Umbrella Prayers in Brazil

Since Byron and I returned to Brazil I've been busy in my spare time translating a little booklet called Umbrella Prayers.  It's the brainchild of Melody Hester of Community Baptist Church in Reidsville, North Carolina.  I had the opportunity to participate in a special review of her materials during a morning in her home for the wives of missionaries during their annual missionary conference earlier this spring.  One of the ladies thought she could use the booklets on a missions trip to Cuba translating the booklet into Spanish.  It sparked a little thought in my mind to do the same to use in Brazil in Portuguese.  

My entire furlough was one wedding or missions conference after another.  I knew there was just no time to work on the project while in the States.  After we arrived back in Brazil I set up a work space and got busy.

Whenever you set out to translate something, anything there are many things to consider - slang, local terms, culture, and your audience.  I decided off the bat to stick with one Bible translation in Portuguese - one of the more used. I asked my social media world for occasional advice.  And I consulted with Google Translate and a good old fashioned Portuguese to English dictionary.

My social media pals quickly came to a consensus that the word in Portuguese that best associated with the topic was not a direct translation of "umbrella" or an object used to protect from the rain, but rather the equivalent of "parasol" or an object used to protect from the sun.  The study uses bright and colorful umbrellas as the motif.  In Brazil umbrellas are big and black, while parasols are sweet and colorful.  Also regionally here in Northeast Bahia ladies carry parasols all the time to protect from the sun, and it just doesn't rain.  So instead of Umbrella Prayers, it was decided to go with Parasols of Prayer or Sombrinhas de Oração.  I was a little against the change at first, but now it makes much more sense and the phrase flows much better when spoken.

Last Saturday I had these three test subjects come over to the house for an introduction to Sombrinhas do Oração.  On their own each finished a Bible correspondence study from Source of Light Ministries about prayer prior to our afternoon event.  We reviewed the Bible study together and then went over Psalm 77 just like Melody does in the USA.  Interestingly enough, Melody was also hosting an Umbrella Prayer workshop in North Carolina this past Saturday!  Those ladies prayed for these ladies in Brazil during their meeting.

I have to admit I wasn't entirely certain of how the materials would be received.  I printed a booklet for each one and for myself.  I also made a personal Umbrella Prayer for each one with very specific requests for which I am praying on their behalf.  When the time came to break out the colored markers, everyone went to work!

Right now I'm working on the accompanying leader's guide with the help of two pals who did a editoral review of the first booklet.  It's my hope to delivered a real paper participant's booklet and a leader's guide in PDF form to each pastor's wife at an area-wide women's rally in November.  I also have a few friends in the Fortaleza area who seem interested.  I plan to send them digital materials with examples and explanations so they can easily use them in their own churches.

I'm prepping for any local church group that would like me to come in person to present Umbrella Prayers to their ladies as well.

Anyone reading this can easily contact me by leaving a message below or by sending me an email at micheleatha@yahoo.com.br

If you are in the USA and are interested in knowing more about the ministry of Umbrella Prayers, you can contact Melody Hester through her website:

www.melodyhester.com/umbrella-prayers