A Weekend with Friends

Last weekend we had the pleasure of hosting some friends of ours who are missionaries in Itú, a lovely town just outside of São Paulo. Back row, right - Mark and Ali Kaiser. I have known Ali for more than ten years, back to the days when I was doing Let's Start Talking in Itu and Ali was the "activator" of the church youth group where her parents are missionaries. We got to meet Mark for the first time earlier this year at the missionary conference in Canela.

Back row, left - Carol and Amanda, missionary interns in Itu. They came to POA last year as part of the Aggies for Christ team that helped build the chácara dormitory. Unfortunately, it rained most of the weekend, so we didn't get out a whole lot, but we did have some fantastic conversations about life, and we go to spend some quality time at the chácara! Mark & Ali recently encountered a place called Sitio Shalom in Itú that is similar to the chácara, and they would like to start helping with that work. So we took them out to our chácara and let them meet the guys and soak in the atmosphere of spiritual transformation. Mark even stayed out there a day and a night to get the full immersion experience.

We did a Saturday night on the town, hitting a Brazilian steakhouse for some great food, folks and fun, complete with a music and dance show. (Mark is acting like he's only going to take one piece of meat here, but he really wanted the whole skewer!)

Waleska and Amanda are really digging the barbecue beef! These are my favorite types of restaurants - an all you can eat meat buffet, what more could you ask for? The Brazilians know how to do it right!

We miss you guys already, Mark & Ali, Carol, Amanda! Come back anytime! :>)

The Newest Missionary in Town!

Please welcome Giovanni Müller Blume to the world! He was born to our teammates Kevin and Benay Blume in the early hours of September 3rd. Check out the link to the Blumes' blog in the right-hand column on this page to get all the inside scoop...

Guilherme's Baptism

A few weeks ago I wrote about a new Bible study we had begun with a young man named Guilherme. He is a bright guy with a bright future in the field of computer science. He has been dating Gabrieli, daughter of our friends and brothers Lauro & Lorena. Our Bible study time has been amazing - he has soaked up the Word like a sponge. It's always exciting to study the Word with someone who is so eager to learn. Last week Guilherme came to us and said he would like to be baptized! It's finally nice to be able to participate in a baptism! (It's a running joke here in POA that whenever I leave town for a trip, someone gets baptized - that has happened a dozen times over the past few years!)

The baptism was on Saturday at Mark & Ju White's home (they work in Viamão, a satellite city of POA). As you can see, Guilherme didn't need much help going under water!

Two thumbs up for a new life in Christ!

After the baptism we had a snack & conversation time at Guilherme's house with some of his relatives, several of whom attend the church in Cantão that we visit from time to time. L-r: Guilherme's aunt Daniela, his future mother-in-law Lorena, friends Valquiria, Waleska and Ju, his girlfriend Gabrieli, grandmother Helena (who is practically his mother because she has raised him since birth) and his stepmother whose name I forgot :>). Praise God for Guilherme's rebirth and pray that the Lord will continue to pour out His Spirit on Cantão!