The political developments in the 1930s represented a great danger for Bro. Weissburger as a preacher of Jewish descent. However, God opened a timely door for him by ensuring that he received a call to serve in Brazil.
While I was still in Germany, the thought of moving to Brazil would sometimes make my heart heavy. However, in those moments, the Lord would speak to me with the comforting thought that Heaven is as near to Brazil as to Germany. Besides, if our Savior was able to leave heaven and its glory out of love for us, all the while knowing exactly what awaited Him on earth, then I could certainly go to Brazil out of love for Him and His work.
Thanks to reports, books, and photos, I had some idea of what to expect from life in the jungle—a relevant topic, seeing as the settler communities we were supposed to serve in Brazil had begun in the jungle. As we set out toward this new challenge in Brazil, I once again put my life fully in God’s hands. The results of this decision did not disappoint, and I want to thank the Lord for everything, including the grace to endure such a change.
In particular, I would like to honor my wife. She, too, was completely devoted to God’s service. I never saw her dissatisfied, not even here in Brazil, where so much hardship awaited her. She remained devoted until her death on August 3, 1963; just imagine how a mother must feel, separating from her children and never seeing them again.
Before our departure, the German branch of the Church of God issued me a document attesting that we were following this path in mutual trust and that they supported us with their prayers. From the church in Switzerland, I received a general power of attorney that authorized me to conduct business on its behalf, and we also had a trusting relationship with all our congregations in the other European countries.
Beginning in Brazil
As already mentioned, Brother Doebert had taken part in a camp meeting in Chernyakhiv near Zhytomyr, Ukraine, in 1908. After this camp meeting, Brother Doebert went to Romanovka, in the Terek region of the Caucasus, where Church of God congregations had formed; these brothers and sisters in Christ were also visited by Brother Ebel.
Toward the end of World War I, our sisters and brothers left the Caucasus and eventually arrived in eastern Germany, albeit after some detours through Latvia. Some of them came into contact with the Church of God through our 1921 camp meeting in Essen, whereas others already knew us from Russia.
In 1922, these families emigrated to Brazil, settling in the state of Santa Catarina, where they founded the community of Neu-Hoffnung (Nova EsperanÇa in Portuguese, both meaning “new hope”). Being in the jungle made for an understandably difficult start, but they reported that they were doing well despite the hardship, especially as they increasingly turned to prayer.
In December 1935, Brother David Meier came from the USA to Brazil to help, and my wife and I arrived a few months later, in April 1936, together with our daughter Else. At the end of the same year, my son Heinrich accepted an invitation from the Church to come to Brazil for missionary service. He and Klara, a daughter of Brother Josef Krebs, joined us in December 1936. In April 1939, Brother Josef Krebs came to Brazil too, along with his daughter Frieda.
At the request of the Church, we first settled in Neu-Hoffnung. In addition to Neu-Hoffnung and Serra Pinhal, there were four congregations of the Church of God in Brazil: in Rio das Antas, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in Lettonia, and in Wenzeslau in the state of Sao Paulo. The congregants were all colonists, most of whom had come from abroad to make a new start here as farmers.
In Neu-Hoffnung, as in the other congregations, poverty was great. It was not easy to eke out a livelihood from the jungle, and the agricultural market was very weak at the time, meaning there was little money to be earned. Although impoverished, the colonists tried to support us from the very beginning, but we quickly realized that it would not be enough and so started working the land to earn a living for ourselves.
The congregation in Neu-Hoffnung owned a piece of land purchased from Brother Friedrich Hinz and his wife. It was a few hectares in size, and we eventually bought some more land as well. In addition to working on this farm, we served the members of the local congregation, travelled around the country, and visited other congregations to hold services there, including in Argentina.
After serving in Brazil for a short time, Brother Krebs moved to Argentina with his daughter Frieda. In the following years, he served mainly in that country, working with Brother Adolf Weidmann, who had already moved to Argentina in early 1937.
Be the first to comment