November 12 , 2007

Greetings in Jesus Name!

I am writing you today from my new office in Jacksonville, Florida. These are very strange but wonderful times for our team. As you know from our last few newsletters, we have been pushing our way through a visa renewal process with the Brazilian embassy. This has been quite an issue, as without the missionary visa that we need to renew, we can not live in Brazil. As of this writing, the embassy in Miami is not cooperating with us, and has not agreed to renew our status as missionaries.

Recently, Brazil passed a law that restricts the immigration of missionaries like Candi and I. This was what we have been told by the Brazilian Embassy in Miami, and the Federal Police in Brazil. Our Brazilian travel agent told us that all the Embassies are being just as strict and difficult in applying the law as the embassy in Miami. We are not the only ones being affected by this; we are simply some of the first. We have spent considerable time and money resisting these things, pressing in as we should, but we are now at a closed door. No one in Brazil is upset with the Martins, including the Federal Police. This is a legal issue, having to do with the Embassy.

Whatever the political reasons for the new law, it is birthed in purpose with satanic retaliation to the tremendous revival that is going on in Brazil. The spirit of religion has lost great ground there. We know that opposition to the Word of God is always demonic and always rooted in high spiritual places.

Eph 6:10-13 - "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

According to the scripture, we are in a war that is real, and we should not be surprised when we are subject to the effects of that war. We have seen with our eyes the tremendous things happening in Brazil. We have our hands and hearts in the middle of what the Lord is doing there. For almost two and a half years now, we have handled the Word of Life in Brazil. We have been in over 50 cities, some many times. We have been in hundreds of churches, and prayed with many thousands of people. Thank God for His faithfulness to our team. Thank God for more in the future!

I know this, we are not moved in heart or mind concerning our commitment to God's purpose for our lives. We are steadfast and determined to take the ground that Jesus has given us, and we will not back up one single step. There are many ways to approach the situation, and we are searching them out. We are listening for the Fathers voice in our hearts, wanting to respond to this situation with wisdom and understanding. One thing is certain; Jesus always wins, and we are in Him.

Rom 8:28. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose".

God's purposes will be fulfilled! We believe that whatever opposition we are enduring will simple move us farther into the plan of God. God is never surprised by what befalls us, and always has a plan for success, no matter what the situation. Our attitude must be rooted on a biblical foundation…In Phil 1:12, Paul writes from prison

"I want you to know, brethren, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,"

Now that is a powerful attitude! It is the only one we can have if we understand the will and purposes of God. I have often wondered how Paul felt when he was cast out of city after city. When Paul was tossed from one place, he just moved on to another. When he was thrown out of Philippi, he moved forward and did not slow down. The opposition he received however was the very thing he felt validated his ministry and message. This is how we are feeling about our recent, forced move back to the US. It is going to serve to advance the kingdom. Paul always remained faithful in his apostolic responsibility to the Philippians, and to the other places where he was shamefully treated. Candi and I remain committed to Brazil, and always will be. This is just a small show of opposition. We should really feel honored that we have met with this kind of opposition. What is happening there through the ministry is eternal, and the value of the time and personal sacrifice our team and partners have invested there is priceless.

In Rev. 3:7 the scripture is very clear that God opens doors no man can close, and closes doors no man can open. At the present time, the door has closed on our living in Brazil. The worst case scenario is that we will need to apply for a 5 year tourist visa, and come and go as we did during the years before our move. We have been involved with Brazil for over 14 years now, and if we need to go to a tourist visa again, so be it. I have a full schedule for February in Parana and possibly Rio de Janeiro. I intend to keep this schedule unless the Lord leads otherwise.

We are very conscience of the hand of God on us to use this time to advancement into new ground. I know as Candi and I packed our house into a storage unit in Belo Horizonte, and gave our car away, we did so with the knowledge and comfort that all of the intercessors and prophetic people around us spoke with one voice. They all told us that our situation has purpose, and was not simply opposition due to changes in law or Brazilian immigration policy. God was moving in His way and timing to advance His purpose in our lives. Thank God for His grace to move us forward in His will. A higher place provides for a better view.

As we have settled in the US again, the Lord has shown us great favor and supply. We came back with a few suitcases, a rental car, and no place to lay our heads. We thank God for the many offers our friends gave us to stay with them, but the Lord had other plans. Two days after we arrived, we had a beautiful and peaceful condo to stay in. Several days later the Lord supplied a nice car. I am used to a very busy speaking schedule, (well over two hundred times already this year) so being without a US schedule has been different. Being quiet and still has given me an opportunity to visit with friends, dig into the scripture, and just listen for His voice in my heart. I know this time of refreshing will turn to a time of great ministry and harvest, so I am grateful for this time of rest.

I would like to thank all of our friends and partners for their prayers and support during this season. It has been a very emotional and expensive time for our team. Your faithful prayers and financial support has put us over. You never lose when you join yourself to what God is doing in the earth. Seed time and harvest are always faithful to their seasons. My prayer for you is that your seed raise up a might harvest for you.

For us and our team, it is not a time of drawing back, but rather time of pressing in! We intend to use this time away from Brazil to go higher in our faith, further into the heart of the Father, and further in our ministry expression. I already have invitations to other places, including Malaysia. They have been pressing in for quite a while now, but I would not consider it due to our commitment to Brazil. I spoke with them as recently as last night, and they are pulling hard on me to come to them again. The target date for that trip would be in January. When we got back Candi immediately got busy with neighborhood outreaches to the poor, and as I write this letter, she is out witnessing and giving food away to people who don't have any. She tells them she is a missionary that got kicked out of Brazil, and just wanted to bless them. Now that's warfare! What a girl!

We will let you know how things progress, and what the Lord says to us about this season. Whatever He says is going to be challenging, life-giving, refreshing, and full of the anointing to move us all forward into His plan. Oh the Glory….!

Our Love,
Jeff and Candi Martin