Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute.
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column of the Christian Research Newsletter, Volume 4: Number 4,
1991) by Paulo Romeiro.
The editor of the Christian Research Newsletter is Ron
Rhodes.
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Brazil is a vast land covering some 3.2 million square miles.
Some people have said Brazil is the largest Roman Catholic country
in the world, but that is not true. Brazil is the largest
"country in the world. We have about 80 million people
involved in witchcraft and spiritism. Moreover, Brazil is being
ravaged by the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, the Unification
Church, the Rosicrucians, and Japanese cults.
Brazil is a mystical country, virtually obsessed with the
supernatural. I have labored in several other countries around the
world, but I know of no other country so hungry for the
supernatural as Brazil is. Maybe that's one reason the cults are
growing so rapidly there. A hungry person eats almost anything -
anything that tastes good.
I must confess that I myself have been affected by spiritism.
I grew up as a Roman Catholic. As a youngster I served as an altar
boy at the church. I later spent five years in a Roman Catholic
seminary preparing to become a priest.
But Roman Catholics in Brazil are not good Roman Catholics, for
many are involved in some form of spiritism or witchcraft. Many
Catholics go to a spiritist seance on a Wednesday night; to a
witchcraft center on a Friday night; then on Sunday morning they
take communion in a Roman Catholic church" is much spiritual
confusion in Brazil.
I remember the hunger I had for God and spiritual things during
this time. In order to purify myself and obtain sanctification, I
would put kernels of corn in my shoes, kneel on kernels of corn,
sleep under my bed for several nights in a row, and go for two or
three days without any water - making all kinds of flesh-denying
penances as did the saints in the Middle Ages. Such was my hunger
(though misguided) for spiritual things.
Two years before I was to get those black robes as a priest,
however, God had a better idea. Instead of those black garments, He gave me white garments of salvation - and I am so thankful for
them. It was quite an experience. Let me tell you about what led to my conversion.
My father had never paid much attention to religion. However,
there came a time in his life when he couldn't get his act
together. He couldn't work very well and became deeply depressed.
This led to his involvement in spiritism. He started going from one witch center to another - a habit that ended up lasting 30 years.
And the more he went to these centers, the worse he got.
My father began to have spiritual visitations in his room
almost every night. At the beginning, he was afraid of these
experiences. I could hear him many nights, or maybe the following
morning, complaining to my mother, "I couldn't sleep last night.
The spirits came and they bothered me. I couldn't sleep." As time
As time went on, my father stopped being afraid of the spirits.
He even started talking to them during the night. I heard him many
times say something such as, "Who are you? What's your name? What
do you want of me? Is there anything I can do for you so you'll
leave me alone?"
My father got bolder and bolder with these spirits. He started
to get rough and rude with them. Before long he was saying things
such as, "Leave me alone! Go to Hell!"
I soon began to be affected by all this. I began to receive
spiritual visitations in "room. I could hear their steps in the
house at night. I could detect precisely "they were in the
house - in the bathroom, in the kitchen, or in the living room. In
the middle of the night, I could hear steps coming toward my room.
I could hear the door open, and I could sense that there was
someone else in the room with me. I wasn't alone. I couldn't see
it, but I could definitely sense a satanic, terrifying presence
beside me. On these occasions, a paralyzing fear would overcome me
in such a way that it was unbearable.
My life became dominated by fear. Despite the fact that it gets
very hot in Brazil during the summer, I kept blankets over me.
Though I was sweating profusely under them, I dared not let them
go" fearful was I.
The time eventually came when I had to move my bed into my
parents' room. There was so much sheer horror and fear, I couldn't
handle it alone. And some bizarre things occurred; it was really
terrifying. My father and I would share experiences in the middle
of the night.
"Did you hear that, son?"
"Yes, I did."
"Did you hear that again?"
"Yes!"
My father and I didn't get along very well, however. One day he
"invited" me to leave the house. So I went to another city to get
a job in an airplane factory. I worked there almost eight years.
And when I began my new job, a Christian man attempted to share the good news of the gospel with me.
The first time he witnessed to me, I rejected it completely. I
did something to discourage him once and for all - I said, "Hey
you! Shut up! You know nothing about theology. I attended seminary, so I know all of that. If you want to talk about movies, or soccer, let's do it - but not religion. You're not in a position to talk
to me about that."
That night, this man went to his church and wrote my name on a
piece of paper and gave it to the pastor. "Let's pray for Paulo,"
he said. "Paulo's a demon, but God can change him." So they prayed
for me.
One Sunday soon after this, I went to see the movie" Hur.
This movie had a profound impact on me. While I was watching it, I
heard a voice - not audibly, but in my heart. As I was looking at
Jesus on the screen, the voice said: "This is the God that you must follow." And I left the movie theater a different person. The
The following day, a Monday, I went back to the factory, and
this Christian friend of mine was testifying to me again. And I
asked him, "Is there any service tonight?"
"No!" he said.
"When is the next service?" I asked.
"Thursday night!"
"But I want to accept Jesus!"
"You'll have to wait 'till Thursday night!"
I learned that this type of thinking is common in Brazil. I was
told that those who receive Jesus must do so at church, during the
altar call.
I remember that Thursday night when I went to church. I had
gone home, eaten dinner, grabbed my Bible, and rushed over to the
church. I arrived thirty minutes before the service. But as soon as I got there, I dropped to my knees and broke into tears. I didn't
know how to pray, but I got on my knees anyway. And the only thing
I remember saying to God that night was, "General, your soldier is
here. If there is any room in your army for me, I am ready for the
fight." And I just wept and wept the rest of the evening. It was
amazing.
After accepting Jesus into my heart, I went "bananas." I was
laughing and crying. I didn't know which of the two to do -" I
did both. I was later walking the streets, and God would not give
me a break. His presence was upon me, and I was still weeping and
crying. People passing by would look at me and say, "He's so young
and he's lost his mind already."
A month after my conversion, I decided to visit my parents.
When I entered their house, my father asked me, "Now you're a
Protestant?"
"Yes I am!" That's all I said. I was just beginning my
spiritual life. I was just a babe in the Lord, and I didn't want to argue with him.
That night my mother prepared my room. I went to bed by myself.
I was no longer afraid of the spirits. I wasn't thinking about them at all. I only had Jesus on my mind.
I got on my knees and spent about forty minutes before God in
prayer, with tears streaming down my face. I had such an
unspeakable joy. Then I read some verses of Scripture, and I laid
back in the bed.
As I rested in bed, I had no thoughts of demons. I was just
thinking about Jesus. But all of the sudden I started feeling fear" came over me just like before. And the first thing I thought was, "This cannot be from Jesus! He never brings me fear. He only
brings me joy and peace."
I quickly began to sense a terrifying satanic presence. There
was someone in the room with me, beside my bed. I couldn't see it,
but I could feel it. Just like before.
I tried to call my mother, and I couldn't. My mouth was
paralyzed. I tried to move my left arm and I couldn't; my arm was
paralyzed. I felt goose bumps in my feet, coming up through my
legs, up through my chest" I was paralyzed.
I really don't remember how long this lasted - whether it was
ten seconds, thirty seconds, or a minute. I only know that in my
mind I started thinking about the precious blood of Jesus. "The
blood of Jesus is against you," I said. And suddenly, the paralysis was over. I was able to sit up in bed. I turned to my right, and
for the first time in my life I spoke directly to the Devil - so
loud that everyone else in the house could hear me:
"Devil, many years you have tormented my life. But I want to
ask you something tonight. Can't you see that I have been redeemed
and washed in the blood of Jesus? Get out of here! And you'll be
sorry if you come back."
Well, the Devil's not deaf, because he never came back after
that night. That was twenty years ago. And the experience that I've had since that time has been truly amazing.
Today I serve as the Director of CRI Brazil in Sao Paulo. CRI's
ministry here is so vitally important. The cults are ravaging our
people. And most Christians here are unprepared and ill-equipped to defend their beliefs and share the gospel with someone involved in
a false religion. CRI Brazil is the "ministry with the
information they need, and we must take it to as many believers as
possible.
Thank God that Walter Martin had the foresight and wisdom to
start CRI Brazil in 1983. Since that time, CRI's ministry here has
been incredibly fruitful. We've had the privilege of equipping
virtually thousands of people to defend the truth of Christianity
in a land saturated with cults. For this, we praise God" you would like to learn more about helping CRI's ministry in Brazil, contact CRI's International Coordinator, Paul Carden, at
(714) 855-9926.
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End of document, CRN0034A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"Set Free from the Spirits: The Personal Testimony of Paulo
Romeiro, Director of CRI Brazil"
release A, June 30, 1994
R. Poll, CRI
(A special note of thanks to Bob and Pat Hunter for their help in
the preparation of this ASCII file for BBS circulation.)
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