CONTENTS

1    Born to Music

2    Betinho and Carmen Miranda

3    Betinho's Love and Marriage

4    Betinho Crowned "King of the Night"

5    The Miracle Tent

6    Betinho and Miracles

7    I Met Betinho

8    Betinho Says Seven Things to the Youth of America

Chapter One

BORN TO MUSIC

Betinho was born for music. He grew up with

a guitar in his hand. From his earliest recollection, his home was a meeting place of popular musicians. He remembers that each night his father would kiss him good night and leave for the nightclub to play and sing until the early morning and then would sleep until noon the next day.

Betinho not only possessed a natural gift of music, inherited from his father, but he applied himself diligently as well. Most of all he loved American jazz. His chief ambition from boyhood was one day to come to America and to play and sing for great audiences. What Betinho did not know was that one day he would come to America, but he would not be playing the Mambo, the Samba, Tango or Jazz, but would be playing gospel music for the Lord Jesus Christ.

When I look at Betinho, I am reminded of diamonds —those precious stones which scintillate in gayest beauty and brilliance. It is difficult to believe that their unearthly beauty comes from the dark underworld of carbon and that by a miracle of transformation, they become dazzling and costly stones. This is also true of Betinho, whose life and testimony shines so brightly today, and yet his entire life was lived in the dark places of nightclubs and worldly entertainment.

Betinho, diminutive of Albert in Portuguese, is the only son of the late Professor Josue Borges de Barros, a celebrated nightclub entertainer of Brazil and

Argentina. The Barros family knew only one life—the giddy and unhallowed world of Brazil's boites or nightclubs. It was from this deep mine of sin and jazz enchantment that God found a true-hearted man and transformed him by the refining processes of grace into a Christian gem of beauty.

The outstanding factor in Betinho's life today is his strong faith and unashamed testimony before any person he meets.

Music will always be Betinho's world. Inasmuch as his father was a professor of music, a composer, recording artist and public performer, it was only natural that his only son, Betinho, would very early be introduced to entertainment.

From Betinho's earliest recollection, he wanted to see his name ablaze in lights above the plushest nightclubs of the South American Continent. He wanted to hear the encore time and again as the people lauded him and his band.

Possibly the greatest disappointment in Betinho's life was the fact that his success and fame did not satisfy him. He became a restless spirit. He was tormented by inner conflicts. He was not a happy man inside, although his business was to make the world laugh. But when he was alone in his hotel room, Betinho knew that the deepest longings of his heart were not being satisfied.

Betinho perhaps found, as Jonathan Swift suggested, that worldly pleasures are "balanced by an equal degree of pain or languor" and no doubt this restlessness and unhappiness in Betinho's heart was providentially from God. For as Goethe put it, "Uneasiness is indeed a specie of sagacity—a passive sagacity. Fools are never uneasy." Betinho was always uneasy. He felt that in some way he was missing the best in life, and he saw many disappointments in the lives of the people who danced before him night after night.

Betinho was born in the year 1917, during a terrible great war, in the city of Salvador in the State of Bahia, Brazil.

Salvador is one of Brazil's oldest and most historical cities. It is a city sharply divided into an upper city on the cliffs and a lower city by the seashore. It is situated at the entrance of All Saints Bay. Amerigo Vespucci, sailing under the flag of the King of Portugal, discovered the Bay of Bahia on November 1, 1501.

When I visited this city, they explained to me that it was distinguished for having 365 Roman Catholic churches in it—one for each day of the year. Also, this entire state of Bahia is the stronghold of the lowest form of spirit worship in Brazil, the Candombles. It is a curious form of fetish practices from Africa mixed with demon worship and using Roman Catholic idols and ceremony.

Professor Barros and his wife, Hosana, were filled with great joy when God visited their home with a son. Betinho says that neither his father nor mother actually encouraged him to become a professional musician and that he went to other teachers and obtained his first lessons. Before long, however, the community in which he lived knew Betinho would follow the family tradition because in his early teens he was already in great demand to play in local bands.

Through a natural talent which God had given him, Betinho acquired his own original style of playing. He liked to blend South American melodies with his own interpretation of American jazz. Before he was out of his teens, music critics acclaimed him one of the best interpreters of jazz in South America. Seeking to live up to this reputation, Betinho devoted himself to the study of music day and night.

It was from this seeming hopeless world of fantasy that God in His wonderful way made plans for Betinho's conversion. He placed something so great in Betinho's heart that he was willing to uproot the old desires and ambitions of the world of night and replant them with hope and aspiration from the world of day. The change is so radical that the things which Betinho once loved, he doesn't care for any more. How thrilling it is to see top talent once devoted to the Devil now used for the glory of God. Or, as I said in the beginning of this chapter, a piece of crystallized carbon become a sparkling gem of beauty. Only God can take a life in the darkness of sin and transform it into a life of radiance.

Chapter Two

BETINHO AND CARMEN MIRANDA

Birds of a feather—get together! This old adage is certainly true with whatever profession one chooses.

It was simply inevitable that the sensational singing and dancing star, Carmen Miranda, meet Professor Barros. He had composed many successful Latin songs and was a genius at accompanying soloists who were singing his compositions. His entire band moved as one person through all the vibrating emotions of mambo music.

When the professor met Carmen and heard her voice, he promptly told her there was only one place good enough for her and that was the top ... and he promised to see to it that she arrived. From their first meeting, Carmen became a very close friend of the Barros family.

She made a number of hit records produced by Victor Recordings of songs composed and arranged by Professor Barros.

When Carmen Miranda was discovered by Professor Barros, Betinho was only 15 years old, but he was already a master of the guitar. He adored Carmen from the first time he met her and spent a lot of time playing for and singing with her in duets.

When the professor arranged a musical tour of the cities of Northern Brazil, Betinho, through Carmen's begging, was included in the troop and was featured as her accompanist and singing partner.

Thus in his teens, Betinho realized his deepest desire in life, namely, to become a professional entertainer. In all the gay cities of Northern Brazil, his nightclub acts with Carmen were a great success. Newspapers gave them lots of publicity, resulting in capacity audiences each night. Attractive invitations began to pour in from many cities of South America. The group studied these invitations and decided to accept a contract with a celebrated nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The performers returned to Rio de Janeiro and from there set sail for South America's largest city.

Betinho suddenly became part of an international set. He would dress in two or three different costumes in one evening. Being young and handsome, he was placed in front. He lived a gay and fast life in one of the most glamorous cities of Latin America. None of the dancing and drinking nightclub people would have guessed that the handsome youth with dark, wavy hair and large brown eyes was only a boy 15 years old.

He became the darling of the public and of his father's band. But for Betinho only Carmen mattered. She was beautiful, laughing and dancing and singing under a strange inspiration. It seemed to him that she was carried on a wind as the band played the lilting tunes.

By the time Betinho was 16, his life took on the pattern of a professional entertainer. There were late hours. Sometimes he played until daybreak. There was daytime sleeping, when one could find a quiet place. There was constant traveling from nightclub to nightclub, performing before gaily dressed men and women.

Betinho liked his work. But sometimes, when he was alone, he wished desperately he could live like other people. Sometimes he felt sorry for his mother and his sister who spent every night alone. Betinho wondered if all his life would be spent in the saloon with people drinking and dancing.

When the contract expired in Buenos Aires, Carmen came to Professor Barros and said that she desired to go to the United States. She told him that with her newly acquired dances and Latin songs, she could sing to large audiences in America. So Carmen left the Professor's band and went on to Hollywood where she became a motion picture star.

By this time the Professor and his family liked Argentina so well that they decided to remain there. For seven years, he and his band played in the nightclubs of Buenos Aires. During this time Betinho reached his twenties and became recognized as an outstanding musician, singer and band leader. He began to compose songs and to make records of his own compositions.

When Betinho was in his early twenties, the family returned to their native Brazil to live. Not long after this, he organized his own band and began to publish his own music. It was only natural for him to move toward the top and to more or less replace his father who was now nearing retirement.

Chapter Three

BETINHO’S LOVE AND MARRIAGE

It SEEMED that Betinho was so busy writing his music and then playing it all night, he did not have time to find a wife. He saw many beautiful girls in his world of entertainment, but for a long time he did not take any of them seriously. Back in Brazil now, Betinho became acquainted with Presyla Herminia, a beautiful and charming Brazilian girl. After a period of courtship, they were married.

Betinho's parents were Protestants of the Presbyterian faith, though they did not go to church very often, and Betinho had no close association with the church; but his mother took a spiritual interest in Presyla and she was brought to Christ. This added to the joys of the professor's family.

God has many ways of influencing a person's life . . . of trying to bring about a commitment to Himself. With Betinho, it began when God blessed his home with a son whom he named Alberto Josue Barros. At the birth of this first child, Betinho says God performed a miracle for him. The doctors had told him it was impossible for this child to have a normal or natural birth. At the time of the delivery, it looked as if mother and child would die.

In the hospital, Betinho became so overcome with grief that he went into the waiting room and cried out to God with all his heart, trying to make a sincere consecration to God. He begged God to save his wife and child and said he would do anything God required of him. Although Betinho did not know it, his wife who was nearing death also prayed to God.

It was the first sincere prayer he had ever prayed. It was his first great battle in the spiritual world. As Betinho prayed in the waiting room of the hospital, God sent a surge of real peace to his heart. He felt assurances that neither his wife nor the child would die.

He returned to the hospital ward and was met by a nurse who said, "Your wife has had a normal delivery and you have a fine son." To say that Betinho was hilarious is an understatement. He was wild with joy. When he talked to his wife, he discovered they had shared a real spiritual experience. They were both thrilled that God had worked in their hearts simultaneously, that He had miraculously saved the child and Presyla's life.

Five years later a second child was born to Betinho and Presyla—a lovely daughter whom they named Irani.

Betinho, fully realizing he had a wife and family to support, worked harder at his profession than ever before. His popularity increased. Newspapers featured pictures and stories of his band. His records were in top listings. But the crowning event of his musical career came when he was chosen the Number One orchestra leader in a great national contest with other leading bands. As a result of this contest, he was crowned the "King of the Night." This gave him national acclaim.

Chapter Four

BETINHO CROWNED "KING OF THE NIGHT”

As HIS musical career spiraled high in the sky, Betinho was invited to compete in a contest to see who was the greatest band director and which band was the most outstanding. This contest was sponsored by A Ultima Hora, a nationally known newspaper. A grand prize was offered to the winner and the title of "King of the Night."

There were many bands which entered the contest, but only five finalists. These five consisted of some of the most famous orchestras in Brazil. The final judging took place in one of Brazil's best known nightclubs, The Boite Oasis in Sao Paulo. Betinho remembers that all available space for the prominent spectators was taken. The judges were notables from the world of music, motion pictures, radio, television and journalism.

Betinho says that throughout the evening the atmosphere in the nightclub was electric. Every band was doing its best and performing all the tricks it could. Each one hoped to be the winner.

Betinho's band was the fourth group to perform. He was nervous. "My knees shook like leaves," he said, "but as I stood up and bowed, the tremendous ovation given me by that great audience caused me to lose all fear."

Betinho's band first played an American number. The people liked it. The applause was like thunder. He felt confident he would win. Then he announced that his band would conclude with one of his own compositions. After his band played this, the celebrated audience stood and applauded for minutes.

After the fifth band had played its numbers, the competition was at an end. A short time later the judges announced their decision. Betinho had won. He learned that six of the seven judges in a secret ballot had voted for him. That night he was crowned A Rei da Noite or "King of the Night."

Newspapers carried the story and his acclaim went to all parts of Brazil. Invitations for appearances poured in from many cities. His recordings hit an all time high in sales. There was no doubt that Betinho was now at the pinnacle of his career, but Betinho looked at me and with tears in his eyes, said, "Brother Sumrall, I was so surprised that this did not make me truly happy. Inside of me I was sad. Something was yet not satisfied. The money and the popularity were not meeting the deepest need of my life and yet I did not know which way to turn nor what to do."

Men in Betinho's profession told him that he was just lucky. But Betinho said he felt God was leading him in that way in order to prepare him for this present hour ... when he comes to America.

Chapter Five

THE MIRACLE TENT

Betinho says that in some strange way his spiritual life has always had an association with a tent, although he had never seen a tent used for gospel work until recent years. It was in the tent that he found God and it was in the tent that he and I met in Brasilia.

Betinho says that although his parents were of the Protestant faith, they did not attend church very often and did not participate in any church activities. It was through the testimony of a Christian in Argentina that his parents really made a decision to attend church regularly.

Betinho says, "My parents were quite concerned when I was not interested in joining the church with them. They shed tears over me and I was made very sad when I could feel their love toward me."

While in Buenos Aires, Betinho says that he sometimes went to church with his parents, because of his love for them, but even in church, his samba music was going through his mind and he could have written songs right there.

Back in Rio de Janeiro, Betinho played first with the famous Carlos Michado orchestra in the world renowned Casino da Urca. He said that each night numbers of people from many nations, especially from America, came to the casino to gamble, dine and dance. Betinho's life was almost drunken with the gaiety of this show.

While in Rio, Betinho's parents tried again to get him to church. This time they invited him to the First Baptist Church. Betinho remembers that he saw great concern written on his parents' faces. Evidently he was deeper in sin than he realized and had gone too far with his worldliness.

"The church in Rio interested me more than the one in Buenos Aires," says Betinho. "The minister, Rev. Martins, stirred me deeply with his messages. For the first time in my life, I shed tears in a church."

Betinho says from this occasion, he never felt right in his professional life again. The worldly places of gambling and dancing did not seem as they did before.

Now Betinho moved to Sao Paulo and had his own band. Here with his family, he was making a place for himself in the world.

After one year in Sao Paulo, a neighbor friend of his who was a newspaper journalist brought over a newspaper article which he had written. His headlines for the article were "The Miracle Tent." Immediately Betinho and his wife were interested. They thought a tent was usually a place for a circus. How could they have religious services under a tent?

Anyway, Betinho thanked his neighbor for showing him the story he had written and told him he thought it was a very fine story. But Betinho says, "My wife and I were more interested in the meetings than we were in the story the man had printed in the newspaper. The next day we went ourselves to see what we could find in this tent. We became electrified as we entered. For the first time, I heard people sing uninhibited. They seemed so joyous."

Betinho and his wife were so interested that they walked down to the front of the tent so they could see all that was going on. Betinho says, "I felt as if some strange power from God had come and was taking me back to the beginning of Christianity 2,000 years ago. I felt the great loving hands of Jesus come upon me and felt a fire burning in my soul. I was only sorry for one thing: that I could not walk on the platform and participate in the wonderful work because of my professional activities. From the first night, I began praying without ceasing for God to work out some solution to this problem."

The minister on the first night that Betinho attended the miracle tent was Rev. Harold Williams. Betinho thought the enthusiasm and self-sacrifice of the workers were unusual to behold. He saw many people making decisions to become Christians.

He witnessed tears in the eyes of many who came forward to accept Christ. At the conclusion of the meeting, Betinho walked up to Rev. Williams and offered his services, explaining that he was a professional musician.

The missionary said, "If you love the Lord Jesus and if your sins are forgiven, you have a right to work for Jesus as much as I."

With great satisfaction to Betinho, Rev. Williams presented him as one of the workers in the evangelistic services. Betinho says for the first time in his life he was at peace with God and with himself. He felt a new rhythm in his soul. It was the melody of heaven.

Betinho could not stay away from these meetings. Each night he was there and observed many miracles of healing take place. Many of his own Brazilian friends accepted Christ. This was the beginning of the great change in Betinho's life.

Betinho says, "One week later, I felt an unusual inspiration and composed a new song entitled, O Neurostenico which became very popular throughout Brazil and other countries. With the royalties and commissions I received from this music, I was able to purchase the lovely home in which we now live. From this time I have prospered as never before, being invited to participate in the nation's best television programs and to play before the nation's finest people.

"When a new tent was needed to carry on this miracle work in other places, for the first time in my life I counted it a real joy and a deep satisfaction to give liberally unto God's work. It was indeed a new life in every way for me."

Betinho wrote his parents and told them he had found a miracle tent where many miracles took place every night, both in the souls and in the bodies of people. He told them that he now had a living Saviour in his heart and they would never have to weep over him any more. He told his father that though he was born for music even his music did not satisfy him. Playing in the fashionable supper clubs in Brazil and for gay parties given by millionaires could never satisfy the deepest longing of his soul. "I was an unhappy man playing to unhappy people, but now it is all different since Jesus has become so real."

Betinho wrote his father and said, "My work of the night must change now to the work of the day."

Thus it was the "King of the Night" humbled himself as a child and entered the Kingdom of God. "There was joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."

A few years later, under a tent in Brasilia, I met Betinho and found in him a true brother with a warm heart and a desire to give his testimony to the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

Chapter Six

BETINHO AND MIRACLES

It IS TRULY amazing the change that takes place in a person's life after he has given his heart to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's as different as day and night. Or it can be compared to the black carbon changed by divine miracle into a sparkling diamond. Betinho did not become an ordinary Christian; he became an ardent follower of Christ. He gives his testimony with boldness and thrust.

For example, when his father was taken very ill, Betinho was called to Rio de Janeiro. Upon his arrival, he was told by the doctors that his father could not live. Betinho consoled his mother and his sister. At this time, many of his father's notable friends came to visit him. Betinho had an irresistible urge to tell these people of the change in his life. When his father passed away, Betinho says a spiritual power came to him at the hospital. He invited the doctors and nurses and the family friends into a room, and through a strange inspiration, told them of his faith in God and explained to them that his father was now in the Kingdom of God, for he had been saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, and that only his body remained there.

Betinho says the doctors and nurses and the others were visibly influenced when they saw his courage, at the time when he had lost his father.

Betinho has witnessed several miracles in his life. After his conversion, he was in Rio de Janeiro on business and stayed with his mother and sister. While there, Betinho's sister, Odette, was struck with a sudden and severe pain in her abdomen.

Betinho says that when it happened he was at the piano writing music and singing. His mother interrupted him and told him his sister was very ill. She said she was going to call a doctor, as Odette had suffered such attacks several times. One doctor had told her it could be cancer and that they should operate on her.

Betinho spoke to his mother and said he had witnessed many sick people being healed by God's power in Sao Paulo. He explained that it was through prayer for the sick. His mother asked, "Do you have this power to pray for the sick?" And for a moment Betinho was baffled. Could a bandmaster and a music composer pray for sick people? He did not know. This was a real challenge to him.

He describes it this way: "I asked God what to do and felt impressed that I must read a passage from the Bible. I opened the Bible to the Gospel of Mark chapter 16, verses 14 to 18, and I read these verses aloud to my mother and sister. I asked my sister if she believed. She replied that she did and that she wanted me to pray for her. Please believe me when I say I considered myself too small for such a task, but trusting only in God's Word, which I had read, I fell to my knees and cried to the Lord for my sister's healing.

"As I prayed, a great feeling of assurance came into my heart. I placed my hands on her ailing side and asked God to heal her immediately. At that moment a strange thing happened ... something very unexpected. Even while I was praying and as God began to do a miracle for my sister, twice the center of my hand cracked as if the tendons had broken. One could hear the noise with the ear. Naturally I was startled and wondered what was happening, yet I felt it must be God's power.

"After this had happened a second time, my sister began to weep and praise God. She said the terrible pain had suddenly vanished and a new strength had returned to her body. The change was so dramatic that a few minutes later she arose and returned to her household duties. I was so overcome with joy I returned to my music almost in the heavens.

"But the greatest part of the miracle came a few hours later when my sister felt a sensation in her abdomen. She went to the bathroom and there passed in her urine pieces of flesh and blood. This caused great astonishment in the house, but I immediately told them this was the growth which God had destroyed and in this way had brought it out of her body. Our family greatly rejoiced because God was willing to do such a supernatural work for our home and for a member of our family. As a professional musician, I had never dreamed that I would ever witness the power of God in such a wonderful way. And yet, as I found out later, I was to see it again and again."

Betinho says that with this same sister he saw another miracle sometime later. "She had a tooth in her upper jaw which was very painful and which caused her face to swell. One night the pain was so intense that she could hardly stand it. She said to me, 'Betinho, my pain is unbearable. Could you ask God once again to help me?' And though I did not know whether God would do this again, I simply did all that I knew to do. I placed my hands on her jaw and prayed. I asked God to grant us another miracle. The pain immediately left her. A few days later she told me that her tooth was completely normal with all the swelling and inflammation gone. Our entire family thanked God for this miracle."

One of the greatest miracles in Betinho's life had to do with his own son. Betinho had been working in Brasilia, the new capital, and had returned home. In a letter to me, he wrote, "Immediately after I arrived home from Brasilia, I received some bad news that shocked and saddened me profoundly. My son, Alberto, normally a strong boy and apparently in perfect physical condition, began to suffer convulsions. Our doctor called it epilepsy. My family and I were at the point of despair. My wife and I wept together a number of nights. It seemed like an eternity.

"Our son was constantly assaulted by this devil of epilepsy. The attacks seemed to be more frequent and more terrible every day. Our family doctor who diagnosed the case said our son would always be subject to these attacks. However, we did not surrender our faith, because of his diagnosis, or because of the condition of our dear son.”

"My wife and I and our children gathered for daily prayer. We cried unto the Lord with all of the power of our hearts, asking Him to make us a living sacrifice and telling Him that we trusted only in Him. We asked Him please to answer the anguish of our souls and to heal our son. God answered our prayer. He stretched forth His hand and healed our son. Alberto has not had any more attacks since we prayed. After many weeks, we took him to the doctor for examination and the doctor was amazed when I told him the boy had had no more attacks. In utter amazement, the doctor confirmed the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ had healed our son."

Chapter Seven

I MET BETINHO

My FAMILY and I were living in Hong Kong, China. One day while fasting and praying, God told me that the Communists were trying to take Brazil and that I should help the people of Brazil. I moved my family to the United States and visited Brazil. I found that communism was seeking to take all of Latin America and, of course, Brazil is the key nation. I was seized with the conviction that an evangelistic center in the capital city of Brasilia would be the greatest blessing to the nation.

I went again to Brazil and God gave me a beautiful three-acre lot in the center of the city on which to build an evangelistic center. I purchased a large tent and placed it on this lot and began our church. The first night a handsome young man walked into the tent and into my heart.

How did it happen? Betinho says, "It looks as if the greatest spiritual experiences of my life have been associated with gospel tents. I was playing with my band at the International Hotel, the largest hotel in South America. Though we were playing for the elite of the nation, I was dissatisfied. One day I was out for a walk and saw a piece of paper lying in the gutter. For some reason I reached down and picked it up. It was an announcement of a tent revival in Brasilia. My heart began to beat fast. 'Tent meeting miracles!' It had now been several years since I had been in a tent meeting.

"I became so excited I hailed a passing cab and had him rush me to the tent. It was the opening service of the first night. Here I met my old friend, Reverend Virgil Smith, whom I had known in Sao Paulo and who helped me so much. And with him I met new friends, Reverend Lester Sumrall, Reverend Clifton Erickson and Reverend Norman Anderson.

"I asked if I might assist with the meetings. The next night I brought my electric guitar from the hotel and set it up. My accordionist came with me to assist with the music. I was so happy to be back in a tent meeting."

The people of Brasilia loved Betinho's sweet singing and lovely music. To be sure, he made a great contribution to the services. He made arrangements to remain in Brasilia for another month and to assist in the meetings night after night. I got to know him well and had a great time of fellowship with him in the Lord.

Betinho has a host of important friends in the government, many of whom hold responsible positions. One of his friends to whom he introduced me is the Director of Communications for the government of Brazil, and through this contact I was offered television and radio time.

At a time when Betinho could enjoy his greatest popularity, he has consecrated his life completely to Christ. He wishes to devote himself exclusively to evangelism, playing and singing for the Lord. Unfortunately, this is not as easy in Brazil as it is in America. Churches do not pay musicians for their music, so Betinho is now entering business as a livelihood, devoting as much time as possible to gospel work.

On my last visit to Brasilia, Betinho was in Sao Paulo, but arranged to come to Brasilia immediately and to play for my meetings again. While there, I told him the young people of America would like to hear his testimony of how God had taken the "King of the Night" and made him a Son of God. I asked him if he would be willing to tour America and to bless the young people. He said, "I am so happy for an opportunity to serve God in this way. I want to give Him every hour of my life. If my wife and children could be provided for, I would be so happy to bless all of the young people of America with my testimony and to warn them of the ways of the devil, who brings so much sadness to people's lives."

In a letter to me he said, "Good Brother Sumrall, you can be assured that I have not the least bit of interest in working in nightclubs any more, because I am certain God will supply all of my needs by His grace."

Chapter Eight

BETINHO SAYS SEVEN THINGS TO THE YOUTH OF AMERICA

As I am coming to America and will visit you in your churches, I wish the privilege of saying a few personal words to you.

I have lived my entire life in the world of amusement. From boyhood I have only known the low burning lights of the nightclub. I have watched the gaudy customers as they come and go. I have observed the bloom of youth vanish from the cheeks of young men and women. I know what too much alcohol will do to a human. I know what too much night life will do. So will you please listen to me for a moment, as I tell you the following things:

1.  Give God your heart early. Don't wait as I did until you have tasted the very dregs of the devil's ways. The glitter of night life is very much like a butterfly. It's very pretty if you don't touch it, but once you grasp it, it is only a smeared mess. If you will give your heart to God, while you are young, you will never have any regrets when you get older.

2. Live a good moral life. The spirit of the nightclub says, "Take a chance," "take a chance." But I have found this is the spirit of the devil who wishes to damn your immortal soul. The devil would have you believe that to throw your morals to the wind is to get the most out of life. I have found the opposite to be true. Youths who throw their morals to the winds are throwing out their happiness. Even those who commit sin with you laugh at you behind your back. They will even hate you because of the very sins they have committed with you. God has so made our beautiful universe that no moral transgression can ever bring enduring happiness to your heart. I have witnessed so many young people living carelessly, but they all came to a sad end, so please live a good moral life.

3. The dance floor does not satisfy your soul. Millions of poor humans every night go to the dance floors of the world, hoping to dance away their problems. I have seen them by the hundreds, swaying and twisting and cavorting, and have felt sorry for them. I have tried to help them, but in most cases the dance floor only multiplies their problems. I am sure the modern dance is no place for Christians to go. It can become a pitfall for the soul, a gateway to destruction, from which you can never get back to God. It can break down your moral nature so that you find it easy to sin. The dance floor certainly is not the answer to your problems. I know this. I spent my life there and I am telling you the truth.

4. I beg you not to drink alcoholic beverages. Whether it be beer or wine or liquors, they are positively no answer to your heart's problems. At first it seems like fun to drink and you feel it makes you popular with others. But each drink calls for another one and these drinks become the beginning of the end of your moral and spiritual life. I have seen so many whose lives have been shattered as they went the downward trail at the bar. Of course, no young person expects to become an alcoholic when he first begins drinking, but then wine is a deceiver. This I have observed from my experience in watching men and women and their drinking habits. It finally breaks their health and oftentimes their homes.

5. Always put God first in your life. For many years, I put my profession first and last in my life. I lived music day and night. Anyone who did not talk music was not interesting to me. One day God brought me to my senses and I saw the futility of this whole world without God. My name in bright lights over the gay nightspots did not satisfy my soul. The people applauding for me lost its feeling in my heart. At last I found that only God could truly satisfy my immortal soul; therefore, I have now put Him first in my life. I beg you, while you are young, put God first in your life. He will guide you to the right friends and to the right mate for your life and He will lead you to the right business. He will make life truly worth living. But if you put yourself first, and if you place sin first in your life, you can only experience sorrows and troubles.

6. Obey your parents. After I had drunk of the wine of this world and had become drunken with the applause of men, I didn't feel my father and mother knew what was best for me. I thought I knew more. But after I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ, then I realized the great love my parents had for me and how they were my best friends and had my soul's interest at heart. Though I do not know you, please permit me to say: If you have Christian parents who love God, please respect them and obey them. They are your best friends and though they may not seem to be very well educated, according to your terms, they are the ones who can lead you to Jesus, to life eternal and to great joy. I am sorry now for any heartache I brought to my mother and father, and you will be the same if you do not live for Jesus.

7. Christ will rejoice if you win souls. The greatest joy I have found was not in nightspots of black sin ... not even when I was crowned "King of the Night." I only thought I was happy then. Today I know it is in religious services where I experience my greatest joy. I came to know the glittering lights of this world go out. I came to know the dance finally ends, and so now I am working for Jesus Christ. It is my joy to speak to others and to tell them about Jesus. Whether they be a high government official or a lowly porter carrying my suitcase, I speak to them about Jesus. And in many instances, God is gracious and they are willing to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

Young people, you can work like the United States Peace Corps is working around the world. They are ordinary people who go to other countries and bless the people of those countries in small ways, even though at a sacrifice and in hardships. But they do bring peace to the hearts of those people economically. You can work in God's Peace Corps and bring peace to the hearts of people. Even though you can only do small things, yet you can do more to win souls than you think.

I, Betinho, your Brazilian brother, have spoken to you, because I love you.

Table of Contents

1 Born to Music

2 Betinho and Carmen Miranda

3 Betinho's Love and Marriage

4 Betinho Crowned "King of the Night"

5 The Miracle Tent

6 Betinho and Miracles

7 I Met Betinho

8 Betinho Says Seven Things to the Youth of America