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!
