Rodrigues, Luiz Caleb (1870–1960)

By The Brazilian White Center – UNASP

The Brazilian White Center – UNASP is a team of teachers and students at the Brazilian Ellen G. White Research Center – UNASP at the Brazilian Adventist University, Campus Engenheiro, Coelho, SP. The team was supervised by Drs. Adolfo Semo Suárez, Renato Stencel, and Carlos Flávio Teixeira. Bruno Sales Gomes Ferreira provided technical support. The following names are of team members: Adriane Ferrari Silva, Álan Gracioto Alexandre, Allen Jair Urcia Santa Cruz, Camila Chede Amaral Lucena, Camilla Rodrigues Seixas, Daniel Fernandes Teodoro, Danillo Alfredo Rios Junior, Danilo Fauster de Souza, Débora Arana Mayer, Elvis Eli Martins Filho, Felipe Cardoso do Nascimento, Fernanda Nascimento Oliveira, Gabriel Pilon Galvani, Giovana de Castro Vaz, Guilherme Cardoso Ricardo Martins, Gustavo Costa Vieira Novaes, Ingrid Sthéfane Santos Andrade, Isabela Pimenta Gravina, Ivo Ribeiro de Carvalho, Jhoseyr Davison Voos dos Santos, João Lucas Moraes Pereira, Kalline Meira Rocha Santos, Larissa Menegazzo Nunes, Letícia Miola Figueiredo, Luan Alves Cota Mól, Lucas Almeida dos Santos, Lucas Arteaga Aquino, Lucas Dias de Melo, Matheus Brabo Peres, Mayla Magaieski Graepp, Milena Guimarães Silva, Natália Padilha Corrêa, Rafaela Lima Gouvêa, Rogel Maio Nogueira Tavares Filho, Ryan Matheus do Ouro Medeiros, Samara Souza Santos, Sergio Henrique Micael Santos, Suelen Alves de Almeida, Talita Paim Veloso de Castro, Thais Cristina Benedetti, Thaís Caroline de Almeida Lima, Vanessa Stehling Belgd, Victor Alves Pereira, Vinicios Fernandes Alencar, Vinícius Pereira Nascimento, Vitória Regina Boita da Silva, William Edward Timm, Julio Cesar Ribeiro, Ellen Deó Bortolotte, Maria Júlia dos Santos Galvani, Giovana Souto Pereira, Victor Hugo Vaz Storch, and Dinely Luana Pereira.

First Published: January 28, 2020

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Luiz Caleb Rodrigues, canvasser, was born on July 26, 1870, in the city of Olinda, located in the metropolitan region of Recife, State of Pernambuco, Brazil.¹ Caleb was converted and joined the Adventist Church when he was 45 years old, setting aside his belief in African religions. After joining the Adventist Church, he worked as a literature evangelist in the rural areas of the following states of the northeast area of Brazil: Pernambuco, Paraíba, and Rio Grande do Norte.²

Caleb didn’t have a home, so he was always walking along the Northeast Brazilian Caatinga (desert shrub area) with his two donkeys called Bolacha (Biscuit) and Borboleta (Butterfly). As a canvasser, he was very dedicated and didn’t pass a house without visiting it. When he got lost in the area, he prayed that God would guide him and let the donkeys take direction until they found a new home.³

During his work, Caleb always suffered persecution, as in 1928, when he was attacked by a group of people near the city of Pau dos Ferros, State of Rio Grande do Norte. The group said the antichrist would be passing by the door to sell books and gold rosaries. Caleb visited a house where a woman received him screaming and calling him an antichrist, but Caleb stood firm and offered the magazine “O Atalaia” (Oh Watchman) to a man who was in the house. However, the man met him with a piece of wood in his hand to beat him and shouted for him to leave. Later on Caleb found out the man was planning to kill him.⁴

Caleb was not unique for the number of books sold, but for his testimony that was instrumental in converting people and founding churches across the Brazilian Northeast.⁵ For 45 years, Caleb worked in canvassing and even after he retired he continued to assist churches by making benches, pulpits, or by canvassing to make money for churches. All his work resulted in souls for Christ.⁶ During the year 1956, it was estimated that more than 126 people directly or indirectly came into contact with the Adventist message through Caleb.⁷

On September 25, 1970, Luiz Caleb Rodrigues passed away at the age of 90, after devoting 45 years of his life to literature evangelism. Caleb left a very important legacy as a pioneer in northeastern part of Brazil helping develop the SDA Church.⁸

Sources

“Espinhos e Rosas,” Revista Adventista, August 1928.

“Rodrigues.” Revista Adventista, February 1961.

Timm, Alberto. A Colportagem Adventista no Brasil: uma breve história. 2º edição. Engenheiro Coellho, SP: Imprensa Universitária Adventista, 2000.

Notes

“Rodrigues,” Revista Adventista, February 1961, 37.↩
Alberto R. Timm, A Colportagem Adventista no Brasil: uma breve história (Engenheiro Coellho, SP: Imprensa Universitária Adventista, 2000), 159.↩
Ibid., 160.↩
“Espinhos e Rosas,” Revista Adventista, August, 1928, 14, 15.↩
Alberto R. Timm, A Colportagem Adventista no Brasil: uma breve história (Engenheiro Coellho, SP: Imprensa Universitária Adventista, 2000), 162.↩
Ibid., 163.↩
Ibid., 162.↩
Ibid., 163.↩