Today I have my mind on my mother. She is 91 and filled with the presence of God. You can come into her house and she will tell you what the Lord has been trying to tell you for a long time. She can “read your mail.” Those of you who have gone to Brazil and met her will attest to what a blessing she is to so many.

My mother is Dutch. Her family immigrated to Brazil and became coffee plantation owners. They managed thousands of acres of land with rows that seemed to stretch on for miles.

One night, my father and I had an experience about darkness. I could not go to sleep in the dark. I felt abandoned and afraid to look at the window at night. My mother told me that my father was going to take me out from the house, a large 15-room plantation style house, and walk with me in the dark. As I held my father’s hand firmly, we began to walk between the coffee plants. We walked for 10 minutes and it became so dark that only the light of the moon showed us where we could step.

After a while, Dad said to me, “Now, son, I want you to walk with your eyes closed for a while and I am right here with you.” As I walked, he would correct my walk to stay within the row. He kept on talking with me saying that God is like this. When you walk through the valley of death in the dark, His voice is constant and never stops guiding you. After a while, Dad stopped talking but still I knew where to go because I could hear his footsteps.

To this day, when I am facing a difficult situation, I remember my father and mother telling me that to walk with God is like hearing His voice and His footsteps in the dark. From that day on I lost my fear of darkness. Some days when I wake up early, I actually go outside and walk in the dark. I still hear the voice of God trying to calm me down or telling me something about the need of some person.

Are you afraid of life? Are you afraid of the dark? Walk with God and He will talk with you in the middle of the darkness.

Thank you, Mom, for loving me and caring for me. You make a great impact in my life to this day.

Rick Bonfim

I know these are times of refreshing and times of great blessings. This last month Mary Lucy and I added to our family two grandchildren, Daniel Owen Iannarone and Sofia Carolina Bonfim. Daniel is tender and sweet and is filled with wisdom. Sofie rejoices and sings soprano. Ho! My God, how great is Thy goodness to us. This brings us to six grandchildren in our family! Hallelujah!

Can a child be strong in spirit? Why is it that a child can become worried and apprehensive about little things in their world? Is there a factor that makes a child grow up strong in the sight of God? John the Baptist grew strong in spirit and in the sight of God. Elizabeth and Zechariah were convinced that the presence of the angel in the most holy place was a sign that John would be a servant of God in the near future. 

We, as parents and grandparents, sometimes think that our influence is not necessarily welcome by a baby of such an early age. We see things such as diapers, feeding time, toys, and pediatricians as the most important things, but there are spiritual factors which can change a child’s maturation and growth. Here are some of these factors:

1-A child has a small and tender spirit. What makes a child grow in the spirit is not the type of milk they receive or nursery care. It is their time hearing the Word. Just because they cannot understand language does not necessarily mean their spirits cannot hear the Word of God. My mother read the Bible to me when I was 3 days old. In weeks, that screaming baby tenor began to go to sleep and rest. The spirit of a child hears! The spirit of a child sings! The spirit of a child smiles! The spirit of a child cries!

2-Babies are not helpless beings. They can defend themselves with loud cries that will make the strongest dad pray for peace. As babies grow, so do their spirits. When a father speaks peace, tenderness, affection, love and gentleness to a baby, that baby responds! I have met fathers who will not hold a baby for fear they will drop them! How must a baby feel when their own father cannot hold them! If your baby is crying a lot it is not necessarily that something is wrong with the milk; it could be that you have not FED THEIR SPIRITS!

3-I was born at 12:15 a.m.on the 1st of January, 1944. The distance from the parsonage to the church was 20 feet.  As soon as I was born, my father brought me to the pulpit of the little Methodist church. The church was filled with people. My father consecrated me to the ministry 15 minutes after my birth. Let me ask you this question,”Why you do not prophecy over your child?” Why do you doubt that the words of your mouth will create out of nothing a future for your child which will insure that no weapon formed against them will prosper? Why not say to your child, “You are a gift of God and I speak peace and joy to you and victory to you, and may your spirit grow in this house. I will sing to you and pray with you and spend time with you.”

I did that for my children when they were babies. Every one of them heard my voice singing when they were babies! Their spirits are mature and growing in God! Hallelujah!

Rick Bonfim