Yesterday we had 2 laptops stolen during the night while we were asleep in our house, so when we got up they were missing. By the end of the day the laptops had returned. This involved waiting around, conversing with people who you do not normally want to meet and praying. I´m unwilling to post the details on a blog where everyone in the world can read but it was a strange and interesting day and even as I write this I am unsure what to make of it. What I did hear during the day were 3 testimonies from 3 completely different people as to what they are now doing with their life, several years after spending some time at the Lighthouse (Luzeiro).

1) The first I heard was from a Judo / Ju Jitsu instructor who came to the house to ask if he can use some of our space to hold some classes . He said that he was here 16 years ago and was telling me about how he climbed up the pylon. He also told me about how this place was during his time, without swimming pool, without sports area and with more fruit trees. He is not a Christian.

2) The second was from a drug trafficker who said he was here 14 years ago. Also not a Christian.

3) The last testimony I heard was from a guy who learnt to play guitar here several years ago and now he travels Brazil playing and singing in churches and he also has 3 CDs to his name. He attributes his success to his time at Luzeiro. A Christian.

When seeds are sown into someone´s heart, it is difficult to know what the result will be but the Bible does give us some insight in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13, Luke 8) about the possible outcomes. In the Western church we seem to be more like the seeds which are sown among the thorns as we worry about so many unnecessary things and produce little or no fruit. But here you can see a complete mixed bag of results in a lot clearer way when you start hearing peoples life stories....at some point they have had some connection with church or Christians but what is the result of this - transformation or nothing or something in-between which also amounts to nothing in the end?