaimed Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross, His resurrection, and His ascension; and he called his hearers to urgently trust in Christ for salvation because no one knows the day of his death.  Praise be to God for raising up men to preach His salvation!

As the service ended, Nélio’s wife Isaura presented me with a gift.  Following local tradition, I didn’t open it until later.  W/hen I did, I was delighted to find a large, sturdy water bottle – something I had been needing! – custom-printed with my name and Romans 1:16:  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”  I couldn’t have said it better myself!

With customary African hospitality, our hosts had prepared lunch for us to enjoy with their congregation after the service.  A floral cloth graced the plastic table where Alberto, Jessica, and I sat with Nélio and Isaura, while everyone else ate without tables on the same plastic chairs that they’d used during worship.  We served our plates from platters heaped with rice, beans, chicken, lettuce salad, and cabbage salad, and drank coke, juice, and bottled water.  I was humbly grateful for the sacrifice that this meal represented from folks whose means are meager.  Though my hoarseness prevented me from participating in the conversation, I was happy that the two couples dining with me could become acquainted.

We took a photo together, said goodbye (I through gestures!), and took our leave.  Nélio and Isaura joined us in my vehicle to guide us back out of the neighborhood and to show us their home.  Our stop there was brief:  we entered the concrete structure that is still under construction, and at Nélio’s request, Alberto prayed for God’s blessing on the home, family, and ministry.  Then our hosts waved us off with smiles as we headed home.  

Pray for Nélio and Isaura, that they and their congregation would internalize the message of salvation through faith in Christ that Alberto preached today.  Pray also for God’s blessing on Alberto and Jessica’s new marriage and whatever ministry He may call them to pursue, and that He would provide permanent employment once their time at our organization ends in October.  Feel free to pray that I’ll get my voice back too – in God’s timing, of course!