How Haggai Institute Has Influenced a Brazilian Astronomer

A Brazilian astronomer, Eduardo Baldaci de Lima, one of the only four astronomers recognized by the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), has described how God used his training in Haggai Institute to influence his life and ministry.

Astronomer Eduardo Baldaci de Lima

According to him, he left Haggai Institute with a broader understanding of the hope to which he had been called.

“God wants to use me in totality for the extension of His Kingdom; not just my spiritual dimension but also my abilities and capabilities with which He Himself has gifted me,” he said. “God has placed His servants in all secular professions, including astronomy.”

In describing his experience during and after the training Eduardo further said, “To me, the Haggai Institute training has been like a powerful observatory instrument. An observatory is a structure containing telescopes and other instruments for observing celestial objects and phenomena. Haggai Institute was placed strategically in my life to allow me see the eternal sign of God’s grace in the limitless sky of His Will, well above the clouds that sometimes appear like an interruption to blur optical clarity of divine reality.”

Eduardo, a Haggai Institute’s 2006 graduate, said he first stepped into Cuiabá, capital of Mato Grosso state, in 2005, to plant a church adding that it was then that he got involved with the Haggai Institute ministry, through local seminars. “It was from then on that Haggai Institute’s guiding principles have strongly influenced my life, work and ministry.”

He noted that though discipleship continues to be his chief passion,

Astronomer Eduardo Baldaci de Lima delivering a lecture on Saturn and Astronomy in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil

through experiences and years of ministry, he has also grasped the fact that he could be a self-sustaining tent-maker and use his knowledge of Astronomy to talk about God in places which would not normally be open to a traditional pastor.

He said that his professional involvement has given him a wide range of influence as well as enabled him to put together an impressive network of relationships and that he has established and will continue to lead the movement of political awareness about the vital necessity of building the first observatory planetarium in Mato Grosso.

“Wherever I go, I’m not a bit bashful about introducing myself as a pastor and servant of God, after which, I make full use of the opportunity to share the Gospel by presenting the telescope as just another tool to get closer to God. I make other astronomers look anew into the depths of the universe God created to see the beauty that He conceives and places before us every night to show us His glory,” he also said.

Eduardo, who is also a Baptist pastor and a public ombudsman of Mato Grosso in the state’s education department recounts that way back in 2005, prior to his teaming up with Haggai Institute, he had believed that his role as a church planter should be limited to that of a traditional pastor who confined himself basically to discipleship.

He added, “I’ve already received a commendation as the “Best State Ombudsman”. Hectic though it is I accept several invitations to lecture on Astronomy in schools around the state. All these opportunities give me a unique opportunity to share the Gospel and expand my network in order to promote what God brought me to do in the first place - to plant churches for Jesus Christ.”

Eduardo observed that at present his training at the Haggai Institute has empowered him to utilize every open door as an opportunity to evangelize and as such is being invited to fight violence in schools, which he does, but also mediates and promotes understanding for the betterment of the state ombudsman network.

According to him, some people find a conflict between the bible and modern science adding that he fails to see the disconnect, but rather believes what the Bible states - that God created the universe. “I believe science is discovering the way God accomplished this creation. I find that observing the wonders of the universe helps me get closer to Him. I can see with my own eyes the beautiful wonders of the universe. And I look forward to seeing a Quasar that is about 2.6 billion light years away and sensing light that has been on its way here for almost 3 billion years. I really find God and His works simply amazing.”

On his favorite memories while in Haggai Institute, Eduardo summed it up this way, “One of my favorite seminar related memories is the fact that during my months at the Institute’s Mid-Pacific Center, I was able to visit the Haleakala Summit and also went up to the front doors of the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Observatory. It’s a super computer built strategically above the clouds to enable scientists to visualize the stars 365 days per year.”