In the midst of the current crisis, René Breuel (Italy) and Oswaldo Prado (Brazil) share an uplifting reflection in live exclusive to Sepal. Check out!
By Fabrícia Oliveira
On Easter Sunday, April 12, René Breuel and Oswaldo Prado, missionaries from Sepal, met in an exclusive live. In the conversation, the leaders shared reflections on the crisis caused by COVID-19 and elucidated learning scans that can be extracted from the situation.
Throughout the conversation, René, founding pastor of Chiesa Hopera in Rome (Italy), and author of the book The Paradox of Happiness (Hagnos), and Oswaldo Prado, coordinator of the mission area of ChildFund and mentor of church planters of the CTPI, brought an uplifting message and encouraging insights so that pastors and brothers can overcome the difficulties of the pandemic. In the end, they left a message of hope in the midst of this sad scenario.
Check out below, a brief summary of what you’ll find in the video.
Phases experienced during the evolution of the crisis: Currently, we are experiencing an accumulation of feelings. During the evolution of the pandemic, it is possible that we have to go through various phases and readaptations, just as it was for René and his family. According to him, we can not “waste this time”, we should seek to “live it well”, even if it lasts a few months. Thus, we need to establish a new routine, live harmoniously in the family, pray and seek God.
Church engaged in helping those who suffer: Many churches had to reinvent themselves and find ways to broadcast services over the Internet and offer help. Considering that both Italian and Brazilian culture are relational, simulating online meetings has been very valid to solve problems, such as anxiety and fear, or even to receive and meet prayer requests. At Chiesa Hopera, herder by René, members created a common financial fund to help people who were unemployed.
See also: Easter Message engraved by the missionaries of Sepal
Inspiration from Scripture: René explains that he has focused his thoughts on the following passage from the book of Jeremiah: “Build houses and settle in them. Plant orchards and eat the fruits they produce. […] Work for the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have deporteded you. Pray for her to the Lord, for your prosperity depends on her prosperity” (Jer 29:5-7, NVT). During this phase of seclusion—which reminds us of an “exile,”—we must reflect on what kind of home we want to build and nurture, what we are willing to plant and cultivate, and think about the kind of person we want to become after that time.
Emotions and attitudes: Loneliness can affect the single and married. Negative thoughts can invade the mind. In a context of quarantine and social isolation, constant companionship can become a burden and generate friction. In this scenario, we must cultivate understanding, communication and, especially, forgiveness.
Suffering and redemption: We had the opportunity to celebrate Easter 2020 even closer to its original meaning. In fact, Easter has in its background a context of suffering: the passion of the Savior. We are accustomed to focusing on the positive on Resurrection Sunday, and we forget the Friday of the cross and the Sabbath of hopelessness, where the whole dream seemed lost and buried.
The pinnacle of redemption is the cross of Christ. We have a God who knows suffering. Given this reality, there is importance in “suffering well”. The purpose of life was not so that we would not go through suffering, but so that, in a redetive way, we could suffer with Christ•
At the end of the live, Pastor René leaves a message to pastors and members on how to “live well” this time. Check out the video now and share it!
