World Challenge’s partners in Brazil are working with communities to care for those who are ostracized and unloved.

Macumba is an old, spiritual practice in parts of Brazil, a blend of Portuguese Catholicism, ancient indigenous superstitions and witchcraft practices brought by slaves from West Africa. 

The team in Brazil has turned to God for instruction and blessings as their country has locked down and anxiety rules the world around them.

Local communities in Brazil are taking the initiative to continue learning and find ways of thriving despite the COVID-19 lockdowns.

This has been a challenging time for so many of us. Lives have been upended; jobs have been lost, and celebrations have been postponed or canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions. Jacob’s Well communities in Brazil have faced similar challenges, compounded by poverty and limited health care access.

A man and his wife had to move away from their hometown, but God put a burden on their hearts for their neighbors and then opened a door.

The year of 2020 started with good news for our team in Brazil. For two years, we have been doing development work in a community called Terra Nova in the city of Morada Nova, Ceará. We wanted to build up the church and Christian community in this area.

Brazil’s drought-stricken regions are experiencing new life through the hard work of World Challenge’s partner.

A lack of water affects everything in a community from basic health and sanitation to education and employment.

Clean water, as a basic human need, is foundational to building healthy communities. Meeting the physical need for water opens doors for people to receive what they thirst for most: living water.

Church leaders in Brazil are looking for ways to build up children and teenagers as vital ministry workers. 

The ministry of Jacob’s Well extends throughout northern Brazil, sharing the gospel alongside helping people get access to the clean water but also teaching them new agricultural practices, hygiene lessons and other community skills.

Reading lessons are one of their programs, meant to combat the high levels of illiteracy in Brazil’s rural areas. 

Out of desperation, one little girl cried out to God to heal her father and her family.

Walking down a dusty sunbeaten road outside of Fortaleza, you might not realize that you’re only a half an hour drive from those gorgeous white beaches where the world’s top athletes played volleyball in the 2016 Olympics. 

The world may not see the desperate circumstances of the rural poor—but God has not forgotten these precious ones.  We have prayed for new opportunities to bring gospel hope to Latin America, and we were blessed to be introduced to Pedro, Cassia, and Robson in tiny Red Malhada, Brazil.