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!
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! 
