Body of Christ Day - Ministry Solutions

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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!