John McClelland and
Margaret Louise McClelland
Narrated by Margaret Louise McClelland
Both John and I had the privilege of being brought up in Christian families, members of assemblies. When we were ten years old (both in 1930) still without knowing one another, we experienced giving our hearts and our lives to the Lord, and since then we applied ourselves in preparing to be used by God in His missionary service abroad in the future.
Throughout the years, John, looking for information, came to fix his wish to come to Brazil, whilst I had no fixed destination in mind. An uncle of mine who was a missionary in Malaysia, wearied himself in writing to me encouraging me to go there, but God did not give me the desire to think of it.
Later, John's family came to live nearer the assembly where my family used to meet, and we got to know each other. In time we begun courting and we were married in 1944.
In 1946 the brethren at the Central Gospel Hall, in Toronto, Canada, knowing of our interest in Brazil and in consideration of our involvement in the Church's work, offered us a "letter of commendation". We then requested a "visa" to enter Brazil. The Brazilian Consulate was only extending "temporary visas", which would have to be renewed every two years, but, even so, their reply was negative, and they continued refusing after each attempt.
This was difficult to understand, because time after time we were given signs that God wanted us to continue thinking about His work in Brazil. After much prayer, we began to have doubts.
As we were already in possession of the letter of commendation, we consulted the brethren about the possibility of going to a city in the North of the province of Ontario to help with the work over there and, with their blessing, we went. The two years we were there were certainly blessed well by God, however Brazil was always in our minds, and we didn't stop feeling that the hand of God was over us for His service there - at the time of His choosing. We continued applying for a visa.
One Sunday, after two years, John was in the bedroom praying before Sunday School when I went in to call him. He was kneeling, with the song book in front of him on the bed, and he was weeping, saying in a loud voice: "Lord, I need a reply 'today'. Please, Father, give me a reply 'today'! If we are wrong in our desire, please, show us now, and we shall go back to Toronto and tell the brethren that we were mistaken and we will forget Brazil".
When he picked up the song book he opened it casually and immediately called me - "Come and see". In the page where the book had been opened was a little song which he had never noticed which read - "God loves you, it is true - But He loves the BRAZILIANS too - And my divine command is - Take my Gospel to them." A little note below said that any nationality could substitute "Brazilians" to make other verses. But there it was, in the first verse, the immediate answer of the Lord, and we never doubted any more!
Once again we applied for a visa and this time the answer came in the form of a question - "We cannot provide a temporary visa, but we can offer a permanent visa. Is this acceptable?" No renewals would be necessary! There was a problem, however: we would have to be in Brazil within sixty days. I was seven months pregnant with our first daughter, and just to think of giving birth in a strange place, of tropical climate (we would be going to Santarém, in Pará) and under unknown conditions, already twenty nine years old, was very daunting. It wouldn't be today, but it certainly was fifty six years ago!
We contacted the consulate and they advised us to let the visa expire and apply again after the birth of the baby. What anguish! Would we have to struggle for another two years, perhaps just to get a temporary visa? "Why?" we asked God and His reply was "be quiet and know that I am God."
When Marilyn was born, we again applied for a visa and we got a permanent one! We landed in Belém on 11/11/1948, from where we left for Santarém, being received by Sr. José Penna and his wife D. Almerinda. We stayed with them until we found a house for rental and we began to have Portuguese lessons with Sr. José.
Sr. José Penna had already been in Santarém for some years, having come from Pernambuco, and a group of believers from other churches met to preach the Gospel, but not as a New Testament assembly. They didn't carry out baptisms or celebrate the Lord's Supper, and the sisters didn't cover their heads. Sr. José had never taken the Supper and didn't want to start the practice, but agreed to be the interpreter while John gave ministry concerning these matters. This resulted in the baptism of those who had not been baptised in the churches they came from, after which a group of about twelve people - the sisters with veils on their heads - sat down to "remember the Lord" according to His wish, and a New Testament assembly was formed. God be praised! If that was why God had brought John McClelland to Brazil, His purpose was reached there.
John continued ministering by interpretation, because right at the beginning, for reasons out of our control, the Portuguese lessons were interrupted and never resumed.
It is remarkable how God is always in control, because during this time we received a letter from Dominic and Margery Lipsi, who we did not know and with whom we had never corresponded, welcoming us to Brazil and inviting us to go to Sousas to work with them. There was even a house for letting, right next door to them! After considering this invitation with much prayer before God, we felt it was His direction, and we moved to Sousas at the end of 1949.
We hired a teacher for Portuguese lessons and for three years we enjoyed sweet fellowship in that place, before going to Vila Luzita, in Santo André, at the request of George and Martha Orr and, after, to São Paulo, at the request of Mr Richard Dawson Jones and Mrs Mary Helen Jones.
During this time John felt himself called for the ministry of evangelism, and travelled a lot, staying a long time away from home. God blessed and the harvest of souls was great. At this point God had given us four children and these absences of John were felt a lot. We therefore decided to settle in Ribeirão Preto (SP), with the purpose of planting a local church and, in this way, John would spend less time travelling and more at home. We moved in March 1964. With the help of God our goal was reached and now there are two assemblies progressing well over there.
In 1984, when we were in Canada, God took John away unto Himself. I returned in 1985 to Ribeirão Preto, spending another ten years there before coming to Muriaé (MG), to live near my son Joe and his family, and to be useful as much as possible in the Lord's Work.