Gustavo & Mariana Massa tell us about their experience as servants at CANA Week in Brazil, where they witnessed some beautiful fruits. Then they share their feelings about their new role as CANA leaders in Brazil.
To serve at a CANA Week is to have the unique opportunity and privilege of observing God’s powerful action in the lives of couples from a close-up perspective. How faithful God is in his promises! It was this certainty that gladdened our hearts at the end of another CANA Week in Brazil, this time with a small group of 9 couples, accompanied by 30 servants and 50 children. In all, we were about 120 people, and God worked wonders in each of our lives, from the youngest to the oldest!
Like the image one of the couples received in prayer, CANA is like a marriage recovery factory. Couples arrive broken and empty, and leave restored and full of God’s grace. Many couples arrived wounded, telling themselves that this was the last chance for their marriage. Some had never had a spiritual experience and were very far from God and their spouse. They even thought about giving up, going home… But they dared to stay and God was faithful. On the last day, they shared with emotion that they had experienced the most special week of their lives: “I don’t know how to explain the happiness I feel. I saw God here. Everything we needed happened,” shared Andréia, married to Leonardo, who himself added: “It was a reunion with my wife, my family and, above all, a reunion with God in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, which completely changed my point of view.”
In addition to Leonard, 10 other participants asked for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and gave their lives to Jesus. The very next morning, they expressed their desire to share what they had experienced with others, proposing different ideas for events for couples throughout the year.
For us, as the couple responsible for this week, it was a confirmation that this mission is truly a “work of God” and that He is in control of everything. We ended last year with the news that we would be responsible for this year’s CANA week. At first, we found it hard to accept the invitation, as we were very happy with the team that had already been put together. Everyone with their own skills complemented each other. We suddenly found ourselves in charge, feeling that we didn’t have the capacity to do as well as our predecessors. But we understood that the Community needed us and, deep down, we knew that God would be with us, foreseeing all things and taking care of everything. We went through several battles, and many couples gave up, fearing that they would not be able to raise the necessary financial resources, but we trusted in God and were greatly supported by our brothers; we had the opportunity to live a strong experience of fraternity. And in our weakness, God has shown Himself to be strong! The CANA jar overflowed, and even those who were unable to contribute financially were able to take part in the week.
This experience of responsibility was truly a school of trust in God! God is good and faithful!
The word that accompanied us throughout the week was: “He must grow and I must diminish”. We are really very happy to have seen up close how great God is in his action among us. We’re already looking forward to the launch of the CANA Fraternities in Brazil next month!
Gustavo & Mariana Massa, Leaders of CANA Brazil
