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They Called Him “Billy"

During the 1980s and 1990s, Len Neufeld, who has been with Campus Crusade for Christ for 28 years, helped lead a number of church teams into South America to show the JESUS film. On several occasions, he brought members of his family along with him.

This story recounts one such trip.
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Two years after my youngest son accompanied me on a trip to the Amazon, I thought it would be good for my older son Chester, age 22, to come with me.

He was struggling with his Christian commitment at the time due to the influence of his peer group.

But I knew that if he could come on this project with the right heart attitude, it would bring about change.

At first, Chester didn’t seem too enthusiastic about the trip. He claimed his motivation for going would be wrong, namely the possibility for adventure and taking lots of pictures. (He had taken photography in school). I told him those were valid reasons to go. But I also reminded him that he would be privileged to be part of a team that would expose thousands to the gospel.

His final excuse was, "I don't have the money."  He had $1,500 in his savings account from a Saturday farm job that he was willing to use, but it still wasn’t enough. After sending about forty support letters, enough donations came in so that not only could Chester afford to go, he needed to use only half of his savings. God was definitely putting together a plan.

Not long after arriving in Brazil for the eight-week project, the time came for the film teams to leave the jungle city of Manaus to go on a two-week river assignment. Chester and his team took off downstream, and soon we lost contact with them - just the way they wanted it. After many adventures, they returned on time (much to our relief) to report about the great experiences they had.

To my surprise, the team leader said, “You should hear about Chester.  We call him ‘Billy.'”

“Why Billy?” I asked.

“Because he turned out to be the most aggressive evangelist on our team,” the team leader replied. “He was our 'Billy Graham.'"

As the story unfolded, I learned that Chester was the team projectionist.  As such, he had to stay with the equipment after the show was over while other team members and local counsellors mingled with the people. Chester was a bit envious of them. Then one day he created his own opportunity.

After securing the equipment, Chester looked around to see if there was anybody left that he could talk to. All he could see were a few guys some distance away in an open pub. He walked over, gave each man a Portuguese copy of the Four Spiritual Laws and tapped one guy on the shoulder.

"Voce lea," he said in Portuguese. (“You read.” He only knew 5-6 Portuguese words at the time.) The fellow started reading while the others followed along. Chester stopped him when it came to the prayer and made some gestures to indicate that they should pray it to God. All of the men seemed to indicate that they had prayed to receive Christ. But Chester was not willing to take their word for it and asked them all to come with him. He took them to a Portuguese-speaking counselor to verify their sincerity. To Chester’s delight, they all affirmed they had received Christ.

In another town, Chester agreed to share his personal testimony on local radio to a potential audience of about 8,000 people. No one else on the team was willing to do it. But by now, Chester was beginning to enjoy these opportunities, and he did a fantastic job.

Needless to say, when he returned home, he was greatly encouraged by these and other opportunities he had to share his faith. That all happened back in 1986. Today, I’m happy to say Chester is still following the Lord.

Throughout my time doing such projects, I tried as much as possible to make them a family affair. My wife went with me on several occasions. Even my daughter made a trip. In fact, I nearly lost her to an orphanage in Bolivia when she was 16-years-old!

If you’re considering a short-term missions project like this, I encourage you to bring along your children or grandchildren. I guarantee it will be a rewarding experience for everyone, something you and your family will refer back to again and again.

To learn more about a JESUS film trip that you could join, click here.

Related Reading:
An outcast no longer
Live a life of purpose
Need advice? Ask us.

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Kevin Miller is a freelance writer, editor and educator from Abbotsford, BC, Canada. Over the past several years, he has written, co-written and contributed to 26 books, both fiction and non-fiction. He has also written dozens of articles for web sites, magazines and newspapers, including Faith Today, BC Christian News and Maranatha News.