On 6th February, we left behind Santo Domingo along with the assaults and troubles we faced before and during our stay there. After a ten hour flight, we arrived at Belo Horizonte in Brazil. Vassula’s mission in four countries of North and South America (Los Angeles – USA, Monterey – Mexico, Santo Domingo) was to end with her witnessing in two cities of Brazil, Belo Horizonte (BH) and Salvador.
Throughout her mission there which lasted about one and a half months, Vassula’s programme was full of activities: meetings, retreats, talks, interviews with TV, radio, newspapers and magazines, visits to Beth Myriams, with few moments of relaxation. The flights were numerous and especially tiring, as they were long and most included a stop-over. There were days we took off from one country early in the morning and arrived late at night in another, having undergone, during the course of the day, three takeoffs and landings and, in addition, personal and baggage checks. Our physical fatigue was extreme as were the obstacles and assaults.
Throughout this mission, we had the strong feeling that we were not combating the usual persecutors but other powers, the powers of darkness and evil. Vassula was, of course, not intimidated by all of these. She sweeps through obstacles without looking right or left and continues her mission. She is indifferent to attacks and slander wherever they originate (clerical or lay) and she confronts them with forbearance, presuming the propagators as mistakenly informed. Her obedience to God comes before her obedience to men. In her 24 years of missionary work, persecution and slander have been her daily bread.
“…so, go and fill all the nations with My Words; let Me remind you, dearest soul, that I have brought you up to tear up iniquity and unsettle and upset every evil spirit you encounter on your way or in the cities you go to witness, so do not be surprised when these powers of hell join forces together to try and prevent you from exercising your prophetic ministry;” (22nd October, 1996)Although Vassula has given many talks on the messages of True Life in God in many cities of Brazil over the 24 years of her mission, she always accepts every new invitation to witness in this vast country with much joy.
Belo Horizonte
On 6th January, we were welcomed at Belo Horizonte Airport by Jose Hipolito Freitas, Larissa Freitas, and several other people from the TLIG prayer group. They were clearly enthusiastic at Vassula’s visit. It was a day of brilliant summer sunshine! Belo Horizonte, which means “beautiful horizon” in Portuguese, is the third largest city in Brazil with a population of 3 million. It is built on many hills and is completely surrounded by mountains.
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Upon our arrival, we noticed that the assaults on God’s work and His people were continuing. We were informed that a dynamic member of TLIG had had a stroke before Vassula’s arrival in Belo Horizonte and was still in hospital in intensive care. His name is Solon, an engineer with a very important role in the Beth Myriams of Belo Horizonte. He had volunteered to do a structural survey of the houses and to make the necessary changes in order to ensure that they are safe for the public. He is a regular member of the prayer group and always helps with the BMs. He had also undertaken to meet Vassula at the airport on her arrival and to drive us around the city. Solon had the stroke the same day that the bathroom glass window in Santo Domingo shattered, miraculously causing only a slight injury to my hand. When Vassula was informed of this, she said that we live in difficult times and the devil attacks those who work for God’s glory.
We left our luggage at the hotel and, shortly afterwards, Vassula was interviewed by Rádio América, a Catholic radio station in Belo Horizonte. They were interested to learn about her supernatural experience with God and her mission in North America. Vassula gave some information about her background and responded to several questions.
Early in the afternoon, we attended Mass with the prayer group in one of the hotel rooms. Mass was celebrated by Fr. Antonio Savio. Later with Altino Mota dos Santos and Ana Lizarante (came from Uruguay) as guides, we visited one of the two Beth Myriams located in Belo Horizonte. Along the way, we stopped outside the building of the first BM which was closed at that hour. Both BMs are located on hills outside the city among thousands of favelas (slums) built from old iron scraps collected from the garbage and crammed together without roads, electricity, phones or decent drainage. They are plagued by sewage and other hygiene problems, drug-related crime and gang warfare. Most favelas are inaccessible by vehicle due to narrow and irregular walkways and often steep inclines.
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Disregarding doctor’s orders and the danger of aggravating her back problem, Vassula accepted the invitation by TLIG volunteers to visit the Beth Myriam located in one of the poorest areas of Belo Horizonte, Villa Nossa Senhora de Fatima, in the Aglomerado da Serra neighbourhood. We arrived there after climbing for an hour, the car bouncing along bumpy roads with slums bordering the route on both sides. The volunteers who offer their love and time, along with the prayer groups, numbering about 60 in all welcomed Vassula with shouts of joy and enthusiasm and presented her with two bouquets of roses and a basket of exotic fruit. The building was freshly painted inside and out. There were icons of Christ and the Blessed Mother, and the tables were covered with clean tablecloths and the kitchen was spotlessly clean. As asked of us by the Blessed Mother in the messages, cleanliness, order and above all peace and offerings of sacrificial love reigned.
“… If one says he was converted and found God through “True Life in God” they should offer more sacrifice as an act of immolation. There are various ways of showing God their love and generosity; that no one can say “we are true life in God people” without offering sacrificial love.” 7th January, 2008
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All of the volunteers working at the Beth Myriam, inspired by the messages of TLIG and their love for the Blessed Mother, offer their services in this difficult location where poverty and wretchedness lead people into a life of drugs and crime. With the blessing of Our Lady, their loving efforts every day to prepare food for a thousand people is much appreciated by the residents and crime in the area has stopped as a result.
The volunteers of TLIG who offer their services at the Beth Myriams of Belo Horizonte, and they are numerous, put into practice the commandment of love which embodies and fulfils all of God’s laws. Here are two examples.
Altino Mota de Santos, former atheist, came to know God and love Him through the messages of TLIG and, with the help of the Holy Mother, has opened the first Beth Myriam in Belo Horizonte while, at the same time, working towards the creation of youth prayer groups in Belo Horizonte. He offers his time with love for Love. We had the opportunity to get to know him better because he accompanied us to Salvador, the next stop on Vassula’s mission in Brazil.
Nilza Soares, a Brazilian with a generous heart and full of life and love, lives near the Beth Myriam neighborhood. She leaves home every day at 5.45 a.m. for the BM where she co-ordinates the preparation of food for over a thousand people which will be distributed from the two BMs, returning home late in the evening after an exhausting day. I would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart for the lesson in love and giving which they offer without realizing it.
On Saturday, 7th February, Vassula’s talk took place in Sesc Contagem, a spacious stadium with capacity for 5,000. The organizers in Belo Horizonte and Salvador, who are familiar with the TLIG Message and its emphasis on Unity, invited all the Christian denominations as well as people of other religions and sects to Vassula’s talks. About 2,500 people, the majority of whom were young Brazilians, arrived early at the stadium.
Shortly before Vassula’s talk, a large choir sang hymns of praise and, immediately afterwards, Jose Hipolito Freitas, one of the main organizers of the events and an active member of the prayer groups and the BMs, read a brief biographical note about Vassula and thanked her on behalf of all for having traveled to faraway Brazil to bring by her witnessing the word of the living God. At the same time, he expressed his joyful thanks for the blessings she brought by coming to their city.
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Vassula greeted them in Portuguese and spoke about all the important themes of TLIG: repentance, prayer, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, humility, fellowship, love and all the virtues that issue from love. The Brazilians followed her talk with piety and devotion and there was complete silence in the large stadium. They heard the holy words: Why does God come to us through this prophet? What does He ask of us? How willing are we to answer this invitation and to know Him better? How willing are we to learn to love, to forgive, to pray? How much does the Lord desire the unity of His church? The Word of God is prophetic and the words of Vassula are prophecy.
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At the end of her talk, Father Oscar Pilloni from the Gospa Mira community read the prayer of Repentance and Deliverance and Vassula blessed all present with the exorcizing Cross. She reminded everyone that Christ blesses all participants and their families at these gatherings which take place for His glory. The Brazilians are a faithful people and they heard with joy and enthusiasm the message of Christ’s love conveyed by Vassula.
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The meeting went well – the people were deeply touched by God’s message and Vassula seemed happy which to us is a sign that Jesus is happy too. We recorded the reactions of some of the attendees to her speech and they all expressed a desire to change their lives immediately. Others wanted to join the prayer groups. Here are some of their testimonies:
It was the most beautiful feeling ever. I will always try to be like Vassula in order to become a saint. May she pray for me. I will always pray for her. Helena Maria
It is hard to express in words the experience we had. I see that this opportunity was offered to my entire parish and most of the people wasted the opportunity to listen to this wonderful witnessing. Those who have already read the messages know what a great gift Vassula’s visit