Fuasto Vasconcelos 59, from Brazil, currently lives in Virginia, USA where the BWA headquarters are located. His history reads like a journal of Brazilian Baptist evangelists.
"In my BWA ministry, I succeeded Australia's Reverend Tony Cupit. There was no better ambassador for Jesus Christ than this remarkable man of God," Fausto explained.
Fausto Vasconcelos was the Baptist World Alliance delegate at the recent Baptist World Alliance Living Water Australasian-South Pacific conference held in Cairns where he gave a video testimony for Australian Missionary News IPTV.
This IPTV channel is a courtesy of SafeWorlds IPTV, which provides a Christian channel within their commercial IPTV network. It is run by Well-Being Australia's 'Basil Sellers Press Service International'.
"My father was a Baptist preacher for 62 years and only went to Glory two years ago, aged 98 years," Fausto Vasconcelos noted. "My mother was a primary school teacher and these two wonderful parents gave me a Christian upbringing."
He would often wonder to himself about his 'nothing' background, "I was a former nothing" Fausto thought, "No drugs, no alcohol, nothing illegal, no breaking the law. With nothing to redeem or reform in my life, I questioned whether my conversion was for real."
It was then that he realised what a wonderful blessing it was to have been raised in a Christian home and he wishes to encourage those young people who have this privilege to realise that they are the most blessed of all.
"I recall when only 7 years of age that a visiting Baptist evangelist preacher from St Paulo came to our home church in Barau, which was the second Baptist Church in that city and was enjoying a revival series of services," Fausto recalled.
At the end of his messages, the preacher would sing, 'My son, give me your heart!' Fausto Vasconcelos told Mark Tronson of the Australian Missionary News IPTV.
It was at this time that Fausto gave his heart to Christ. He remembers those meetings vividly as this visiting preacher was another long-living servant of the Lord who died when he was 88 years old, and was still preaching Jesus even at that ripe old age.
"I am now 59 years of age, so for 52 years I have been following Jesus Christ, walking with the Lord, and my greatest joy was to baptise my two daughters Diane and Denise when they made their own decision to take Jesus as their personal Saviour," Fausto Vasconcelos explained.
His wife Deanine and he are rejoicing in that both daughters have married committed Christian gentlemen and he can say as Joshua said all those years ago, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."