By Charles Nichols
For nearly 30 years, Charles and his wife Joan were missionaries in Northeast Brazil, where the Lord used them to influence many lives for Christ, including Francisco's. From 1994 to 2000, Charles served as BMM’s Latin America Field Administrator and Joan as secretary of the Audio-Visual Department. Charles went to be with the Lord in 2010.
It was Christmas Eve of 1978. Maranatha Baptist Church in Fortaleza, Brazil, was nearly packed with parents and friends eager to see the children and young people present their program. We were thankful to see many there who rarely attended the church. Of course, our members and friends who were always in attendance were there as well. Among this second group was a young father who had not yet received Jesus Christ as his Savior. If you had visited one of our services, you might have thought that Francisco was one of our members, because he was nearly always in attendance. For six years, we had been praying for his salvation. That night, his four little daughters were part of the program.
Francisco was seated way down front with a flash camera so he could get pictures of his girls as they performed. At the conclusion of the program, I brought a simple gospel message and invited anyone who wanted to receive Jesus Christ as Savior to raise a hand. My eyes were focused toward the rear of the auditorium as I hoped to see some of the visiting parents respond to the invitation. To my surprise, I noticed that someone near the front was making some movement.
Francisco had raised his hand. What a delight it was to review with him Scripture passages relating to salvation and to listen as he prayed to receive Jesus Christ as Savior. How we all rejoiced in this answer to our prayers. Among the believers, there was hardly a dry eye as we closed that very special service.
A few weeks later when Francisco entered the baptismal waters, he whispered, “Pastor, can I say something?” I granted permission, and he proceeded to speak. He said, “Folks, you know that I delayed a long time before I trusted Christ. Many of you also know that I had a problem with alcohol. I had made a vow to myself that I would only become a believer when I could stop drinking. I could never quit, but on Christmas Eve I had such a desire to trust Christ that I forgot about my vow. The amazing thing is that, since that night, I have never taken another drink.”
Francisco went on to become one of the leaders in the church. As nearly as I know, now 30 years later, he has never again been enslaved to alcohol. That was truly a Christmas to remember.
Photo above, left to right: Francisco; his wife Valbia; her sister Valquia (with whom the Nicholses served in church planting); and Charles Nichols. This story, originally titled "A Christmas to Remember," was taken from the book Amazed by His Glory (p. 103), published by Baptist Mid-Missions. For ordering information, contact Tim Fry at tfry@bmm.org or click on the book title.