POA Rehbeins

My Side Job as a Gospel Rap Music Agent

2009-11-29T20:45:00.009-02:00

Back in the day when I was a Lipscomb student, my nickname was "Snoop." It's too long to explain how I got this nickname - I'm not even entirely sure how I acquired it. But since it stuck, I would occasionally bust out a rhyme, my white bread version of rap. Nothing professional or anything, but just for fun, when my friends would least expect it, I would let loose with some verses. People were always surprised "where did you come up with that?" I started to think there was a rap music star within me.

Well, I didn't make it as a rapper, to my everlasting chagrin, but I am now helping some guys here in POA to try and make it in the music biz as their unofficial "agent". Call me Snoopster JB - as in John da Baptist, preparing the way for young Christian talent to showcase their skills.

I've posted here before about G.A.P., a gospel rap trio formed by three chacara graduates (L-R on their CD cover): David (VidBrasa), Jefferson (Mano Fino), and Elder (DiMC). For those who doubt my prowess, here is their CD backcover with yours truly alongside for the ride:

A pretty neat story happened last week and it goes something like this: I gave a G.A.P. CD to my sister-in-law Patricia to give to a friend of her choice. She gave it to her friend Tamiris, who shared it with her mother, Aparecida. It happens that Aparecida studies social work at IPA, a Methodist university near our house. Aparecida just loved their music, and happened to be working on a presentation on alcohol & drug addiction for one of her classes. So she asked me to invite G.A.P. to come to her class and represent.
L-R: Mercedes, one of Aparecida's colleagues, VidBrasa, DiMC, Aparecida, and a third colleague whose name I didn't catch. G.A.P. were the stars of the show. They spoke about their lives and performed two of their songs. The class gave them a standing O, bought several of their CDs, and spent a lot of time talking with the guys afterwards. I was quite surprised by the warm and open reception. I wasn't sure if the class would be receptive to faith-based methods and testimonies of overcoming drug addictions, but they were, and I believe G.A.P.'s story reinforced the fact that God can and does transform lives in extraordinary ways!
The post-game celebration at Habib's, an Arabian fast-food joint (yummy). Paulo Renato was with us and gave his testimony to the class of how he overcame alcoholism through his time at the chacara & his commitment to Jesus. I kick myself for not having filmed his speech because it was one of the best summaries of his story that I've ever heard him give. DiMC's wife, Elisangela, was with us as well. G.A.P., as a result of this visit to IPA, may be invited to perform at other college-related events, and at a well-known chemical dependency clinic run by the city.

This is my side job as JB - I take joy in preparing the way for people like Paulo Renato, DiMC and VidBrasa to have opportunity to share their stories and thus provoke people to reflect on their own faith & life. Peace out!

Spencers Open their House

2009-11-24T17:33:00.004-02:00

Earlier this month, Waleska and I were privileged to be a part of a very special moment in the life of our dear friends Joao and Clarice Spencer. They are among our closest friends here. Joao is an Air Force fighter pilot while Clarice is a doctor, and they have one son, Joca. They live in a closed neighborhood for officers in Canoas, a suburb of POA where the airbase is located. For some time, they have wanted to invite Joao's Air Force colleages to their home for Christian fellowship. In addition to doing the usual things that people do when they invite friends to their home (meal, hanging out), Joao and Clarice wanted to share with their friends why they follow Jesus.

On the first day of November, Joao and Clarice finally found the right moment to begin fulfilling their dream. They invited their friends Jose Neto & Clarissa, and Fabio & Lilliane, to enjoy a meal with us and with Everton & Diana from our church. The thermometer marked 100 degrees fahrenheit that day, the hottest day we've had so far this year. But that didn't stop what the Lord was going to do.

Joao really went all out - he made Greek souvlaki barbecue, combining the best of Southern Brazil with the best of Greece, and let me tell you, it was delicious! After the food fun, we had a time of singing and of sharing. Joao just opened his heart and share why it was important for him to be a follower of Jesus and how much blessing this had brought to his life over the years. Tears came to his eyes as he spoke. I could tell it was an amazingly meaningful moment for him. His friends listened attentively and appreciated his openness.

I wanted to write about this moment just to show how amazingly simple church can be: inviting those we care about to our home, sharing a meal together, and talking openly about why we follow Jesus and why this makes a difference in our lives. It reminded me of the first apostles, when they were testifying in Acts: "We are witnesses." Their time with Jesus changed their lives, redirected their lives towards God's glory.

Joao and Clarice are witnesses to how Jesus has changed and redirected their lives, and they wish to share their living testimony with those they know. We commend them for their loving spirit, and we ask for your prayers as they continue to invite and to testify, to make their home a house that changes the world - one family at a time!

Mr. Chaves

2009-11-12T20:54:00.003-02:00

Here I will tell you about the oldest member (age 66) of our congregation, Mr. Chaves (means "keys" in Portuguese). Chaves was once a successful real estate agent here in town, quite well-to-do by all accounts. Unfortunately, he let drinking get the best of him, and his family asked him to leave. Chaves recoved from his addiction at the chacara at the same time that Paulo Renato was there. Paulo and Chaves are great friends. Here they are in this photo:

Chaves lives in a very simple house in a not-so-nice neighborhood in Alvorada. I was not present to witness the following story, but it testifies to his character. Kevin and Paulo Renato tell me that once, when they were visiting Chaves, two young girls came to Chaves' door asking for food. This is a common occurrence. All Chaves had to eat in his house were two bananas. So what did he do? He took his two bananas and gave them to the girls. I tell you, that is a great example of faith acting in compassion. Chaves receives a monthly retirement pension, and with that money he takes care of himself, his dogs, and ends up being salt & light to a desperate community around him. We praise God that Chaves is our brother and pray that God will continue to give him many more years of life and health!

Dilamar

2009-11-03T17:53:00.007-02:00

When the guys at the chacara reach the 7-month mark in their 9-month recovery program, they are allowed to make their first visit to the home of their family and loved ones. Recently we had a unique situation with the latest guy to reach 7 months - Dilamar is his name. He's on the right here; I'm doing my famous Rehbein closing-my-eyes-pose for photos.

It was the first time I had ever met one of these guys who literally had nowhere to go for his home visit. Dilamar's father and one of his brothers are in prison; his mother is deceased; his wife and son want nothing to do with him; his other brothers have no contact with him. Imagine, a 40-year old man, who should be at the peak of his life experiences, yet apparently had no one who wanted to spend time with him. I talked with Waleska and Paulo Renato and Isaias, and we decided to receive Dilamar in our home on Sunday, October 25 for his first visit. It was a memorable experience!

Here is the crew that participated in the visit: Spencer, Dilamar, Paulo Renato, Valter (a recent chacara graduate who preached for us on Sunday morning), Christian, and myself. This particular Sunday was a Celebration meeting for all of our house churches. Valter gave a powerful sermon based on the book of Haggai and his own life experiences. Dilamar shared some of his story with the church family and they welcomed him with open arms. It was one of the best celebrations I've experienced here in POA. The intensity of love and commitment to God and to one another was fantastic.

When guys come to your house, you have to feed them - and I did, with George Foreman burgers and oven-baked fries! Needless to say, no one walked away hungry. All of us were encouraged by our fellowship on this special day, but Dilamar was encouraged most of all. Dilamar realized that God truly is on his side and that he has a family in Christ, the church local and worldwide, that cares for him. Pray for this special brother, that he will continue to persevere in his recovery!

Camila's Baptism

2009-10-27T15:41:00.008-02:00

Pictured here are Camila and Rudinei, sister and brother (sorry for the bad photo crop, but it was the best I could do). They and their parents, Daniel and Miguelina, attend the Morrows' house church. Earlier this month, Camila made a decision that gave everybody great joy: she decided to be baptized!

Waleska and I were fortunate to be present for this joyous occasion, along with several other Christian brothers & sisters. The baptism was performed at the Lucas de Oliveira church building, a place I know well from my LST campaigns in 1999 and 2000.

Camila's brother Rudinei, her mother, Miguelina, and her niece, Emily...

Paul had the honor of performing Camila's baptism. The smile says it all! Praise God for Camila's decision and pray that she will be strengthened in her new walk with Jesus!

A Visit to Rats Creek

2009-10-18T15:02:00.006-02:00

There is a city about 40 miles west of Porto Alegre called Arroio dos Ratos (Rats Creek in English!) I would probably never have set foot in this town were it not for an initiative of Silvio, our brother in Christ. A great friend of his named Junior lives in this town. Junior used to be very active in the church but for various reasons, he has stopped being active. Junior and Silvio maintain frequent contact, and two weeks ago, Junior invited Silvio to come visit his family and bring along some Christian brothers. So Paulo Renato and I tagged along for a short mission trip!

Junior is in the middle here, with Paulo Renato on the left and Silvio on the right. Junior's children Julia and Gabriel appear here as well. This photo was taken in front of the old coal mining company. From 1850-1950, millions of tons of coal were extracted from this area. After hydrolelectric power plants came into vogue, most of the coal-burning plants shut down and mining virtually stopped. I was completely unaware of this history and found it quite fascinating, being a West Virginian and the son of a geologist. Every town has a unique piece of history worth knowing!

After our trip to the coal mine site, an afternoon coffee and snack was waiting for us, including freshly baked bread! You know me, I won't ever refuse a good meal...

Junior's wife Marcia had everything ready for us. Both Junior and Marcia work as monitors at a juvenile detention center in Porto Alegre. It is a hard, emotionally charged job, and it takes its toll on them. Junior is currently on medical leave as he tries to recover from depression.

We ended our day with a devotional from the book of Joshua and prayer time, and have an open invitation to return to "Rats Creek" and visit this fantastic family. Pray for Junior, Marcia, Gabriel, and Julia, that God will bless them with health and happiness, and that they will choose to make their home one that is centered around Christ and His family!

Everton & Diana's Wedding

2009-10-18T14:35:00.009-02:00

We are about a month behind in postings, so let's try to get caught up now! (That's what I'm telling myself here...) Everton is a young man who graduated from the chacara program in June. You read about him in earlier posts when the Aggies for Christ helped fixed up his new house when they were visiting in July. In September, Everton and his wife Diana officialized their marriage at the courthouse and before their Christian family, on a fine winter's Sunday at the Blumes' house. The Blumes and our sister Leni did a great job of planning this ceremony and celebration.

Everton's grandparents and aunts were present for the ceremony. He has overcome a lot of obstacles in terms of family; both his parents died when he was young and he was raised by a foster family that eventually rejected him. The church has truly become his family.

Diana's grandmother, sister, and brother were also present on the occasion.

Everton and Diana have five children! Going clockwise: Ismael (in Diana's arms), Leonardo (the oldest), Bruno, Diego, and Cassia (the newest arrival in Everton's arms!)

We praise God for this special family and ask you to pray for their strength and courage as they overcome life's daily obstacles. May the Lord continue to give their victory through faith, hope, and above all else, love!

new house church!

2009-09-13T20:06:00.002-03:00

This is our new house church! We are just starting with Patricia (my sister) and her friend Sabrina. Raquel on the back is our church member. At the same time Joao and Clarice are helping another family to build a new house church! It`s wonderful to be able to multiply! Please pray for our new house churches! Love in Christ, Waleska!

Patricia's Baptism

2009-08-31T15:05:00.008-03:00

A few months ago, Waleska began a Saturday Bible study with her younger sister Patricia. Two weeks ago, Patricia and her friend Raquel B. came to our house. They shared that they needed to change their lives, but were not ready to do so yet; they did not want to be hypocritical and choose to follow Jesus while continuing in their same old vices and behaviors. They ended the prayer session asking for God to give them a sign that they should change. Be careful what you pray for because it might happen! Last Sunday, we received a phone call from Patricia asking for help for her, Raquel, and a third friend, Sabrina. That phone call, resultant from a series of strange but true events in their lives., led to seven days of intense conversation, prayer, and Bible study, and to her baptism two days ago!

It was a pretty tight fit, being in a bathtub and all.! We did the baptism at our friends Mark and Ju's house, they are missionaries working in the east zone of Porto Alegre. Thanks for the props guys!

Our nephew Cassiano was happy to see his mom being baptized! He kept commenting, "You're too big to be baptized - only little people can do that!"

This is the crew that was involved in our marathon week of study and prayer. On the far left is Raquel B., and on the far right is Sabrina; both are friends of Patricia's that I mentioned earlier. Moving inward from left is Raquel G. and from right is Clarice; they participate in our house church network and were instrumental in conversing and praying with these girls during our week. And front and center, Waleska and Patricia.

That's a happy family! Praise God for Patricia's decision, and continue to pray for her as she strives to follow Jesus as her Lord! Also, pray for Raquel B. as she rededicates her life to Jesus, and for Sabrina as she desires to study the Bible more!

Aggies for Christ Campaign

2009-08-02T11:14:00.014-03:00

Last month we had the pleasure of hosting the "Aggies for Christ," a group of seven students from Texas A&M University. We started by spending two days helping our brother Everton fix up his new house. Everton just graduated from the chácara and faced the dilemma of having to return to his old neighborhood. Fortunately, one of his fellow graduates, Valter, and his family offered Everton a house rent-free on their property in exchange for caring for the property. However, the house had been abandoned for some time and needed a lot of work.
Check out this house before the Aggies went to work...

...and after! From L-R, the Aggies: Reece, Chris, Chelsea, Robert, Traci, Whitney and Michael.

Here is the yard before our work...

...and after! A much-needed improvement.

Here is Everton, first on left, with the crew. He is one happy camper. The group did a lot to help Everton on his way: paint inside, install electrical wiring, replace roof and ceiling boards, in addition to building the new door and gate.

We also had an English party with the Aggies and our Brazilian friends. The Blumes were gracious hosts. We enjoyed roasted hot dogs and S'mores. What could be better than that food-wise? A great time was had by all. Here is Waleska with her student Ricardo at the party!

We also spent a day at the chácara fellowshipping with the guys there and starting work on painting the exterior of the new kitchen. Check out the Aggies' painting skills! Teamwork makes jobs like these go a lot faster.

The guys at the chácara really enjoyed their interaction with the Aggies, and I know that the Aggies were really glad to spend time with them as well. Here is everybody enjoying some traditional gaúcho tea after a hard day's work.

Thanks for the great memories, Aggies - you were one of the best campaign groups we've ever worked with here! God bless you guys in all that you do!

Volunteer Activity, Part 2

2009-07-24T10:42:00.014-03:00

As I've mentioned here before, Waleska and I joined Rotary Club at the end of last year. It's funny: Rotary is an organization that originated in the U.S., yet I knew almost nothing about it until our contact with Waleska's students here in Brazil. I enjoy being in Rotary to make new friends and become involved in community service projects. This picture is from our winter clothing collection campaign we held a few weeks ago.

I am our club's director of the commission for service projects this term. Waleska is our club's director of the commission for the Rotary Foundation this term. This means she helps in mobilizing funds for international service projects and scholarships for student exchange programs. Go girl!

Below is Martha, our current club president, and her husband Eduardo, past club president. This is a very special couple that we have become friends with. Martha's parents recently passed away, and we have been able to share Christian comfort with her. Martha has asked me to say a prayer at the start of each meeting during her term as president. This is a great opportunity to put God first!These are all the club officers and commission directors for the current Rotary term, which runs from July-June. A very lively and interesting group of people! The club meets on Monday evenings at the Sheraton Hotel. Keep on rolling Rotary!

Volunteer Activity, Part 1

2009-07-24T09:20:00.005-03:00

For the past several months, I have spent my Tuesday mornings as a volunteer counselor at the Interconfessional Counseling Service (SICA in Portuguese) in downtown Porto Alegre. SICA was founded 40 years ago as a collaboration among Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist and Presbyterian churches here in town. We offer free counseling to anyone who wants a listening ear, a friendly face, and spiritual advice.

I enjoy volunteering in this ministry because of the interaction I have with clients, and also with counselors who come from other churches. I have quite a variety of clients: a mother and daughter who are recovering from abusive relationships; a husband and wife who are new in town and trying to settle down; an elderly lady who has eleven siblings and tries to keep all of them happy! I thank God for this valuable counseling experience and for the small yet significant role we can play in helping people find comfort in troubles, and solutions to their everyday problems.

2nd Annual Marathon Relay

2009-06-16T22:03:00.004-03:00

The Lord allowed us to once again put together a running team involving guys and graduates from the chacara in Alvorada! We participated in the Porto Alegre Marathon Relay on May 25 and came in 6th place (of 12 teams) in our category of men's octets. A great result for a bunch of amateurs! For me, the best part is seeing the chacara guys learn the value of teamwork, encouragement, and setting & accomplishing goals. Running is more than just great sport and great for your health, it's a great lesson for all of life.

After the race, we enjoyed a picnic lunch, devotional and fellowship in the park. What a great gathering of the Lord's people, and a testimony to society that anything - and everything - is possible through Christ who strengthens us!

Continuing the Victory

2009-05-12T20:36:00.006-03:00

One of the tremendous blessings that has come with working with the guys at the chácara is keeping up with them after they graduate the program. Over the past several months, Paulo Renato, the Blumes and ourselves have helped several guys find housing to rent, located near the chácara, so they can encourage one another and hold one another accountable in their faith. We are seeing these guys on a weekly basis to encourage them and are being encouraged ourselves with their spiritual growth!

This is Anderson and his son Gi-Anderson in the guys' apartment with me and Paulo Renato. Anderson shares this apartment with Cristian, another one of the graduates. Anderson is working for Seven Boys, a bread company, in their factory. He is going to get married in two months to Ester, his companion of six years, and she is now studying the Bible along with her brother! God is transforming this whole family little by little. Gi-Anderson is learning how to speak English (from us gringos) and Swahili (from Paulo Renato)!

From l-r: Cristian, Alexandre, Anderson, Rodrigo, Paulo, and Gi at bottom. Alexandre and Rodrigo, along with Rodrigo's brother Eduardo, are sharing a house three blocks away from Anderson and Cristian. They see each other almost every day. On Friday nights, Paulo and Kevin Blume meet with all of these guys, along with a few others who are starting to come, to pray together and encourage everyone to stay sexually pure. This is one of their greatest battles, and they are learning how to win the battle.

This is a difficult ministry - two guys who had been living in the apartment, Renato and Josimar, ended up leaving because they started getting back into drugs and were not following through with their financial commitments. We get discouraged at times, but when I see these five guys and others who are flourishing in their jobs, education, and family life, I am so encouraged and thankful for God's modern-day miracles! Pray for these young men to persevere, because they are true victors in Christ!

Ellinton's Baptism

2009-03-29T21:50:00.007-03:00

Ellinton is a man in his early 40s that Paulo Renato and I met last year at the chacara. His family is friends with Rodrigo and Eduardo's family, two brothers who graduated from the treatment program last year. Ellinton spent five months at the chacara but was unable to finish the treatment, because he contracted tuberculosis. Fortunately, his is a rare non-contagious type and he is doing just fine. In fact, he is doing better than ever because last Sunday he was baptized into Christ! (Isaias, the director of the chacara, did the baptism at Ellinton's request; this is the pool on the roof of his mother's house).

This is Ellinton with his wife, Marcia, at right, and their two daughters, Elli and Daphne. Below is a photo of Ellinton with his extended family, including his mother, grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins, brothers, and nephews. What a fantastic family and an open door for the Word of God to work! We are thankful for Ellinton and for his decision to be a part of this church family. Let's pray that one day, all of the folks in this photo will be part of a church that meets in their home!

And They're Off!

2009-03-23T18:21:00.004-03:00

This is our new house church, right out of the starting gate! Felipe, on the left, has been one of my best friends here for many years. He was the first one who came to me and said, "I will be at your house every week!" Raquel, to Waleska's left, is a good friend of hers and attended our previous house church for the past two years; she was excited to continue with us and focus on evangelism. Cesar, on the right, was baptized last year and attended the Terrys' house church before they moved to the U.S. He works downtown most Sunday mornings, so our hosting this group in the evening is perfect for him to participate. We will tell you more about each one of these special people in the coming weeks.

We started studying the Gospel of Matthew together as our launching point for group discussion, and we plan to share a meal or snack together most Sundays. We are thankful for these three who have begun with us and are eager to see the Lord add more seekers to our group!

Retooling in the Spiritual Garden

2009-03-21T18:18:00.009-03:00

A lot can happen when you leave town for two months! We discovered that when we returned to Porto Alegre at the end of February and found that our house church had, for lack of a better word, disassembled. Both Signoretti families and Luzia decided to return to a more traditional church (they had been thinking about this for some time) because they felt they would be more productive in this environment. We were discouraged initially about this, but later saw the divine wisdom inherent in the move; they continue being members of the kingdom and serving the Lord, and Waleska & I can launch into "outreach" instead of constantly recycling our resources on "inreach" with folks who've been Christians for many years.

John and Clarice, our good friends and also members of our house church, decided to start 2009 by beginning a church in their home (they live in the military officers' residential complex in Canoas, a suburb). We praise God for that! They already have one couple who has been coming faithfully. We will miss having them here in our home every week, but are thankful for their missionary hearts in wanting to reach out to their neighborhood.

Waleska and I had been thinking towards the end of last year, and had announced our plans to our group, about starting a "yuppies" house church - a group specifically directed to young professionals our age who are not-yet dedicated to following Jesus or folks who are relatively new in their faith. We have several friends through Waleska's English teaching and people I've known over the years here in POA that we hope to invite. We have one person for sure so far - Raquel, who has been attending our group for the past two years with her mother Ines. My great friend Felipe Gomes, who runs the sports medicine clinic where I work out, has also said he will participate.

We will begin tomorrow, Sunday March 22 @ 6pm. We don't know how many will come. But we will be here, every week, opening our home and our hearts to whoever comes. Please pray for us as we make a new beginning!

First stop -West Virginia!

2008-12-18T00:48:00.005-02:00

Hi, this is Waleska writing! We arrived in Beckley/West Virginia last week. This is where my in-laws live. It is a really nice town. Matt and i are just recovering from the temperature shock as we came from a hot summer in Brazil.
Right now we are preparing pictures and videos to present our Brazilian life style!
I thank God for providing me such a great family in law. I could never have imagined that I would be "that" blessed! My parents in law really treat me as a daughter! :)
Soon, in January we will be heading to Nashville!

We are on our way!

2008-12-09T14:07:00.002-02:00

Good Morning, America! We are coming soon!

Couples Retreat...and a weekend trip

2008-11-05T22:44:00.009-02:00

We held our couples retreat the third weekend in October in conjunction with the Viamão congregation. As always, this group generates lots of laughs. (Un)fortunately, no pictures were taken of me doing a skit of how I got mad one day and threw my umbrella (which I thought Waleska had bought already broken) to the ground in the middle of a rain storm. (my contribution to a talent show related to married life!) The fellowship with 14 other couples was great and the Bible studies on the book of Ephesians were enriching.Because the retreat was only one night, we decided to make an extra night of it in the mountains. We headed north to a little town called Antonio Prado, which bills itself "the most pure-bred Italian community in Brazil"- 92% are direct Italian descent. The quality of their food lives up to its billing. Here's Waleska in the heart of the town square... We stayed at a great little country inn, which had a really interesting cellar, full of old colonial tools and objects from the original Italian immigrants of the region (i'm just glad the buzzsaw didn't fall on me while I was walking through...

The best part was being able to end the Sunday of our drive back with our church family in worship, as we met in Clarice and João's house in the suburb of Canoas (the couple on the left side of this pic). The best times are truly when we praise the Lord together!

Celebrating Unity

2008-10-16T13:42:00.010-03:00

The Churches of Christ have been here in Rio Grande do Sul since 1967. Much good has taken place over the past 40 years through this mission effort. Unfortunately these churches have suffered many divisions and separations over the years, a typical sad story of conflicting personalities, poor financial management, and lack of leadership development. Thankfully, this situation is beginning to change. Pictured here are Mark & Ju White and Rui & Nadia Diogo. They are good friends of ours; they are missionaries who have spent the past several years working in Viamão, a suburb of Porto Alegre. They are preparing to turn this congregation over to three newly appointed elders (the first Church of Christ in this state to have elders) and will soon begin working with the Cantão congregation, a church plant begun through their efforts two years ago. One of Rui and Mark's goals this year was to begin a once-a-year meeting for all Churches of Christ (11 congregations total) in Rio Grande do Sul, a day of worship, fellowship and encouragement. Last Sunday, the first of these meetings was held - a new tradition was started!

The event was somewhat hastily organized, so not all the congregations were able to participate this time. But four did, and we had a great gathering of God's people at - of all places - the Recreational Club of the Building Managers and Janitors Union of Rio Grande do Sul. Just about every profession here in Brazil has a labor union, and depending on the size and resources available, these unions often construct and maintain recreational clubs in the rural areas of cities, so their members can enjoy family activities in a quality environment. One of the newly appointed elders in the Viamão church, Ângelo, is a member of this particular union, and because of this connection, we were able to utilize these facilities at no cost. Membership has its privileges...

The Viamão elders asked me to speak at this event, and I was honored to do so. Since the theme was obviously centered around unity of brothers, I preached on one of my favorite unity passages - John 17. What could be better than hearing it from the Source Himself? The ambience was interesting: speaking in a picnic shelter, barbecue pit to my side, hot corrugated tin roof, people arriving late, occasional fireworks going off in anticipation of that afternoon's soccer game...it's always fun preaching in Brazil!

After the worship, we divided up into prayer groups to pray for the work of all the churches and for one another's needs. Here is Waleska's prayer group, from l-r: Alexandre, Inês, Santa, Barbosa, and Lauro. Barbosa was one of the three men that the Viamão church recently selected to be elders. Barbosa is a fantastic "storyteller" and a pretty good billiards player, besides being a man who is very dedicated to seeing the Kingdom grow in this state.

Here is my prayer group, from left to right: Michelle, João, Deoclides, Vera, Yeda, Teresinha, and Vanda. There are three different congregations represented here.

Here are some of the good folks from Viamão who formed the backbone of the event organization. L-R: Ângelo, his wife Christine, Roberto and Iara, Priscilla, Cintia, Nadia, and one lady whose name I forgot :(

May all of these disciples continue to become one as Jesus and the Father are one!

Open Doors, Open Hearts

2008-10-16T13:29:00.004-03:00

As you may recall, we've had the honor of doing a few "mobile church" experiences in the home of Dario & Mara, a family we've become friends with through our brothers Renato & Branda. Recently, we've been able to develop this friendship even further. We are now every Saturday afternoon spending time in Dario & Mara's home, along with Renato & Branda, studying the Gospel of John together and sharing in some great fellowship time (last week Waleska made brownies! :>)

Dario & Mara are pictured here on the right with Victoria, the youngest of their three daughters - Fernanda and Bruna are the other two. Dario works as a corporate account manager for Banco Real, and travels quite a bit visiting clients. Mara is a full-time homemaker keeping busy managing this whirlwind of a family. They are fantastic people, and they are opening their doors and their hearts to allow God at work in their lives. We thank God for the opportunity to spend time with people like them, and pray that the Lord will make this home a "household of peace!"

A Visit to YWAM

2008-10-05T20:13:00.012-03:00

This is our brother Roberto. As we told you in a post a few months ago, he is currently taking a on-site course in evangelism and missions through YWAM (Youth With A Mission). Two Sundays ago we, along with his wife Moema and son Kjeld, went to visit him for the day. We found him very upbeat about all that he is learning about the Bible and his relationship with God - so much so that his eyes are on fire! :)

YWAM's training ground is located in Morungava, a rural district about an hour outside of Porto Alegre. The property is blessed with spectacular natural beauty; perfect for meditation and concentration on the tasks of spiritual maturity. But don't be deceived - this is not a spiritual spa. Roberto and the other students have six full days a week of study, manual labor, chores, prayer, teaching children, theater practice, and evangelistic ministry in nearby towns. He describes it as the most intense experience he's ever had.

YWAM's facilities are pretty rustic, in need of some upgrades, but they serve as a reminder to the students that simplicity allows space for God to do great works. Here is Roberto in front of the cafeteria, and Moema in the library, where she volunteers twice a month to organize their books and help with their reading program.

Here are Moema & Roberto with Carlos and Eunice, the directors of this YWAM location. They are a great example of faithfulness to the Lord. 25 years ago, this couple sold their highly profitable business in Rio de Janeiro to move south and dedicate themselves to this work of training young Christian servants.

Roberto will spend the next two months doing field work in the nearby states of Santa Catarina and Paraná before returning home for his graduation in December. Keep up the good work, Roberto - we are with you all the way! We are eager to see what plans the Lord has for you and your family!

A Weekend with Friends

2008-09-11T14:15:00.009-03:00

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!

2008-09-11T14:04:00.003-03:00

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

2008-09-01T20:30:00.009-03:00

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!

Families Uniting in Christ

2008-08-25T21:16:00.009-03:00

The work at the chácara is taking on new proportions! Now, family members of the guys who have completed the recovery program are deciding to follow Jesus and become part of His church! This is Jane, the mother of Rodrigo and Eduardo, at the moment of her baptism on Sunday.

Down we go into the cold waters, assisted by Isaias and Gabriel...

and up we come again in victory, reborn to a new life and new possibilities in Jesus Christ!

This is Jane with her sons Eduardo and Rodrigo, two great young guys who have finished the recovery program. Jane wants to be a part of our church family. We will be starting a new group on Sundays that includes Jane, Rodrigo and Eduardo. Pray that this group will eventually include Jane's husband, Valmir, and their entire family! Praise God for how He is moving and extending the work of the kingdom!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2008-08-15T15:36:00.002-03:00

This post is in honor of my Dad, whose birthday was Wednesday of this week. This is Dad at his best: relaxing in a state park cabin, planning his next move to explore the off-the-beaten paths of our wild & wonderful West Virginia. If you haven't already, check out his photography websites on the links in the right column - they are spectacular! Happy Birthday Dad and we love you lots! We can't wait to see you at the end of the year!

Gabrieli & Guilherme

2008-07-31T17:57:00.004-03:00

This is Gabrieli and Guilherme. Gabrieli is 20 years old and is the daughter of Lauro & Lorena, one of our church families. Gabrieli works as a receptionist in an English school and takes night classes in public safety. Guilherme (that's William in English) is 21 and works for a bank and also takes night classes in computer programming.
Recently Waleska and I began studying the Bible with these young "lovebirds'. Gabrieli is a Christian and Guilherme is very interested in learning about Jesus and about His word. He had never studied the Bible before until we began our meetings last month. We are becoming fast friends - he invited us to his birthday party last week and introduced us to all of his family. We apologized because we had not brought a present and Guilherme's response was "Getting to know you is my present!" We thank God for this couple and ask you to pray for them to be unified in Christ!

Mobile Church is Back!

2008-07-21T20:12:00.003-03:00

You may remember us writing last year about a couple named Dariu & Mara (he is on the far right of the row of persons sitting across from me). They are friends of Renato & Branda and invited us to come have church in their home last year. Ever since then we have been trying to spend more time with them and find other opportunities to share Jesus with them. Two Sundays ago we finally got invited again to their house for a Sunday worship and a meal together. We talked about how Jesus is the "living water" and the only true source of life, and enjoyed a great time of fellowship complete with grilled chicken wings. Pray for this couple and for their daughters Fernanda, Bruna and Vitoria. We are planning another worship in their home for August and hope to start a Bible study with this family at that point!

Getting Equipped for Kingdom Work

2008-07-18T16:17:00.002-03:00

This is Roberto and Moema. They attend the church that meets in the Blumes' house. They have been Christians for almost two years now. Their conversion is quite amazing - Moema was a card-carrying Marxist and sociology professor at the federal university until cancer forced her to retire early, thus deepening an already-burning desire in this couple to discover life's true meaning. Through their friendship with the Blumes, they began studying the Bible and eventually decided to follow Jesus as Lord. We have become good friends with this couple and their 11-year old son Kjeld. Waleska teaches English to Moema and I have a Bible study with her as well once a week. Roberto is a very talented singer who occasionally performs at different local venues.
Recently, a series of events left Roberto without a job. They decided to use this situation to seek God's will for their life direction. It seems that God has answered their prayers in the form of Youth With A Mission, an international Christian organization that trains and equips people to serve as missionaries and workers in local churches. Roberto will be leaving on Sunday to begin a 5-month YWAM discipleship course in a small mountain town about 1 hour from Porto Alegre. This is a big step of faith and we are all proud and excited for Roberto and family! It reminds me of when I first decided to do Let's Start Talking twelve years ago - it was an experience that opened doors to new worlds and possibilites that changed my life. I believe that Roberto is about to embark on a similar life-changing experience.

Pray that Roberto will find greater intimacy with God and find spiritual tools to be ever more useful in God's service through this course, and that Moema and Kjeld will be comforted and strong in his absence. Praise God that more workers are answering the harvest call!

Singing a New Song

2008-06-29T17:06:00.001-03:00

Earlier this year I posted a video of Waleska & I teaching the folks at our church in Beckley how to sing in Portuguese. Now check out this video of us teaching the folks at Cantão, one of the house churches here in Porto Alegre, how to sing in English!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLT71zRAgnk

Sowing Seeds

2008-06-28T20:24:00.003-03:00

This is my friend Julio Rosa. He just recently graduated from the federal university with his master's in metalurgic engineering. He and I have been studying the Bible together for the past year and a half. We became friends through the Let's Start Talking program when we last hosted LST in 2005. This week Julio is moving to Vitoria, in Espirito Santo state, north of Rio de Janeiro. Julio has taken a job as a railroad engineer for Vale, Brazil's largest mining company. Praise God for this opportunity that Julio has and pray that he will continue to seek God and study His Word!

Marriage, Family & Ministry Seminar

2008-06-17T21:20:00.007-03:00

They seem like ordinary people at first glance - and in fact, they are ordinary people, a husband and wife who've been together for 40 years, drinking their daily coffee and chatting about life. Yet as you get to know them and listen to them teach together, you realize that they are extraordinary faithful followers of Jesus. They are Bryan and Jacqueline Bost, missionaries in Brazil for 32 years, who have dedicated the past seven years to work in multiplying the church from house to house. We had them in Porto Alegre last year for a weekend seminar on house churches, and the response was so overwhelmingly positive that we just had to have them come back again. This time they spent the weekend (June 13-15) teaching from their book "Partners in the Kingdom: Challenges and Victories in Life Together," based on their life experiences.

We had a packed house on Friday night, Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon to hear Bryan and Jacqueline as they engaged us in Biblical reflections on marriage and family life. We were especially blessed to have brothers and sisters from four other area congregations present to share this special time!

We held our monthly celebration worship on Sunday to coincide with the Bosts visit. Bryan gave a fantastic lesson on "Seeking First the Kingdom" which really is the fundamental principle in all things related to marriage, family and ministry. We also had a special presentation involving the newest-born child in our church family: Emily, daughter of Daniela and Jorge. As is tradition, we presented them with a framed Bible verse and asked all present to sign it, and had a prayer of blessing for this family.

We enjoyed a home-cooked lunch after worship and tried to stay warm together as we waited for the final session of warming our hearts, discussing the power of ministering together as a family united in Christ!

Thanks to God for this wonderful couple and their vivid example of "seeking first the Kingdom!" as they work from house to house in the greater São Paulo area and throughout Brazil!

Body of Christ Day - Ministry Solutions

2008-05-26T21:33:00.004-03:00

Earlier this month we used the Brazilian Labor Day holiday, May 1st, to host an open forum with our church members, hear the positives and negatives about how the work here was going. Last week, on May 22nd, we had another holiday, Corpus Christi (Body of Christ). We decided to use this holiday to host another open forum with our church members to brainstorm solutions to the challenges and problems that were discussed on May 1st.

It was a very productive day! We divided into small groups, according to where each person perceived that God was leading them to be involved. Then each group outlined specific solutions and ideas to improve the work of the church in that particular area. The areas that were given most attention were communication, unity, ministry support, and our monthly celebration service for all the house churches. Praise God for the creativity He has poured out on His church! Now comes the next step...roll up our sleeves and take the ideas from paper and turn them into real life!

Northeastern Relatives

2008-05-15T23:31:00.003-03:00

Recently we had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with Waleska's cousin, Cristiano, and his wife Juliana. They live in Campina Grande, Paraiba state, in Northeast Brazil - they were here in the south doing some tourism. (The distance between Porto Alegre and Campina Grande is about the same as the distance between Miami and Los Angeles, to give you an idea).

Waleska's family is very interesting - she is one of four daughters and her mom, Vanda, has a twin sister, Vilma, who had four sons! Cristiano is the oldest of the four and the same age as Waleska. They do not see each other very often because of the distance; in fact, it has been about 14 years since Waleska was last in Campina Grande. Hopefully later this year or next year we can get up there so I can meet the whole clan! There are cousins, uncles and aunts, Waleska's grandmother, and many other characters that I must meet. Sounds like fun!...

Labor Day for the Lord

2008-05-04T19:50:00.003-03:00

May 1st is Labor Day here in Brazil, a holiday, a day recognized internationally as one celebrating worker's rights and voices being heard. This May 1st, we held an important event for our church family: Labor Day for the Lord. It was a community forum-style meeting event, open to any of our members who wished to make their voices heard and listen to each other's voices. The people in this photo shared the blessings they've experienced in house churches over the past 15 months of this new work, and also shared their concerns, frustrations, and challengers with this transition. We all realized that we have a lot of work to do, a lot of improvement to make in how we communciate amongst each other and organize the work of God's church! What is exciting is that the leadership is changing and will change from this day forward. One step closing to becoming a more organic, dynamic church, utilizing all of the gifts with which God has blessed us! We will have a follow-up meeting on May 22 to outline practical solutions to our challenges. Thank you Lord for hearing our prayers!

New Brother & Sister in Christ

2008-05-01T19:20:00.008-03:00

It is always uplifting to see the fruits of time and friendship come forth, in the form of baptisms - lives dedicated to Christ! Here I will tell about two recent baptisms in our church, the fruit of time and friendship invested principally by Sascha & Jennifer Terry.

The girl on the right is Daniela Brasiliense. She was one of our Portuguese teachers when I moved here nearly six years ago. She has been our friend and has attended some of our church meetings off and on, seeking, searching, questioning...Recently, the Terrys began meeting on a weeknight with Daniela and Luzia, from our house church. All three of these families have toddlers, which gives them a great common link. A few weeks ago, Daniela decided she wanted to be baptized! Praise God for her faith and pray for her husband, Alexandre, that he will soon make the same decision!

The guy on the left is Tiago Beck, studying with Paulo Renato. He became our friend in 2005 through the Let's Start Talking classes. Since then he has been involved in our men's ministry, and he and his girlfriend Lily have been attending the group that meets in the Terrys' house on Sundays. Tiago is a real gaucho - he is from the countryside, a town called Santiago. He grew up on a farm and knows all about how to work with horses and ranching. Sascha and Tiago have become really good friends over the last year or so. Tuesday night, Tiago made an important decision for his life - he decided to be baptized! He will be leaving in June to spend 6 months in Australia, working and learning English. Praise God for Tiago's faith and pray for perseverance in his walk with the Lord!

Open for Business

2008-04-19T19:35:00.005-03:00

This is Lauro Lima, one of our brothers in Christ. He is a close friend to many people in our house church. Lauro took a big step of faith this year - it goes like this:For several years, Lauro has made his livelihood making and selling honey. What always bothered him was that 70% of his sales were to vendors who turned around and sold his honey to people who used it in black magic & voodoo rituals. Lauro felt embarrassed about this, and for this reason he was always evavise when asked how his work was going. At the beginning of this year, he made a decision: by the end of March, he would stop selling honey to these specific vendors. This was a big deal; he would be losing 70% of his family's income. How would he make up for this?

God provided in the form of a Christian brother who made a generous donation to Lauro's family. It was decided that part of this donation would be used to help Lauro start his own fast-food business: Lima Lanches (Snacks). Lauro is an outstanding cook - if you know me, you know I don't call just anybody an outstanding cook! He makes incredible burgers, steak sandwiches, hot dogs, sausage rolls, all kinds of great greasy fixins. Last weekend, Lauro inaugurated his business, to coincide with his son Lucas' 17th birthday (with his mom Lorena in the photo below). Praise God for Lauro's step of faith, and pray that his business is a success in every sense of the word!

Iguaçu Falls - a natural wonder!

2008-04-13T16:35:00.012-03:00

To celebrate our wedding anniversary (April 8) this year, we decided to spend a weekend at Iguaçu Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It straddles the border between Brazil & Argentina. Iguaçu is the world's largest series of waterfalls (250 cascades, 1 1/4 miles in total length, maximum drop 250 feet!). It is an experience that words and photos can hardly do justice; they really must be seen and heard in person.

We got as up-close and personal to the falls as possible! We took a jeep ride through the jungle, a powerboat ride up the rapids of the Iguaçu River, and then the grand finale...the driver steers the boat right into the falls for a huge splash of cold water! (don't try this at home)

We also visited a Bird Park, where you can interact with hunderds of species of exotic birds from around the world. Some are even friendly enough to perch on your arm and stay a while? And where else can you see Toucan Sam in the flesh?
Happy 2nd Anniversary to us, and thank you Lord for the privilege of seeming your awesome nature!

A Birthday Homage

2008-04-10T22:57:00.003-03:00

April is a special month for birthdays - beginning on the 1st with Waleska, and now with this post we want honor of our mother (and mother-in-law) Phyllis, whose birthday is today, April 11! We just want to say how much we love you and miss you Mom! You are an amazing example of a Christian wife, mother, and worker in the kingdom. May God always give you good health, strength, vitality, and joy! You look really cool in the midst of the Brazilian pine trees! Enjoy your day!

Easter Retreat - quick version

2008-04-03T16:25:00.003-03:00

A long-overdue update of how our Easter retreat went! We had more than 70 people gather from Friday through Sunday at "LifeSpace" Retreat Center, about 45 minutes outside Porto Alegre. We had a little bit of everything - homecooked meals, sports, conversations and laughter, powerful times of praise and teaching, and a sunrise worship service that is pictured above (the sun didn't show up, but everybody else did!)
Waleska & I are headed out of town this weekend - next week when I return, we will post more about this special Easter time!

Best Brazilian Friends

2008-03-08T11:45:00.003-03:00

Now I'd like to tell you about a family that Waleska & I have become very close to: Joao and Clarice Spencer and their son, Joca . They participate in the church that meets in our home. I first met them seven years ago on a trip to Fortaleza in NE Brazil, before I moved to Porto Alegre. At that time they said they might be moving to POA in the future, so I tried to keep tabs with them. On another trip to NE Brazil in 2003, this time to Natal, I happened to meet them again. They moved in POA in January 2004, and thus began one of our most meaningful friendships, especially since Waleska and I married.This picture is funny because it is a complete role reversal: in real life, Joao is the soldier and Clarice is the doctor! Joao is a captain in the Air Force, a fighter pilot. Clarice is an organ transplant specialist at two major hospitals in POA. Joca actually is a pirate...I mean personality wise, he is a real card! They are from Recife in NE Brazil. Joao and Clarice met in the church youth group; she invited him to participate, and they found each other through Christ. They have been married for eight years.

Joao travels frequently because of his job; he conducts and participates in various training courses in fighter operations and radar management throughout the year, so he and I don't get to meet as often as we'd like. But when he's in town, we try to get together as much as possible to pray, discuss our walk with the Lord, and eat greasy fast food - and as you saw from the previous post, work in the Kingdom. Clarice and Waleska have become very close; when either one has gone through a difficult moment in life, they come together to pray and support each other, and laugh it off. Waleska will start teaching English to Clarice next month, so that will be one more excuse for them to enjoy each other's company!

Joao and Clarice have a very firm and grounded faith and love for the Lord, and they have been a real blessing to us as a young married couple. They helped Waleska and I endure many trials during our first year of marriage. They embody, for us, what Jesus called the "salt of the earth:" people who, whenever they are around, just make those around them better because of their presence. We enjoy this family a lot and try to spend time with them as much as possible. Thank God for this family and for our friendship, and may it grow ever stronger and deeper!

Training up the Youth

2008-03-08T11:24:00.002-03:00

When I was in my late teens, I was fortunate to have, at my home church, several men in their early 30s who took an interest in myself and the other teenagers. They would take turns teaching our Sunday School classes, planning activities for us, and just serving as ears to listen or an open door when we needed someone to talk with about life, love, faith, and struggles. Today, I am grateful for the influence that these men had in my life. Kevin Taylor, Steve Smilek, Warren Enstminger, and others - thank you for making a difference in the name of Jesus!

Now that I'm in my early 30s (did I just write that?!) it's time for me to give back the joy. Recently, myself and my good Brazilian buddy Joao Spencer (kneeling next to me in the photo) began meeting on Saturdays with some of the teenage guys in our church family. Top row L-R: Guilherme, Lucas, and Vinicius, bottom row kneeling, Wagner. These guys have all been raised in Christian homes - their parents are part of the house church network. They are good kids and have always participated in youth activities, yet for some reason they have not made a public commitment to Jesus in baptism. Spencer and I decided that this year, God could utilize the two of us as "spiritual uncles" in house churches to grow our friendships with these guys. We hope to help them get past the awkwardness that exists when it comes to discussing spiritual life and growth, and help them discover & claim their own faith. We have to start somewhere - and so on a hot summer day, we hooped it up last week. (Vinicius and Wagner play for their high school, but I showed them my skills!) Please pray for this project; that Spencer and I can build our friendships with them and, as the year goes on, we can look into the Word together, have meaningful conversations about God's work in our lives, and help these guys become disciples of the Master!

Celebration Times

2008-02-29T18:18:00.007-03:00

Our end-of-the-month all-church celebrations keep getting better and better. Last Sunday we had over 75 present, which is outstanding for the summertime! The Lord's people were enthusiastic and as a result, our worship and lunch were a special time shared by all. I continued our lesson series on spiritual gifts and ministry based on Ephesians 4. We have begun doing a community barbecue lunch - each family brings $3 per person, a 2-liter soft drink, and a salad or dessert. When you add up the contributions, it is quite sufficient to sizzle some great barbecued beef and pork, as we did on Sunday. I have read in several places that "the church that eats together, stays together." I am beginning to see the truth of that! One of the best things about celebrations is they provide a great opportunity to invite our friends who are beginning to know the church (of the 75+ present on Sunday, about 1/3 were visitors!) Renato, from our house church, invited his friend Dariu (left) to help with the barbecue. Our house church began spending time with Dariu's family toward the end of last year, and it is paying off - they are wanting to become more involved this year. God is openings doors of relationship and we are ready to serve as ambassadors of Good News!

Today we honored out outgoing church secretary, Flavia (the one holding the new satchel bag in the middle!) She has worked as our secretary for nearly three years. It has been an up-and-down relationship, but we finished on a big up; she has matured a great deal as a Christian and has improved herself professionally. Flavia will now be working as a realtor for a well-known agency in POA. She will have a hard go at first, trying to break into the market, but she has a warm, engaging personality and lots of energy. We are excited for her and this great professional & ministry opportunity that God has granted!

One of our traditions is to honor our church newborns with a framed commemorative verse, signed by everybody on the back. We couldn't pass up this opportunity to honor little Mateus and Luzia - he was born to her as a two-year old blessing from the Lord! He is so funny - he calls me "Maaatchy!" (a Brazilian pronunciation of Matt) whenever he seems me and constantly wants me to watch what he is doing. Us namesakes have to stick together!

Runnin' Runnin' Rehbein

2008-02-10T20:53:00.001-02:00

This is my best Chariots of Fire impersonation! Actually, I'm running my leg in the 4th Annual Torres-Tramandai Crossing, which took place on Saturday Feb. 9. It's a race down the beach, literally - we run in teams of 8 people down the coast of Rio Grande do Sul, from Torres beach on the north border of the state to Tramandai on the central coast, a distance of appox. 85 kilometers. My part this year was to run 8k as the next-to-last leg. I covered the distance in 38 minutes, and I was very pleased with my time! I run tihs race every year with folks from Sports Medicine, the gym where I train my running technique. Although I am not training there at the moment, I still maintain contact and friendship with several people there. I am hoping that some of them will collaborate with me in a running project I'm putting together for the guys at the chacara, which I will elaborate on in a future post.

I love running as sport because it's so applicable to all aspects of life - setting goals, persevering in the face of obstacles, striving to the finish, and working together. Thanks to God for the gift of swift legs!

Carnaval 2008 Activities

2008-02-10T20:03:00.000-02:00

It's that time of year again, Carnaval (Mardi Gras) in Brazil - four days of street festival, music, dancing, parades, samba presentation, and holiday. Here in Porto Alegre, the street festival aspect of Carnaval is not as big as it is in other cities; many folks end up going to the beach for vacation with family or friends. It is a great opportunity for us as church to have some quality time together with those who decide to stay in the city. The previous two years, we had an all-church retreat in the coastal mountains. This year we decided to change things up a bit and planned a different activity for each day (Feb. 2-5).

On Saturday the 2nd, 30 of us went to Itapua, a state park that is about 1 hour from Porto Alegre. Itapua preserves the last vestiges of the original rainforest environment in our area. It is one of my favorite places to visit around here because it is relatively close and on a sunny day, the views and trails along the Guiaba River with the rainforest are spectacular. The weather did not cooperate like we had hoped (it rained like crazy on the way there) but the skies dried up long enough for us to have an American style barbecue, swim and enjoy the river beaches and mountain scenery.

On Sunday, we gathered for worship and lunch at Sogipa, the athletic club where Waleska and I are members. Sogipa has several different facilities that the members can rent for family gatherings and meetings. We rented a shelter (in case it rained, which fortunately it didn't this time!) so we could all be together under one roof. About 50 of us gathered together for a time of singing, prayer, and scripture. I gave a lesson from Ephesians 4 about spiritual gifts and seeking the empowerment that God has given the church through Jesus Christ to minister to one another. We are trying to stimulate the church to go deeper into Scripture and into prayer concerning spiritual leadership. We then enjoyed a Brazilian-style barbecue lunch of smoked chicken and pork sausage. Some of us even got drawn into playing hoops (and I still have my shooter's touch!)

We also had actvities on Monday and Tuesday of Carnaval holiday as church...and to find out about them, you'll have to check out Waleska's blog for the details!

2008 South American Missionary Conference

2008-01-30T22:03:00.000-02:00

No, this is not a fake photo...this is the type of natural beauty we enjoyed during our week in the mountains at the beginning of the month! Each year, missionaries among Churches of Christ in South America take turns hosting a conference for our spiritual renewal and fellowship. The past two years, our team has been responsible for planning & organizing the gathering. This year we were blessed to have Dr. John Willis as our keynote speaker. Dr. Willis brought some tremendous lessons to us from the Old Testament and we were all energized by these reminders of how great our God is!There are plenty of fun moments during the conference as well. One of the highlights was the banquet, which this year was a murder-mystery play. As you can see, there are quite a few characters among these missionaries! We also enjoyed playing sports and taking time to just visit with one another and catch up on happenings around the country.

Waleska and I were also privileged to spend a few days of sightseeing after the conference with our friends Antenor & Phyllis Gonçalves, and their daughter and son-in-law Alice & Mark Kaiser. I first met this family when I was doing Let's Start Talking in Itu, Brazil in 1997 & 1998. Antenor has been a great mentor ever since then, and he was one of the officiators of our Brazilian wedding ceremony. They love to come to southern Brazil whenver they have vacation time, and we make it a point to see them. God is really using them to bless the people of Itu!

We were also privileged to make the acquaintance of Dottie Schulz, a missionary for many years in Holland and now working for Missions Resource Network in missionary care. Dottie came to the conference to serve as the women's resource speaker. She stayed with us the night before we went up to the conference, and she & Waleska really hit it off, became good friends. It is wonderful to be able to meet people like Dottie who have so much wisdom and experience to share, and enjoy sharing it with such enthusiasm!
The southern Brazilian mountains have a certain charm, and we were certainly charmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in so many different ways...through the people we met, the friends we saw again, the powerful messages we heard, the conversations we had, and the amazing scenery around us!

No Place Like Home

2008-01-26T23:32:00.000-02:00

Yep, there's no place like home - especially when it's Christmas and your birthday! I was very blessed this year to spend both of these occasions with the people I love most: my wife, my parents, and my sister, in my hometown. Although my birthday is actually January 10, we celebrated it on New Years Day - what better way to open 2008?
Waleska & I really needed a break from our ministry in Brazil as the end of 2007 was quite hectic, though exciting in many ways. We enjoyed nearly three weeks of time with my family - food, games, conversation, hikes in the great WV outdoors, worship with our church, and cold winter weather! We also were able to have a really nice visit my grandparents in North Carolina.
Thanks to Mom & Dad & Angela for fantastic memories! We love you so much!
I'm 31 years old and now in the prime of my life...thank you Lord!

Two Cultures Meet in Worship

2008-01-26T21:39:00.000-02:00

Check out this video of Waleska & I teaching the good folks at North Beckley Church of Christ, the church where I grew up, how to praise the Lord in Portuguese! I give them two thumbs up for a great, great effort!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQxDpKisnuU

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

2007-12-25T20:45:00.000-02:00

We would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy 2008!! We are currently enjoying our holidays with Matt's family in West Virginia. We return to Brazil on January 4 and upon return, we will share what's been happening around here! God bless all of you!

My Brazilian Namesakes

2007-12-12T20:47:00.000-02:00

Here in Brazil I go by the name of Mateus - that's the Portuguese equivalent of Matthew. Some people here like to call me "Grande Mateus" - Big Matt! That's a nice nickname. But I'm not the only Mateus in town. I'm going to tell you about two of my namesakes - or xará as we say in Portuguese (pronounced sha-RAH). Let me introduce you to Pequeno Mateus and Médio Mateus.

This is Pequeno Mateus - Little Matthew. He is the newly adopted two-year old son of our sister in Christ, Luzia. She has been waiting 4 years in the adoption line for this moment! Finally, two weeks ago, her adoption was approved and she "gave birth" to a wonderful two-year old boy whose name happened to be Mateus. Coincidence? Providence! Mateus is a real energetic guy, smart, likes playing with construction toys, and loves to eat. Sound like anyone you know?

Little Mateus is also very affectionate. He took to us, especially to me, right away. We are so happy for Luzia, that God has been faithful to her and rewarded her patient waiting & praying for a child. Pray for her as she begins motherhood in mid-life! Pray also that this will continue to strengthen her relationship with her ex-husband, as he & Luzia have been in dialogue over recent months. The coming of Little Mateus may be one more step in God's plan to bring this couple back together!

Now I want you to meet Médio Mateus - Medium Matt. He is 13 years old. He is the son of Dídio and Valéria, whom I introduced in a previous post. Once a month we go to their house church on Sunday nights to encourage them and the others that meet with them. In January, Dídio, Mateus, and several others were involved in a serious car accident; no one was killed, but Dídio and Mateus were both severly injured. The whole incident caused Dídio, who used to be very indifferent to God and church, to rethink his life. He was baptized earlier this year. Two months ago, Mateus decided to be baptized as well! Praise God for how he has transformed this family!

Mateus has an affectionate nickname among his relatives - "Presuntinho" (Little Ham). So does that make me the "Big Cheese?" Yeah, I know, you're rolling over in laughter right now.

It's good to know that these two guys, Pequeno Mateus and Médio Mateus, are doing justice to the name Mateus/Matthew - which for you fans at home, means "Gift of God!"

House Church Retreat

2007-12-04T17:33:00.001-02:00

Since the beginning of the year, I've had an idea to do a retreat just with the church that meets in our house - for two purposes: to encourage our members, and to provide an informal atmosphere to which they could invite their friends for evangelism. This past weekend, Dec. 1-2, we were able to have our retreat. We spent these days in the same house in Nova Petrópolis where we had the mens retreat in October. Everybody loves this house and its big, ample green space - I wish I owned this house!There were plenty of fun & uplifting activites for all.

For the guys, there was futebol, of course - that's how men bond. Judging from the quantity of sweat on my shirt, you wouldn't think that I was an in-shape marathon runner!

For the girls, it was reflection and sharing time on Sunday morning. The weather was perfect to enjoy the outdoors.

There were also some pranks, as there are on any good retreat - Renato getting chained up during naptime, and Dariu holding a broken ax for an hour while the glue dried!

Unfortunately, only two of our families (the Signorettis) could go on the retreat - the other families had situations come up that impeded their ability to go with us. The great thing is that the Signoretti clan invited two other families to come with us! They invited Cici, Renato's cousin, and his wife Leticia & son Ryan. They also invited Dariu & Mara, great friends of Renato & Branda, and their daughters Fernanda, Bruna, and Vitória. We had a great worship time on Sunday and talked openly about what following Jesus means in everyday life, and what it means to participate in a church.

L-R: (kneeling) Renato, Vitoria, Dariu, Regis, Vinicius (standing) Guilherme, Fernanda, Wagner, Bruna, Branda, Mara, Ryan, Cici, Leticia, Conceição, myself, and Waleska! We hope and pray that this retreat will spur more spiritual growth in all our lives! I have to include this shot of a butterfly we managed to capture that was fluttering around in the woods - in sunlight, it literally glows a sensational daytime brilliant blue. My camera flash jazzes it up a bit too much...I wish you could have seen this butterfly. Divine poetry in motion!

Cool Pics of Us Two

2007-11-18T17:21:00.000-02:00

Waleska doin' some stylin' and profilin' on the hills and in the fields near Camaquã, the town where my in-laws live, 1 1/2 hours from Porto Alegre.

This was taken in Camaquã in the middle of the tobacco fields outside of town. It's a very pretty scene at day's end, as you can see here...

Another successful race! Last Sunday Waleska & I ran in a marathon relay (groups form teams of 2, 4 or 8 runners and run the marathon distance in relay format). I ran my 10k and then helped Waleska run her 5k. She is becoming a real athlete! And the best part of the race is the cool shirts we get!

"Mobile Church" - 2nd Edition

2007-11-18T16:48:00.000-02:00

This is the Salgado family - l-r: Jennifer, Claudio, Lhoumar, Keity and Rute. They are a great testimony to God's faithfulness! They used to live in the apartment building next to Waleska & I. Claudio works as the maintenance man in this building. Their entire family lived in a tiny apartment (the size of our living room) in the building, not exactly ideal conditions to raise three daughters. Claudio & Rute were baptized and married two years ago in our church. Over the past several years they have managed to make much out of little - with Claudio's income, they were able to pay off over $6000 in debts and make a down payment on a house! Five months ago they moved their new house in Cachoeirinha, a suburb of Porto Alegre about 40 minutes away by car. Claudio continues to work as the maintenance man - he is hoping to be fired so he can receive an indenization package that will allow them to pay off the debts they have acquired in taking on this house. It is the right thing to do, since by law he is not obligated to live in the apartment building, but the residents are giving him a very hard time about it. Yet he remains faithful and patient, as does his whole family.
Last Sunday our house church did another "mobile church" experience - we had a lunch and our worship in the Salgados' home! The Terrys had been going out to Cachoeirinha every Sunday to encourage the Salgados in their worship, and while they are on furlough right now, different groups are taking turns going out to Claudio & Rute's home to be church with them. Twelve of our folks from our group went and we had a wonderful experience of praise, discussion and fellowship. Please pray for the Salgado family as they look forward to a bright future full of the promises of God, especially the fruition of a house church in their own home!

Church in the "Big Corner"

2007-11-10T17:17:00.000-02:00

When I first moved to Porto Alegre five years ago, I hired a Christian lady named Valquiria to help cook and clean in my house, and I formed a close friendship with her and her family. Valquiria, her sister Valeria (far left in the photo), their mother, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces, and various relatives live on the outskirts of Porto Alegre near the federal university campus. They call their neighborhood the "Cantão" (Big Corner) because of its location on a dead-end street in undeveloped wetlands property. Valquiria and Valeria attended our church for sometime, and two years ago left for various reasons. Recently, God has been working in a marvelous way through missionaries in Viamão, the suburb where they live, to reach this entire "clan" for Christ!

One of the obstacles for Valquiria and Valeria to grow in their faith was that it was often hard for them to leave their home in order to come to our services. A relative would arrive unexpectedly, or their husbands would not be able to give them a car ride, and they couldn't attend our events. Well, the missionaries in Viamão, the Diogos and the Whites, decided to overcome these obstacles. They decided to start a church meeting in Valeria's house on Sunday nights!

Valeria and Valquiria, sisters, are married to Didio and Kiko, who are brothers. For years their husbands have been resistent to coming to church - not rude, but just not interested. Didio's life changed dramatically at the beginning of this year when he and his son Mateus were involved in a serious car accident that left major physical & emotional scars - they were very fortunate not to be killed. This episode caused Didio (white shirt in center of photo below) to really examine the meaning of his life, and he began studying the Bible and was baptized. In fact, half a dozen of Valquiria & Valeria's relatives have been baptized this year thanks to the doors God has opened through the Viamão church's involvement!
Waleska & I attended the Sunday night meeting in Cantão last weekend. Twenty people were crammed into a narrow living room to share Christian life together. We were tremendously received with loving hugs, passionate singing, lots of conversation, shared prayers and laughter, and a community snack (I should mention that Valquiria & Valeria are tremendous cooks!) We hope to visit this group at least once a month to encourage them and help the Viamão missionaries in their task of maturing this young house church. Please add them to your prayers!

A Star (Athlete) Is Born!

2007-11-04T13:35:00.000-02:00

This post is in honor of my wife, Waleska - she is now officially a runner! Last Sunday we participated in a 5.5K race in the south zone of the city, sponsored by an athletic club whose primary public is teachers in the state school system. It is a simple race - there probably weren't more than 100 participants - but well organized and fun to run, along the riverside. Waleska has been working out (running and weights) for several months now three days a week. Now it was time to put her training to the test. She ran the entire race without stopping, finishing in 37:18 - outstanding for a first race! I ran alongside her the whole way to give her a squeeze of the water bottle and moral support when she needed it. There is a fairly steep hill at the end that almost made her stop, but she kept going like a real trooper! She even got a medal and a shirt for participating, as you see here (when I ran the race two years ago, they didn't give out any participation prizes...) It is exciting to know that we have one more fun activity in common as a couple - running together, "pressing on to the goal!"

2nd Mens Retreat

2007-10-23T15:15:00.000-02:00

There's a saying that if something gets bigger and better, it has to be good. Well, that held true with our second men's retreat this past weekend. We had 20 guys particpate (4 more than last time, 7 of them first-timers), and we enjoyed a nicer location (a vacation house of a friend of mine in the mountain town of Nova Petropolis. Our theme: spiritual warfare. The "family crest" above the mantle of the house's fireplace provided the perfect backdrop for our exploration of this theme.

The natural setting of our retreat was perfect: a warm spring day on top of a ridge overlooking the valley below, plenty of green area to explore and plenty of opportunities to spend time together and time alone with God, equipping ourselves to be more faithful spiritual warriors.

As with any mens retreat, food is an essential ingredient! Our brother John Spencer celebrated his birthday with us by buying us all mini-hot dogs for our Friday evening snack. For Saturday lunch we were treated by our brother Lauro to two whole racks of grilled ribs. The gaúchos supposedly say that these ribs, when done right, are even better than fliet mignon. After eating Lauro's ribs, I would have to agree.

Our program included a bit of everything. Sascha and I each gave a lesson; we had a time of individual meditation; we had a time of small group Bible study and sharing responses with the entire group; we had a time of prayer in groups of two or three; and a "training exercise" - capture the flag, for those outdoor sport enthusiasts! We saw the Lord working in many men - through conversations, laughter, tears, spontaneous praise, and reflecting on nature.
Who says it can't be better the second time around! Thank you God for this retreat!

"Mobile" Church

2007-10-22T17:47:00.000-02:00

In a email I sent out last week, I talked a bit about Dariu (Darius in English) and Mara, a couple that are friends of Renato and Branda in our house church. Dariu and Mara opened their home to us this Sunday to see what the church is all about. They have been friends with Renato & Branda for many years, have attended one or two church events in the past, but have never been really interested in knowing more about Jesus - until various circumstances in their lives recently opened the door to their curiosity. Dariu & Mara came to our most recent couples meeting, where Waleska & I met them for the first time. When they learned from Renato & Branda that we meet as church in our homes, they became very interested and invited our group to spend a Sunday in their house, to have a time of worship and a lunch together. We gladly accepted this missionary opportunity! This is the kind of opportunity I have been praying and waiting for as house church - the opportunity to take church to people who are seeking God yet possess a certain skepticism basd on what they have experienced in institutional church.

We had a time of singing, a time of prayers for request and for thanksgiving, and a time of discussion centered around one of my favorite passages - Luke 24, where Jesus encounters the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. The central theme of our discussion was that Jesus meets us where we are, and leads us to where we need to be. Our brother John Spencer did a fantastic job explaining the meaning of the Lord's Supper as practiced in a family home setting, in simple yet profound terms. Our sister Inês also contributed with some very meaningful and personal testimonies about her walk with Jesus. By the end of the meeting we could tell from their verbal and non-verbal expressions that Dariu, Mara, and Mara's mother Flavia (who lives with them and participated) were very touched and had been given a lot to reflect on!

In true house church fashion, we continued the fellowship with our lunch, a delicious barbecue prepared by Dariu himself. This guy has not one, not two, but three barbecue pits in his house! He works for a bank and is usually on the road during the week visiting clients around the state, while Mara takes care of their three daughters Bruna, Fernanda, and Isabela. They are both very outgoing, expressive, and energetic people, they love to talk and talk! Waleska & I really enjoyed being in their home; I was amazed by how hospitable and friendly they are. They are the kind of people you want to be around, because they just make you feel so at ease. I was thinking about them as we drove home yesterday afternoon and how they strike me as people who, upon dedicating their talents to Jesus, would be tremendous servants in the kingdom.

So what is next? We are praying that God will show us the way in terms of continuing to build our relationship with Dariu, Mara & their girls, and integrating that relationship into our church family - perhaps through a couples Bible study, more home church events, or something else we can't yet envision. Let's ask God to continue opening the hearts of this great family to the gospel and that this openness will result in response and transformed lives!

Meet Luzia

2007-10-09T20:22:00.000-03:00

In this edition I will introduce you to Luzia, a member of the church that meets in our house. Luzia is in her mid 40s and is a high school math teacher. She teaches in Restinga, one of the poorest and toughest neighborhoods in Porto Alegre (a place that, according to Luzia, she would be reluctant to bring me because I might be seen as too "white" for them, considering all good intentions). She has been a Christian for many years, back to the time of her adolescence. She is very good friends with the Signoretti families who also meet in our house. How to describe Luzia? She is a loud person in the good sense of the term - not disruptive, but vocal, opinionated, and loves a good laugh. She knows her Bible very well, too.

I have some ongoing prayer requests I would like to make on Luzia's behalf. First, that Luzia will one day be able to reconcile with her ex-husband, Daniel. They were married for many years but divorced about three years ago. However, they maintain frequent contact and Luzia hopes that eventually he will rejoin the church & come back to her. Second, Luzia is attempting to adopt a child. She is not able to have children and has been waiting three years for her adoption to come through, but it continues to be stuck in the courts. Third, Luzia's mother is very sick right now with anal cancer. Her fragility has forced Luzia to spend a great deal of time taking care of her, on rotation with her sister. Luzia is the only one in her family who is a Christian, so that makes things difficult at times. Yet Luzia boldly and confidently lives her faith and expresses her trust in Christ in all circumstances. We thank God for Luzia and ask that you join us in praying for God's powerful hand to work in these situations!

A Little Holiday Tango

2007-09-16T16:39:00.000-03:00

Every year, Waleska & I like to take a trip to somewhere that neither of us have visited before - we both love to travel. This year, we decided to go to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and spend several days doing some tourism. Along with the fun, I signed up to run the Buenos Aires Half-Marathon - one more T-shirt and medal to add to my collection!

The historic center of BA has a lot to offer. Two things that stood out in particular are the Casa Rosada, the president's palace. Also, the Obelisk, which sits in the middle of the world's widest boulevard (16 lanes!)

One of BA's fascinating places is the Recoleta Cemetery, where many famous Argentines such as Evita Peron are buried. What makes this cemetery so unusual is its tombstone architecture. Below are two outstanding examples - the Sandman and the Flower Lady.

We also ventured into the La Boca neighborhood, birthplace of the tango - the difficult and beautiful dance that has made Argentina famous throughout the world!

We caught plenty of tango performers on photo and video - perhaps you'll recognize some of these folks. Who do you think is the better pair?

Another great thing about Argentina is its beef - it is rightly touted as the most tender on the planet. If you know me, you know that I love to eat. Well, you can imagine my joy when I sat down each night to a plate like this...

And then there was the race. Unfortunately, it was one of my worst races ever - I was still in the after-effects of the flu, it was quite hot, I was not mentally focused, and to top it off, the race organizers ran out of water after 5K! Only at the finish did I get back my groove and get some liquid refreshment. Racing is just like life - some days you run like a champion, other days you are glad just to conclude the race when you feel like quitting. This was one of those days for me.

Now we're back in Porto Alegre and back to work! It was good to get away for a few days and enjoy seeing more of South America!

My In-Laws

2007-09-02T20:07:00.000-03:00

Now I'm going to begin telling you about my wonderful Brazilian in-laws! This is Lessa, Carlota, and Mariah. Carlota is Waleska's older sister. They live in Camaquã, a town of 60,000 about 1 1/2 hours from Porto Alegre, crossing the river and going south. They own and operate a drugstore to make their livelihood. They have been married for eleven years. Mariah is their first child together - she was born May 26th of last year.

The following photo was taken at Mariah's first birthday party earlier this year, while my mother and sister were visiting. In Brazil it is common for the child's first birthday party to be a big bash - with lots of fun, food, family and friends present. Carlota is a very creative person; she chose the theme for Mariah's party to be "Strawberries." She made most of the decorations herself, put together cool treat packets for the kids, and rented a play room at a party center with a big ball pit, video games, etc. It was an excellent party for much less than what these things customarily cost!

The following picture is not a resort, though it looks like it - this is Carlota and Lessa's backyard! They have a nice green space and a pool, which is great for summertime fun in the sun. Waleska and I occasionally take a day or a weekend to get away from the work and bustle of Porto Alegre and escape to Camaquã for clean air, tranquility, time with relatives, and great barbecue made by Lessa himself. I appreciate their generosity and hospitality a great deal. When their schedules permit, they also like to come see us in Porto Alegre for an afternoon or an evening.

I thank God for my in-laws and I ask you to pray for God's goodness in their life! Specifically, I ask for prayers for Mariah's health: she had a real scare with a serious infection in her hip area that hospitalized her for two weeks in June. She is better now and we are glad to see the joy coming back in her - she's even giving me little kisses now! Carlota and Lessa have also begun attending an evangelical church in Camaquã during the past year and I want to pray that God will continue to bless their lives through their spiritual commitments.

2007-08-21T14:21:00.000-03:00

It's time for me to tell you about another one of the families in our house church. This is Regis, Conceição, and Vinicius Signoretti. Regis & Conceição are in their mid 40s and Vinicius is 15. Regis is Renato's brother - I introducted you to Renato and his family last month. Regis works in hospital administration in Novo Hamburgo, a suburb about 45 minutes by car from Porto Alegre. Conceição works as an administrative assistant for a state legislator near the capital building. Vincius is in his first year of high school and is on the basketball team. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I'm going to take him on the courts and give him some training...(hah!) Actually he is pretty good.

Regis and Ceiça (her nickname) have been Christians ever since their late teenage years. They are very committed to the church and care very much about seeing the church become the best it can be. They are experiencing some joys and some challenges in their life right now. One of the joys is that they are finally beginning to build their own house! This has come after many years of saving enough money and getting enough time to engage the process. One of the challenges is Conceição's health. She has several problems related to deficiencies in her spinal column such as lower back pain and insomnia. Recently she has also been struggling with depression - overload of work and interpersonal stress. I think we can identify with that...

We thank God for this family and ask that you pray for them - that their building project will be successful, that Conceição will be healed of her illnesses, and that they will continue to mature in Christ as His servants .

2nd Couples Meeting

2007-08-06T22:47:00.000-03:00

On Saturday night, we had our second couples meeting involving various couples in our extended church family (our first couples meeting was back in May). Waleska and Branda, another woman in our house church, are in charge of organizing this ministry. The goal is to get couples together for an evening of experiencing biblical principles that will strengthen our marriages and families. Our guest facilitators were Rui & Nadia Diogo, missionaries at the Church of Christ in Viamão, a suburb of Porto Alegre. The meeting took place at the home of Regis and Conceição, one of the families in our house church. We watched a movie called "A Vow to Cherish" that portrayed the theme of fidelity in marriage through difficult times. After the film was over, we discussed its message and application points for our lives, then stayed till around midnight munching on finger foods and enjoying good 'ol Christian fellowship. We had nine couples in attendance. All in all, it was a very encouraging night for everyone - simple, thought-provoking, low-cost, and fun!

Waleska is doing a great job in helping to organize this ministry. Her goal is to get to the point where we have these meetings once a month, so our members can anticipate them and invite their friends who are not yet Christians to get involved. Keep this ministry in your prayers as we seek to invest in strengthening our marriages and families!

She's Back!

2007-07-29T21:43:00.001-03:00

Today we welcomed my beloved mother-in-law (yes, I love my mother-in-law!), Vanda, back to Porto Alegre. She spent the past year in Franklin, TN learning English, living with an American family, working as a nanny, and acquainting herself with our church and with many friends in the greater Nashville area. Waleska and I are very happy to have her back here with us, for a while anyway...Vanda is not one to stay put for very long. Who knows what her next adventure will be? Hopefully, she will stay in Porto Alegre with us for the next several months. Among many things, we will look forward to her being a part of our house church. I will also enjoy some of her home-cooked vegetables, fish and special salads...

Waleska and I would like to thank everyone at Fourth Avenue Church who made Vanda feel at home and welcome in Franklin, especially Walter & Mary Nelle Kriedel, for their wonderful friendship and "jeitinho" with Vanda! We would also like to thank Robert and Brandy for their hospitality and for adopting Vanda as part of their family.

You know your mother-in-law is great when she takes your side in an argument...thank you Lord for Vanda!

First Men's Retreat

2007-07-17T23:35:00.000-03:00

We had our first men's retreat last weekend. We had 16 guys participate, which is more than we had expected. Though it lasted less than 24 hours, the quality of relationship and interaction was excellent! The theme was "Wild at Heart," based on the book of the same title that we will be working through together for the next three months on Saturday mornings. Sascha did a good job leading the group in some devotional thoughts based on the biblical principles of spiritual adventure in the book. At various points we broke up into small discussion groups to elaborate on our ideas and applications to our lives of what it means to be "Wild at Heart" in Christ.

We stayed at a farm that formerly belonged to a famous gaúcho traditional musician and songwriter, a farm that is slowly being converted into a sort of rural inn.

We played "tug-of-war" to get the guys kinetically experiencing the adventure of spiritual life and teamwork. It worked too well in my case...my team got to the finals, but I ended up being dragged in the mud by my brothers!

And where there are men, there is food...and there was plenty of food on our retreat. Friday evening was a community snack, Saturday morning was a hearty breakfast, and Saturday lunch was an entire roasted lamb, fresh from the farm. You haven't lived until you've eaten roasted lamb, my friends. It is difficult to prepare, but when it is roasted right, it leaves nothing to desire in comparison to beef. Check out the "before" and "after" pictures below:

So history is in the making! For three years we had tried to form a strong men's group in the church with little success. Now we are in a cycle where we work through a Christian book for twelve weeks (we had just finished working through Every Man's Battle), take a month off, have a one-night retreat, and start a new study. With the momentum we have gained from this retreat, we are excited to see what God will do in terms of calling us deeper into relationship to Christ and relationship with each other - discovering our wild hearts that God has given us and how we can use those hearts to God's glory.

Front row (l-r): Regis, Lauro, Spencer, Alexandre, Paul. Back row (l-r): Renato, Garigran, Paulo Renato, myself, Roberto, Ricardo, Sascha, Silvio, Tiago, Jorge. Keep this group in your prayers!

Feliz Aniversário...

2007-07-15T23:23:00.000-03:00

Sunday was a special day in our house church meeting. We celebrated four birthdays (l-r): Clarice, Renato, Vinicius and Carlos. Clarice and Renato both have their birthday on July 16th, while Vinicius and Carlos, who are grandfather & grandson, share July 5th as their birthday.

Our meeting was another demonstration of the Holy Spirit's work among us. We started by having the guys share reflections from our men's retreat experience last weekend (which I will describe in my next post). Then we had a time of praise, where anyone could suggest the songs they wanted to sing. During this time, our brother John Spencer, Clarice's husband, shares a song on a CD that he had heard and that he wanted us to learn to sing together, so we listened attentively and agreed to learn it. As we sang, the songs prompted several members of the group to read a passage of Scripture and comment on the meaning of their faith (everything from Psalm 89 to Acts 2 to Isaiah 64). We shared the Lord's Supper together reflecting on 2 Timothy 4 and the apostle Paul's declaration of "keeping the faith." We took up a collection and since there was no immediate need, we set the money aside for future use. The previous two weeks, we had taken up over $500 to help a widow and her four children (her recently deceased husband was a minister in a Church of Christ in a town three hours south of ours). It was as if everything flowed together, one piece of a seamless garment knit by the Holy Spirit amongst us.

The best part for me was at the end. I wanted to pray specifically for Clarice and Renato, since their birthdays would be tomorrow, asking God's blessing on them and thanking God for their place in all our lives. One of our members reminded me that Vinicius and Carlos had commemorated their birthdays earlier in the month. So we had the four of them gather in the middle, and we laid hands on them and prayed blessings & thanksgiving for their lives, and also prayed for specific requests shared by some in the group. It was a very meaningful moment, as was evidenced by the smiles and tears I saw afterwards!

Well, maybe the best part was...the food! We had a lasagna extraveganza for lunch; let me tell you - it was dynamite. Waleska made the birthday cake (white with chocolate layered filling) and did a fabulous job. Before and after the meal, the group sang some traditional gaúcho pop songs to liven things up. All in all, a great day to be in house church. We are thankful for what God is doing among us!

2007-07-08T22:04:00.000-03:00

Let me tell you today about two more members of our house church: Inês and Raquel, mother and daughter. They became linked with us because they lived near the building we used to rent for worship on Christopher Columbus Avenue. Even though we no longer meet at that location, Inês and Raquel decided to continue being part of our church family. They live relatively near our house (about a 20-minute walk).

Inês is in her mid-fifties and has been a Christian for many years. She has three children, of whom Raquel is the youngest. Inês works as a secretary in a doctor's office near our street. She hopes to retire within the next year or two so she can dedicate more time to one of her great talents: singing. Inês sings in a traveling choir that is run by one of the local commerce organizations. She is an excellent soprano! She is a lady who is very in touch with Christ and knows her Bible very well. She is not very outgoing, but when you get her talking, she will talk your ear off, in an edifying and encouraging way.

Raquel is in her mid-20's and was baptized back in January. She recently graduated from the Lutheran University with a degree in physical education. Raquel is currently working for several different schools in the south zone of Porto Alegre as an aquatic aerobics teacher, and is also doing a post-graduate course at the LU. I hate to admit it, but her greatest talent might be her ability to do dead-on impersonations of people, especially the missionaries with their thick Portuguese accents :) When she gets going, she can leave us in stitches1 Both Raquel and Inês are true servants who will jump in and do anything they are asked to do for the good of the church.

I want to ask your prayers especially for Raquel at this time, as she is suffering with major depression. She recently confided this struggle with us in hopes that she could find comfort in God's word for her depression. Pray for Raquel, that her medical treatments and her searching of Scripture will bring her the healing she desires, and that God will use this difficult experience to strengthen her faith and utilize her to help others.

We are very glad to have Inês and Raquel in our house!

2007-06-29T19:34:00.000-03:00

Since January, we are being church in a new way. We got out of the building we were renting near downtown for worship services and began a process of morphing. We reorganized our congregation into four different house churches, each led by a missionary family. On Sundays, we meet in our house churches, except for the last Sunday of each month, when all the house churches meet together for worship and fellowship. We also have frequent get-togethers for men, women, and teenagers.

Why did we do this? After four years of work here, our church was fine, but already stagnating. We missionaries found ourselves still doing most of the work, even though we were trying to hand off responsibilities to our Brazilian brothers. We welcomed many new brothers and sisters into the Christian family, but saw several of these folks leave through the back door after several months. We began to pray, study the Bible intensly, seek advice from fellow kingdom workers - asking God to show us what we should be doing. We feel that God has answered by pointing us to the biblical, apostolic practice and vision of simple churches meeting in people’s homes, simple churches multiplying through each person using their spiritual gifts to evangelize, teach, encourage, and care for one another.

I think the best way to get a feel for our house churches is to introduce you to our folks, family by family. So in this post I’ll tell you about the Renato Signoretti family (from left to right: Wagner, Renato, Branda, and Guilherme)

Renato and Branda are in their early 40s and have been Christians ever since their teenage years. They came to us from another local congregation because they wanted to be part of a young and growing work. Renato is a bus driver for the military academy in Porto Alegre and Branda works in investments for the state bank of Rio Grande do Sul. Guilherme is 17 and in his last year of high school. Wagner is 15 and in his first year of high school.

Renato and Branda have become good friends of ours. Renato is quiet; he doesn't make waves in big groups, but he loves to talk with people one-on-one and he loves to use his spare time to visit friends and church members. He'll do favors when necessary, like transporting furniture or driving us to a retreat. He also makes some mean desserts: my favorite is sagu, little balls of flour that have been soaked in wine bottles and baked at high temperatures. Branda is outgoing and likes to take initiative; she is collaborating with Waleska in organizing a couples ministry, and also helps organize classes and activites for the teenagers. She is a very encouraging person and has been very supportive of us as we've made this transition to house churches.

Guilherme is trying to decide what he wants to study in college. Right now he's leaning toward physical education, but he's not really sure. He is an outstanding indoor soccer player; he could probably play semi-professionally if he dedicated himself full-time. Wagner is a goofball and likes to play practical jokes. Both boys are excellent guitar players as well.

That's the Renato Signoretti family...we are glad to have them in our house.