And They're Off!

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

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!

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!

Good Morning, America! We are coming soon!

Couples Retreat...and a weekend trip

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

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

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!"