For the past few days, we have had 40 Brazilians staying here at the ranch with us. They are the leaders of a drug rehab center, and they came here for a conference/retreat. We were all really excited when we heard they would be staying with us, because we knew it would be a great chance to learn from them.
The first night that they were getting here, they were planning on arriving around 6 for dinner, and then after that having a service. But in typical Brazilian fashion, dinner started around 10:30 and then the service around 11:30. We had been warned that this is how things work here, but we never expected it to be so extreme. I was assuming it would be a short service due to how late it was, but they clearly didn’t care at all about the time. 3 hours of worship and discussing scripture, and then it was time to call it a night. It was incredible to see the amount of passion in these people, even though everyone was exhausted.
This seemed to be very normal for them, because it continued in this trend the whole time they were here. Each service was about 3 hours long, and they never started or finished on time. They were just so passionate to learn more about God and worship Him, regardless of when or where or how. Even in our times of hanging out and sharing meals together, it was so evident that they truly love God. They are some of the most joyful and loving people I have ever met. Though most of the one-on-one conversations were just lots of hand motions and saying “I don’t understand”, it was so cool to just spend time with them.
I learned a ton from each of the services, but I think what impacted me most was just observing how they live. In America, we always seem to be watching the clock and making sure everything is on time. We have to make sure we are punctual or else it might inconvenience us in getting to our next thing on the agenda. But in observing these Brazilians, they clearly aren’t worried about that. What is most important to them is relationship, and it isn’t measured by time. Even though they might be late or run long in services or something, they are completely there. They aren’t watching the clock to make sure everything is good for time. They are just so satisfied to be exactly where they are.
I have realized that very often in my own life, I so am concerned about being productive that I easily miss out on what God is doing right here, right now. If I can just slow down and be more present in the places I am at, I am sure I will see much more clearly that God truly is always working. The reason I don’t always know that is because I am too preoccupied to even notice. So instead of always looking to what is next, I want to be very purposeful about being completely present wherever I am, because that is where God is working.
God taught us a lot through these Brazilians in the last few days, and I am so excited to go moment-to-moment with Him, knowing He is always there.
