Did You really choose me Lord???

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit -- fruit that will last." John 15:16a

As I think back over the past couple of weeks, I am truly humbled by the fact that the Lord has called me here to Brazil to serve Him.  It is such an honor to be here and be able to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the people of the Amazon Basin of Brazil.  I am nothing special and am definitely not worthy but Jesus in me is what the world needs!  From my last update, you may remember that I was leaving to work at the Encontro (Encounter) for adolescents.  The 3 days of the Encontro were incredible.  There were almost 200 adolescents who participated in the weekend retreat and of the 200, about 120 were girls!  We had our work cut out for us :).  I worked doing anything and everything I was asked to do from cleaning bathrooms to doing skits, washing dishes to praying for young girls.  I mentioned in my last update that I was going to play a "patricinha" in one of the skits and also the Holy Spirit in a couple of skits.  Well, I do have a picture of me as a "patricinha" and the picture of me as the Holy Spirit is unfortunately on someone else's camera but hopefully I can get ahold of it to show you all. 

 Also, due to the importance of the girl's really focusing on the Lord, I was not able to take photos actually during the sessions.  

My absolute favorite part of the Encontro was being able to pray for the young girls.  I can't really explain how it feels to have young girls come up to you crying because their father never wanted them and wanted them to be aborted or because they don't feel loved in their own home.  Or young girls crying because they have already been so used and abused by the things the world has to offer.  My heart broke for them as I took them in my arms and prayed for them, as I looked into their eyes and told them they are beautiful and that even when our earthly father fails we can know that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us so very much and will never fail us.  Our Heavenly Father has always wanted us and will never leave us.  The Encontro for me was truly amazing!

A week later, we had a baptism for those who went to the Encontro who had never been baptized before.  100 adolescents were baptized last Sunday at a local residence here in Santarém.  Once again, it was such a privilege to be a part of such an important decision in the lives of these young people.  

With the holiday season upon us, there is a lot going on here for me.  The cell group that I am involved with will be having a big Christmas party on the 17th of December.  The idea is to invite people who do not know Jesus as their Lord & Saviour to the party to enjoy a type of variety show explaining the true meaning of Christmas followed by a dinner.  Please be in prayer for this as their are so many people who need to hear the Good News of Jesus!  Also, on Saturday I will have a guest arriving to stay with me for a little less than a month.  Rachel, was my roommate here in Brazil last summer and she is returning to visit.  It will be nice to have a friend staying here with me.  The other exciting thing happening this Saturday is the wedding of my friend and first disciple here in Brazil, Aline.  I will actually be a bridesmaid in the wedding and hope to share more about this in the next update.  Here is a picture of Aline and I about a month ago.

Also, if any of you all have Skype please add me because I would love to be able to talk with you.  Just search my full name and you will find me!

Conferences, Evangelistic Outreach and Encounters...

Wow!  Are we seriously already more than halfway through November???  Well, I have now been here in Santarém, Brazil for 2 1/2 months and an update from me is long overdue.  The week of October 21-26, there were two big conferences going on here at our main PAZ church.  The first conference was the MDA Conference.  This is a national conference that happens every year and is for pastors and leaders from all over Brazil.  Just to explain really quickly, MDA is a model used in the PAZ churches with an emphasis on one-on-one discipleship  and cell groups (small groups).  The heart shows the MDA Vision.  This year I decided to participate in the conference and it was a great experience.  Speakers from all over Brazil came to speak and impart the vision of having a “cell church” and the importance of one-on-one discipleship.  The conference was Tuesday - Saturday early morning to early afternoon.  Each day was filled with a wonderful time of worship and teaching.

During the same week, beginning on Wednesday night we began our big cell group celebration.  Wednesday night is the night most of our cell groups meet all over the city of Santarém.  On this particular night, there were several groups multiplying.  When a group grows to a certain size, the group multiplies and then there are 2 groups.  It was planned that at 8pm a few of the pastors from Igreja da Paz would speak for a few minutes on the television and that when Pastor Abe said the word “fogo” (fire) people in all of the cell groups would set off fireworks all over the city.  Just imagine more than 2,000 cell groups setting off fireworks all over the city.  It was quite a sound!  

Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights were the big celebration of the multiplication of so many groups.  Each night was filled with music, preaching and lots of celebrating.  The cell groups at the church are divided into regions which are represented by different colors.  Many people came dressed to support their region.  

Another big event recently was Minha Esperança Brasil (My Hope Brazil).  This was a 3 night evangelistic project that was shown on TV in all of Brazil in association with the Billy Graham Association.  The first two nights were 30 minute programs with brief testimonies from well-known Brazilians and brief messages from Billy and Franklin Graham.  On the third night, the movie “A Vow to Cherish” was shown.  The idea behind this project was to invite people to your home each night to watch the program as an evangelistic outreach to the unsaved.  I am not sure of the final numbers but I believe that just from our main PAZ church here in Santarém, there were over 1,000 decisions for Christ made.  Just think of all the other churches participating in the whole of Brazil!!!  God is awesome!

I am really excited because this weekend I will be working at the Encontro (Encounter) for adolescents.  Some of you may remember that I went on this same retreat for adults at the end of September.  This time I get to be behind the scenes working.  I will doing many different things including being a part of the drama pieces.  I get to be the Holy Spirit, an angel, one of the ten virgins and also a patricinha (a prissy girl that dresses all in pink).  I will try to get pictures to show you all.  Please pray for this weekend that the youth would be open to the work the Lord wants to do in each of their hearts.

Be looking for another update soon with more news about what is going on here in the Amazon!   

Camping is so much fun!

Interesting Story/Fact

Ok so its been awhile since I have updated and I have been trying to keep track of stories and things that go on that I find interesting to be able to use in my updates.  Something you may be interested to know is that I ride a motorcycle here in Brazil on a weekly basis.  Yes, Cautious Claire rides a motorcycle.  Well, actually its a taxi but on a motorcycle.  Its quite convenient.  But seriously, pray for my safety not only on the motorcycle but just in general.  I do a lot of walking in the city as well.  

A little over a month ago, I was getting ready to go to cell group when we had a power outage.  This doesn´t happen all the time but it is about a weekly occurrence usually at night when we are sleeping though.  This time though it was right when it was starting to get dark.  Well, I found some candles thankfully because I had to finish getting ready.  So I ended up getting ready in the bathroom with two candles on a tiny table doing my very best to put on makeup without getting too close to the candle.  It was quite the scenario.  

To see more photos of my time here in Brazil click here

Also check out my bio on the PAZ website click here

 

Getting into the swing of things...

Wow!  An update is long overdue.  Has it really only been 5 weeks since I got here?  It seems like I have been here for so long already but yet at times I feel like I was in the US just yesterday.  Time is a funny thing.  Lots has been going on with here in the Amazon Basin of Brazil from getting adjusted to moving and getting adjusted again to weekend “Encounters” with God and learning what my role will be at the mission and building relationships with the Brazilians.

First, God is so good and faithful and He continually reminds me of that in His response to the big details of life to the very small details.  My first month here in Brazil I was blessed with the opportunity to live in the home of a missionary family as they were traveling in the US.  I was living with a Brazilian named Dolores who lived for 12 years in the US.  After my first month, I was blessed again to be able to live in the home of another missionary family (which happens to be next door to the other home) until possibly mid-March or later.  Both of these families are huge blessings to me as I am able to save on some of my expenses in the coming months (although I still desperately am in need of your one-time gifts and monthly commitments).  The first month I was here I kept think about when I would be moving into the other house and how I would be  living alone.  I like to be alone at times but I was really hoping to find someone who could live with me.  God put Dolores in my heart.  I knew she was looking for a place to stay as her parent’s home does not have space for her so I asked her what she thought.   She loved the idea.  I can tell you how good God is because her and I get along so well.  We are able to talk to each other about different things going on in our lives and to encourage each other in the Lord.  So a week ago today we moved into our “new” place for an indefinite period of time :).  

Many of you have asked me what I am/will be doing down here and the truth is, a lot of different things.  It looks like a role I will be stepping into is one of administration which is good cause that is what my degree is in.  I will be helping PAZ with various proposals for buildings, projects, etc. and also writing reports/testimonies on the progress of those particular projects to the donors.  There is also a possibility that I will trained on the accounting process here at the mission so that I am able to step in as needed.  I think it is great how the Lord has called me as a missionary and I am still able to use my degree.  I mentioned some of the other areas I will be working in in the last update so check it out.  Please be in prayer for me as there are many needs and ways to get involved.  I want to do exactly what the Lord would have me to do.

O Encontro foi TREMENDO!!!  “The Encounter was tremendous!!!”  Last weekend I went as a participant in the Encontro.  It is similar to DeColores and other weekend retreats many of you have participated in in the US.  Anyways, it was a little less than 3 days of “one-on-one” with God time.  We were not worried about the people around us but rather focused on HIM.  It was a wonderful time of refreshing for me.  It was so awesome to see one lady accept Jesus into her life and see many water baptized out in the Tapajos River (tributary to the Amazon).  The weekend was great and you should have seen the celebration when we arrived back at the church on Sunday night.  We all went in together jumping, singing and giving praise to the only One who has the power to save, set free and transform lives!  I wish I had pictures to show but as participants, we couldn’t take pictures.  Next time, I will be working the retreat and will definitely get some pictures.

Random Fact/Story:

Monday afternoon I was sitting in the living room/dining room of the new place I am living and I had the door open to get a breeze in the room.  There is an outside door that is made of iron or something and most houses it has screen in it to keep bugs and things out but this house doesn’t have it.  Anyways, I was sitting there when all of a sudden a bird flew in the house.  I freaked out for a minute and then went to shut all the doors in the house to keep the bird in one area.  The only problem is that the office doesn’t have a door.  Well, the bird kept flying back and forth in the house and I had no idea how to get him out cause he was up high and I didn’t want to hurt him in anyway.  He went back in the office so I had to direct him back to the front of the house and hopefully out the door.  It was quite the site.  I honestly wish someone would have been videotaping me.  I was screaming and laughing at the same time.  Thankfully, the cute little bird finally found his way back out the door.  I am sure this is one of many funny stories I will have in the future :).

Thank you all so much for your prayers, encouragement and support.  It is so nice to have a wonderful team of people supporting me and cheering me.  Also, I would like to ask for special prayer for fellow missionaries Nate and Ruth Reutter.  They lost their baby a little over a week ago.  Both of their parents are missionaries down here as well.  It has been a difficult week but God has been and continues to be so faithful in this situation.  If you would like to read their story please go to www.reutterfamily.com

Love to you all!  

Claire

Cheguei!!! (I arrived!!!)

Some days I wake up and think it is still a dream but then I get out of bed and realize I am actually here in Brazil.  I have been here in Santarem for about a week and a half and I still do not really believe that I am here and this time to live.  I am so thankful to the Lord for bringing me here to the Amazon of Brazil and to the ministry of Project Amazon.  Because of the obedience of my parents several years ago to the Lord’s call, I was exposed to a ministry that I have incredible respect for and am excited to be a part of now.

So many of you are probably wondering what I have been up to over the last week and a half.  Primarily, I have been getting adjusted to being here.  I have been blessed with the opportunity to live in someone’s house for them while they are traveling so thankfully I do not have to “set up” house yet.  I did make my first trip to the supermarket so I can actually have a real meal.  This is definitely going to be an adjustment for me because in the States, when I lived on my own, Lean Cuisine was the extent of my cooking :).  So I have some new learning experiences coming.  It has also been an adjustment getting used to the heat.  August until December are pretty much the hottest months of the year here in Santarem.  We are currently in the dry season so it only rains at times which isn’t very often.  It did rain the other night for a bit which was nice.  I think the heat seems so much more intense because there are not very many places to go for relief as very few places have air conditioning.  Other than a couple things here and there, adjusting has not been too difficult.  I have a great team here surrounding me, Brazilian friends and also the prayers of you all holding me up.  

Over the past week, I have also been learning about some of the ways I will be ministering and getting involved.  Every Wednesday we have cell group meetings which is basically a group that gets together for a time of worship, prayer, reflection on the message given at church the previous Sunday and fellowship.  I will be helping to lead a cell group of teenage boys and girls as the current leader will be traveling for several months.  I am very excited to get involved in the cell group ministry.  I also plan to participate in the Encontro (Encounter) a few weekends from now with my section of cell groups.  The Encontro is a weekend retreat where the focus is to have an encounter with God as you set aside the weekend and completely focus on Him.  I have lived here before and have never participated in an Encontro so I am really excited to be able to go in a few weeks.

Another ministry I will be working on is forming and training a team with another missionary here at PAZ to go into public schools, churches and pretty much anywhere else we can to teach about sexual purity.  We will be using a curriculum from Focus on the Family as our base and then adapting it according to the need here in Brazil.  This is an area very close to my heart and I am excited to see what the Lord has and the doors He will open with this ministry.

A couple other things I will be working on during this time is taking on some of the responsibility of communicating with people interested in short term opportunities here with PAZ and also working on getting my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification which has the potential to open many doors for the sharing of the Gospel.

Random Fact/Story:

Here in Santarem (and I guess in all of Brazil) it is election time just like in the US.  It is interesting to see the difference in the way things are done.  In the US we have bumper stickers, yard signs and televised debates.  Here, there are cars that drive by with loud sound clips and music about the candidates.  People have the candidates’ pictures put on their cars to cover the whole back window and sides of the cars.  Their are parades of motorcycles that drive up and down the waterfront promoting a candidate and little boats that go by with music and advertising.  

Well, that is it for now.  Please do keep in touch and keep me in your prayers.  If I do not get back to you right away please do not be upset.  I do not have internet in my home yet and the internet here is also very unreliable and slow at times.  I do appreciate each of you and pray for God’s blessings to be poured out on your lives and homes.  

I hope to get some pictures up on the blog soon for you all to see!

God Bless and All For His Glory,

Claire  

Coming soon...

I am hoping to get this blog back up and running with updates very soon...Keep checking back...I have added two new links on the right side bar...check it out!

<3 claire