BRAZIL (ANS) -- The sacrificial love of a small Baptist church in Brazil has been used to transform a desert community.

The Valentina Baptist church, located in the coastal city

The coastal city of Joao Pessoa in Brazil.

of Joao Pessoa in Brazil, once was a conservative congregation preoccupied with a broad range of religious activities, neither believing in nor experiencing anything supernatural.

Joel News International, citing The Sentinel Group, says that when church members repented and cried out for a fresh move of God, the Holy Spirit broke their hearts and prepared them to walk in God's purposes.

The story from Joel News says: "A church member began to have dreams about a town or encampment called Algodao de Jandaira. Although she had never heard of the place, the dreams were so vivid -- revealing local terrain, troubled faces, and other considerable detail -- that the entire congregation received them as a divine revelation. The problem was that no one had the slightest idea where this community might be. The place was not identified on any map they had."

One day, however, a church member mentioned this story in passing to an acquaintance.

"The man confirmed that indeed there was such a place, and that it was in fact not far away. The reason it did not show up on the map was because it was in a desert area with no proper roads," Joel News reports.

Excited by this news, the poor Baptist church members took up a collection that was just enough to purchase one tank of gas. This allowed a small team to head out on an investigation trip to Algodao de Jandaira. The trip took nearly an entire day owing to the fact much of the driving was in dry river beds.

"When the team arrived, they saw that everything was exactly as had been described in the dream," Joel News says.

Team arriving at the outskirts of the community.

Arriving at the outskirts of the community, they were shocked by what they saw.

"Not only were the 2,200 inhabitants poorer than the Baptists themselves, they looked like they were starving. There were no visible crops, the animals looked emaciated, and the people were dressed in rags. Everything, including a young girl walking around in red shorts and a blue shirt, was exactly as had been described in the dream.

"The people had attempted to put in a community well, but each time they drilled the hole was dry. It had not rained in the area for 24 years, and there was no water table. As a consequence, water had to be trucked in from the outside. The main dietary item was cactus, but the people had no money to buy salt for flavoring," the Joel News story said.

"As the team approached the town, they were viewed with great suspicion. The people of Algodao de Jandaira felt vulnerable, and they were not used to outsiders. Unfortunately, the day was waning and the team needed a place to stay. Not knowing what else to do, they approached a small home and knocked on the door.

"A woman answered and the team explained the purpose of their visit and asked if she knew of a place where they could stay for the night. Immediately the woman called the other family members to the door where they welcomed the team inside. Without realizing it, the team had approached the only evangelical home in the community! It was an answer to prayer for both parties."

When the investigation team reported what they had seen to their fellow congregants, the people made a vow.

The Joel News story continued: "They would return to the troubled community once a month with whatever supplies they could muster. These follow-up trips continued through 2003, with each successive visit serving to further break down the initial suspicion and hostility. At the end of each visit, after they had delivered their meager supplies of food, salt and clothing, the team would walk up to a rock outcropping above the village to pray.

"God didn't choose rich churches or the government. He wanted to work through weak vessels to demonstrate his power."

Joel News says that overwhelmed by their inadequacy, they asked God why he didn't give the mission to a larger church that, presumably, could do much more for these needy people?

"They also began to pray that God would speak to government leaders about helping the people of Algodao de Jandaira. God responded by saying the Christians' prayers were off target. It was not his intention to use either rich churches or the government. Rather, he wanted to work through weak vessels in order to demonstrate his power."

Joel News says the Baptists' prayers began to take on a real urgency in late 2003. Despite their efforts, the situation in Algodao de Jandaira was deteriorating rapidly.

The story continues: "The little water on site was extremely brackish, and many animals were starting to die. After prayer, the congregation decided to forego their traditional Christmas feast and family gift-giving in order to help the people of Algodao de Jandaira. Through this sacrifice, the people were able to purchase 80 gift baskets containing food staples like rice, beans and pasta."

After delivering these Christmas baskets, the team returned home with heavy hearts. Even this gesture seemed futile in light of the enormous needs. Algodao de Jandaira's inhabitants needed so much more, especially a relationship with Christ.

As Valentina Baptist Church began to collect funds for their next visit, the congregation prayed like never before. God was not one to play games, and they were not about to quit.

** Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent of ANS, is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. Michael's involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- Michael Ireland Media Missionary (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International.