Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

By God’s amazing grace, we held a spring spiritual retreat on April 18,19 at a lush green Baptist camp near the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. Four missionaries, 4 Bible students, and 4 second generations participated in the retreat. M. John Huh prepared the environment by booking the place and preparing the retreat program. M. Grace and M. Rebeca served it with deep prayers and by helping the Bible students to participate by preparing their hearts. Neusa and

Ana Paula were reluctant in the beginning to participate in the retreat due to their financial situation, but they challenged their situation by faith and paid their registration fee and participated. Not only that, Ana Paula also drove her car for the first time and took others with her to the retreat, driving more than an hour and a half only by faith. From the start, we could test and see the victory we have by faith.

The title of our retreat was “Seek first his kingdom” based on Matthew 6:33. Through this verse, we set a clear direction for our retreat to help our students live by the golden principle of a life of faith. At the same time, we wanted to refresh our faith, mission, and vision to pioneer Portuguese campuses. To begin our retreat, we studied Matthew 6:19-34. The group Bible study was full of joy. It was an open discussion, but with clear direction from the word of God. After the group Bible study, M. John, M. Grace, and M. Rebeca shared their life testimony. Their heart-moving life testimonies set the stage for our students to understand the meaning of Matthew 6:33 deeply. They testified that though they had problems, when they sought God first, God blessed them abundantly. And our Bible students could see the present blessed lives of our missionaries and open their hearts to God’s word.

The next day on the Lord’s Day, we held our worship service. M. Mateus Singh delivered the message, “Seek first God’s kingdom.” The message was simple, but powerful, backed with his life testimony. He testified about how God guided him for the last 22 years with this verse. He declared that in this era of uncertainty, everyone seeks future security in a job, money, or power. Man became so foolish in seeking security in things which don’t last, and they became prey to anxiety and stress. But the man of faith becomes a real victor when he seeks first God’s kingdom and his righteousness instead of worldly power, wealth, or pleasure. He does not need to worry because God’s takes cares of him.

After the message, Neusa and Megan shared their life testimonies. Neusa shed tears of grace and thankfulness to Jesus. She testified about how Jesus gave her living water, quenching her thirsty soul. She prays that she may proclaim the gospel to many other students like her and help them to meet Jesus personally. Megan also could not hold back her tears when she thought about how Jesus has been so gracious and merciful to her. She suffered a lot because of her parents, boyfriend, and other colleagues. She could not find rest and peace and even thought of committing suicide. But Jesus was so gracious to her and helped her to find true peace and rest in him. She prays that she may forgive all those who caused her to suffer.

I thank and praise God for blessing our retreat so wonderfully. He blessed us with his word and restored our spirit and faith. May God help each of us to grow in faith and trust in him so that we may seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and may firmly believe that he will provide all that we need. May God bless our European International Bible Conference with 1,000 participants. May God raise Portugal to become a royal priesthood and a holy nation.