Orivis and a Landmark Event in Santarém

Two weeks ago I set off on a 6 hour boat ride to the community of Orivis alongside a team from New York state, fellow missionaries and our brazilian team. Our goal was to work on the beginning stages of a wooden church building; as well as, evangelism in homes, children's activities and services at night. Each trip my roll is slightly different but generally I work with children or do home visits. This time I was on the "construction crew". We carried a lot of wood. It was hard work in the hot sun but it was also a nice time of fellowship getting to know the team as we were walking along carrying the big pieces of wood. I also learned about several tools on the trip as I spent some time as the assistant to the "boss". Basically that meant him asking me to grab him whatever tools he needed haha. But hey now I know what a plum bob is and how to start a generator and I know the names of more tools in portuguese :). Just cause I am the daughter of a carpenter doesn't mean I have any knowledge or experience in the area! We held two services during our stay, one in Orivis and one in Januário where a work was started this year. I had the opportunity to lead several of the team members in doing a children's program at the local school. We sang songs, played some games, presented the Gospel using a bracelet and even played kazoos. Here are a few pics from the trip:

Some of our wood carrying helpers!

Beginning stages and some of the wood we carried

Service in Orivis

Service

Last week, I was witness to an event that greatly impacted my life. I was able to be a part of a baptism of 1,467 people. I can't describe the emotion of seeing so many people taking the step to be water baptized as a symbol of the work Jesus has already done in their lives and their decisions to "bury" the old self and live as a new creation in Jesus. In less than 2 hours, everyone was baptized. Here are some pics to see the incredible work Jesus is doing here in Santarém and the Amazon through PAZ:

The line to get into the baptism

Lots of people!

Waiting...

As the year is coming to a close, I want to thank each of you for your prayers and support. Without them it would not be possible for me to be here. Prayerfully consider making a tax-deductible donation before the end of the year and also the possibility of the joining with me on a regular basis in 2012. May God bless you and your family! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Livin' the Vision!

MDA Conference:

In my last post, I mentioned the upcoming MDA Conference and my houseguest from São Paulo arriving. The conference was an amazing blessing. There were over 2,000 participants from 23 Brazilian states and 5 other countries. The majority of the sessions were about discipleship and cell groups but the main speaker, Pastor Eddy Leo from Indonesia, talked about being a dwelling place for God. It was such a simple message but at the same time so profound. We can do so many things for the Lord but if we aren't first a dwelling place for His presence than it is in vain. Our relationship with Him needs to be priority. It is so neat to see people from all over coming to learn about cell group churches and the importance of discipleship. Praise the Lord for such an amazing time! During the conference, I had the opportunity to host Silvania from São Paulo in my home. I was hesitant at first because I didn't know her but it was one of the best experiences. In a matter of a couple of days we already had become great friends. God blessed my life through having Sil in my house.

Sil and I at the conference.

Cell Group Multiplication Party & Cell Group Celebration:

During the MDA Conference there is a big cell group multiplication party. All of the groups that are going to multiply and even those that aren't multiplying yet have a party during the Wednesday night cell group time. There is a quick message live on a local TV station where we all countdown together and set off firecrackers. In Santarém there are over 6,500 cell groups. Can you imagine that many firecrackers going off all at the same time?! It is an incredible thing to witness. My cell group didn't multiply this time but we still had a fun time of fellowship. Friday and Saturday during conference week there is also the Cell Group Celebration where everyone goes to the local stadium dressed in the color of their cell group region (mine is green). It is a beautiful site all of the colors in the stadium. There were dance presentations, music and Pastor Eddy Leo preached.

Cell Group "Princesses of the King"

Blessing over cell group leaders

A full house with guests from Manaus

Vanessa, Silvania and me at the Cell Group Celebration

Colorful Stadium!

The presentation forming the letters MDA and the MDA heart which has at the center one-on-one discipleship

Love Joy Team:

Friday there is a team arriving from New York. It has been awhile since we have had a team. I get the chance to go back out on the river. We will be going to the community of Orivis Sunday night and arriving back on Friday before noon. Be looking for an update when I get back :)

Please be praying for safe travels. Be back soon!

Cell group, River Trip and MDA Conference

I asked for prayer a few weeks ago for Jacira, a young girl that gave her life to Jesus at cell group but was then not allowed to participate in the group anymore. Praise the Lord, last week she came to group as we were celebrating the birthdays of two of the girls and I believe she will continue to participate in the group. Here is a picture of myself with 2 of my disciples (Carol and Isabel) and a friend Vanessa. We were celebrating their birthdays.

This past weekend, I had the privilege of going with a small group of friends to the community of Correio do Tapará. Most of them had never been to a river community. I have been to Correio several times and absolutely love it. We spent the afternoon exploring the community. Saturday night and Sunday morning we held two church services. The presence of God was truly felt in that place. We went fishing at midnight along the river banks of the Amazon. Well, I was just watching haha. It was a great time of fellowship and serving the Lord. I was reminded how many times we can get so caught up with material things but for me there is nothing better than the simplicity of a river community. It is a great reminder of what brings true happiness. Here are some pics of the trip...

About to eat some fish!!!

Me with Yan

Our group getting to know the community

Service Saturday night

Next week begins the annual MDA Conference based on the Apostolic Discipleship Model that the PAZ churches follow. People come from all over Brazil and even from other countries to sit under the teaching about cell groups and discipleship. I have attended two times and will be attending again this year. I will also be hosting a lady from São Paulo in my home. She will be arriving on Monday and staying for about a week and a half to participate in the conference and get to know the area.

Prayer Requests:

- Cell group and Jacira

- Finances and Support

Bearing Fruit...

Most of you know this year I became a cell group leader and have a group in my house every Wednesday night. My group is all girls and recently I found myself becoming discouraged not seeing much fruit or growth in the group. But I am reminded of Galatians 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Last Wednesday, this verse became reality in my cell group. The past couple of weeks we had a 13 year old girl visiting the group. She had never made a true commitment to Jesus. She said she prayed a prayer once but never really surrendered her life to Him. On Wednesday night at the end of cell group she prayed giving her life to Jesus. Another girl in the group prayed to rededicate her life to the Lord. We prayed together and talked through the basics of salvation. One of my disciples will begin to disciple her now so she can grow in her relationship with God. That moment was one of my most memorable since being here. I finally see the importance of cell groups in the local church. Join with me in praying for more fruit and growth in the cell group. All glory be given to God!

A little bit of everything...

It has certainly been awhile since the last update so let me try to do a brief recap and tell you what is coming next. The last official update, I was heading into the last few weeks with our summer interns. We went on a trip to Parintins which was wonderful to be back with the people from there who hold a very special place in my heart. We wanted the interns to see another one of our bases and Parintins was the place. It was a wonderful trip and we all had a lot of fun. Two of the interns and myself ended up getting sick on the way back and were in bed for several days. I came down with a lovely case of strep throat and was definitely missing my mom lol. Intern Amy went off another trip immediately when we returned from Parintins while the other two opted to stay in the city. The last week or so of their time here was pretty laid back with shopping, church and a trip to the zoo. Praise the Lord we have received great feedback from the interns this year and hope to improve the program even more for 2012.

Me with the 3 summer interns at the Congresso

Mode of transportation in a Vila close to Parintins...poor guy =)

During the month of July, the jovens (youth/young adult) ministry has something called a gincana. It is a type of “Olympics” with 3 different teams. There are different challenges each week and the teams earn points. I was super involved this year with leadership on my team the ‘Brows’ (pronounced bro haha). Some of the challenges were the team who got the most people to donate blood (I did for the 1^st time), who could fit the most people into a VW bug, team with the most youtube accesses for an evangelistic video, team with the best decorations, cheer, song, etc… You get the idea. It was a month of a lot of fun and I even got our interns (Amy and Lindsay) involved. Well, the most exciting is that my team won this year. The purpose of the gincana is to win lost young people for Christ and also to make friendships. It truly was a special time. We even had to do a cultural dance at the Jovens Northeastern Night. Pictures below…

With our trophy!

After many practices finally presenting our dance...

The group

August and September have been time for me to get really focused on cell group ministry and discipleship. August included 2 milestones for me, which were my 26^th birthday and my 3 year anniversary in Brazil. The Lord has blessed with such a great group of friends here. They threw a beautiful and unforgettable birthday party for me at a local hotel. I definitely felt God’s favor! Pictures below…

My 26th bday party with some friends

Sabrina, me and Lidiane

In the past few weeks, I was asked to take over the administration of a ministry school (4 years) the PAZ churches are going to be offering in all of their churches eventually. I will be administrating this school in the river communities and smaller cities around Santarem. I will be going to our monthly missions meeting at the beginning of each month and will be required to get the new materials printed up and distributed to the local workers; as well as, take care of the financial side of the project. I am really excited to be working with this project as it will get me closer to the precious workers we have.

Prayer Requests:

- Financial Support

- English lessons – I have been presented with many opportunities to teach English here at my home. Praying for discernment to know what to say yes to and what to say no to.

- Administration of my time

Praises:

- 26 years of life

- 3 years of service here in Brazil

- Each of you who are faithful in prayer and/or financial support

Testimony

Here is a video of a young in Santarem sharing his testimony of how God changed his life. I helped in the making of the video with the translation. The video was made for the jovens (youth/young adult) meeting. Hope you enjoy it!

Summer days...

I am currently finishing up the schedule for the last few weeks our summer interns will be here in Brazil but I have been meaning to write a blog update for quite sometime. Since there has been so much going on, I will just do a quick recap because otherwise you will be reading forever :).

Within 27 days, I went on 3 different trips in May and June. It was absolutely exhausting and wonderful all at the same time. Here are some highlights of each trip:

Vista Alegre on the Maró River -

• Community where 90% of the population are evangelical Christians.
• My main role was as a translator and team support. I took the team members to visit different homes and also the local school where we helped with English.
• Held a couple of services and a prayer vigil.
• Boat ride was 21 hours from Santarém.

Parintins -

• I lead the team from Oral Roberts University to the city of Parintins.
• We presented programs for elementary school children in 2 schools.
• The ORU team ministered in several of the services and I translated.
• We got to do a service in a nearby village called Vila Amazonia.

* In between Parintins and the next trip to Tucumatuba, we had our annual March for Jesus in Santarém. I was given the responsibility to look after the 2 teams that were in town during the March. Unfortunately, early on in the March, as everyone was walking along happy and singing, we all stopped to pray for specific needs in the city. The street we stopped on has huge mango trees in the median that give shade to the whole street. I turned to say something to a friend and as I did, I was pooped all over by a giant iguana up in the tree. Needless to say, I screamed and quickly got on a mototaxi to go shower off and get back to the March. Looking back it was hilarious...not so much at that particular moment :).

Tucumatuba on the Amazon River -

• An area where the work was abandoned for almost 12 years.
• Very few evangelical Christians in this community.
• My focus on this trip was evangelism and Children's ministry.
• One of the home's we visited, was a man who was a Christian about 6 years ago but has been backslidden and is known in the community for being very violent with his wife when he drinks, etc... I went to his house to speak to him and his family along with 2 people from the Journey Fellowship team and the local worker's wife. We talked for a long time about how God is waiting for him to come back with open arms just like in the story of the Prodigal Son. He started to cry and said he would be at the service that night with his family. I was so excited that night when I saw him, his wife and their 3 sons at the service and I was even more excited when the next day he came out to help with the construction of the church. God was definitely moving in his life.

Since these trips, our 3 summer interns have been here. We have worked at an Encounter weekend, gone kayaking, participated in cell groups and church meetings, walked through the jungle in the pouring down rain, they went on a water filters trip, we participated in the 3 night Congresso (evangelistic crusade we have every year), studied Portuguese, etc... Now we are running to the last 3 weeks of their time here which will include one trip for me and 2 for them.

Praises:

• 3 trips that were a blessing
• 3 great summer interns
• God's supernatural strength to help me with translation, evangelism, etc...

Prayer Requests:

• Increased financial support. This is an area that I am really needing prayer and God to work. Please pray with me and consider becoming a financial partner as well.
• Next 3 weeks of travel and time with the interns.

Link to pictures from ministry trips in May and June --> PICTURES

Ready to be stretched...

It's been over a month since my last update and there are a few exciting things that have happened in that time. In the middle of March, I graduated from a Leadership Course that I took the second half of last year. This course is essential for all who want to become cell group leaders and grow in the ministry here. It was a 5 month course with topics of Evangelism, New Creation, Christian Family and MDA vision (the discipleship and cell group system used in the PAZ churches). It was an excellent way to get even more involved with the work here in Santarém. Another big announcement is that I am now officially a cell group leader! I am very excited to have a cell group in my home now of all young girls!!! This has been my heart's desire for sometime now and it is very satisfying to see God bringing it to fruition. Also, becoming leader of this group has given me the privilege to have 2 more disciples. I now will be discipling 3 young ladies =). God is faithful!!!

Wednesday a team from ORU will be arriving and I will be very involved during their stay of almost a month. Our PAZ guesthouse hosts are currently on furlough so there is a group of us that are going to be helping a lot with the teams that will be arriving in the next several months. God is going to be stretching me for sure. With the arrival of the ORU team, I am going to be used a lot for translation during services. Sometimes this will include using a translator set and translating the church service for the team and other times it will include being up front as a team member shares a testimony or preaches. This will be a stretch for me in so many ways. I know the Lord will give me the strength to do this and I count on your prayers to hold me up during the next several weeks. Saturday and Sunday I will be translating for the ORU team during the youth/young adult service and Sunday during the main service. Sunday evening around 7pm we will be leaving on a boat trip to Vista Alegre which is located on the Maró River. It is a 20 hour boat trip from Santarém so we will have a lot of time to get to know each other and to rest up for our work. It looks like our main job will be to pour the floor of the church and also participate in cell group and any services they have while we are there. I will be the main translator for any house visits and church services. Once again God taking me out of my comfort zone! We will be back in Santarém on Saturday morning the 21st. The team will travel again but I will stay in Santarém getting ready for our summer interns to arrive at the beginning of June. On June 27th, I will lead the team to the city of Parintins (I went last year with the ORU team). We will spend about a week there helping the church and being involved in different ministry opportunities. As soon as we get back from Parintins, the interns will be here in Santarém ready to start the 2011 internship. I will try to get a blog update out between the trip to Vista Alegre and Parintins and again after Parintins before I run off with the interns haha!

Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support! I could not be here realizing God's call on my life without each of you. May God bless and keep you and yours!

Some pictures from my graduation:

Waiting for our names to be called

Receiving my certificate with my Pastor

Me!

With my friend, Darlen

My class and our teachers and pastors

Exhausting but incredible...

I think I have finally recovered from the two camps I worked at and participated in. The last camp I went to left me with a week long cold and completely wiped out for days but the time I had at both camps was incredible. February 24-27th I had the amazing opportunity to be a counselor for AcampTEEN (adolescents camp). There were over 400 youth that participated. I had a cabin of 9 amazing girls and my assistant counselor. God really blessed me with a great group of girls that didn't cause any problems and were very obedient! I was able to build some relationships with some very precious young girls and able to invest in their spiritual growth. Ministry time was amazing and I loved being able to just hug the girls and let them cry on my shoulder and pray with them. The presence of God was very real during the camp. One young girl gave her life to Jesus and I was with her to hug her and pray with her for over an hour as she sobbed. I felt like working at the camp showed me that my heart is truly for the youth. They are such a key part for the future of the church and the advancement of the Gospel in the world.

The following week, March 5th-9th I was able to participate in the Jovens camp. The camp was maxed out with over 500 participants. This time, I was able to relax and just soak in everything that God had to teach me and to do in my life. I was with my friends and made new friends as well. The theme of the camp was "Intimacy with God" and I can truly say that the presence of God was extremely present during this camp as well. God ministered to my heart so much in the 5 days that I was at the camp. It blessed me so much to see Him working in the lives of so many youth and young adults. God truly is doing something supernatural in the Amazon Basin. The youth here are hungry for God and to live in holiness and purity before Him. This is something so rare in the lives of so many Christians anymore and it is a tragedy.

Another post will be coming soon...stay tuned...

Prayer requests:

- Driving lessons...I am learning how to drive a standard car. Please pray for safety and that I would learn how to drive well.

- Car...I am believing for the Lord to provide a car for me within the next couple of months. Public transportation is getting more dangerous and also expensive as many days I have to go to several different places.

- Finances...Believing for the Lord to continue to increase my monthly support.

- Health...For the Lord to keep me healthy and free from all sickness.

Enjoy a few pictures from the AcampTEEN and Acamp2011:

First night with some of my campers

Adolescents praising the Lord!

Gleice, Iza and I

Cabin 1!!!

Jovens camp

With one of my best friends Hanna on the last night of camp

Karol and Manu from my cabin

Camp x 2...

I have been back in Brazil for almost 2 months now and a blog update is way over due! Some of you may remember that my first month back was filled with 2 conferences. Both were for leaders in the mission and the church. The first conference was out at our camp and was a wonderful time where I helped serve each day in the snack bar and I loved it :)! The second conference was 3 weeks long and was a training on how to pray with people about past sins, issues, etc so they can experience true freedom in Christ. It was an exhausting 3 weeks but the teaching was so good. Since then, I was able to get back into the swing of things with my "normal" ministry. I started working with the adolescents at church every Thursday night, am getting more involved in cell group ministry and discipleship and currently revamping our intern program which I coordinate. This year I will have the help of a fellow missionary, Micah, as we seek to make a truly life-changing 2 month program. If you would like to see the blog Micah set up, go to www.thepazexperience.wordpress.com. We plan to have the interns blog during their time here so that future interns can see what the program is straight from people who have experienced it.

The next couple of weeks will be pretty crazy as we have our two youth camps happening. AcampTeen, which is our adolescent camp (ages 12-18), begins on Thursday evening. For this camp, I will be going for the first time as a counselor. I will be in a cabin with 10 teenage girls and will be responsible, along with another counselor, to do devotions and spend Thursday - Sunday with them. Most of the girls will be younger because our other camp is for older youth and once most of them get to 15 they go to the other camp. Please pray that the Lord will use me in the lives of these young girls. Also, pray for all of the adolescents that God would be moving in their lives and preparing their hearts for this time away with Him. I know we are going to have a lot of fun and that God is going to do great things.

Returning from AcampTeen, I will most likely need a couple of days to recuperate from waking up at 5am and not sleeping until really late haha. The next Saturday, March 5th, I will be going to Acamp2011, which is the "jovens" camp. The age range at this camp is anywhere from 15 til ??? Basically, there is no age limit. It is kind of like youth and young adults/singles mixed together. Anyways, this time I will be participating and just soaking in the ministry time and having fun with all of my friends. I will be in a cabin with some of my best girlfriends and I am looking forward to 5 days of fun and fellowship.

One thing to note is that the Jovens camp is held during the holiday of Carnaval. Camp is used as an alternative to the parties and such that will be going on all over the city of Santarem and country of Brazil. Carnaval translated means "flesh party" and it is very true to its meaning. Please pray that people will come to know the Lord during this time and pray for God's mercy here in Brazil.

Thank you so much for your prayers and constant support. Look for a blog update in a couple of weeks all about AcampTEEN and Acamp2011.

Here is a link to a video for AcampTEEN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV0qjjIVJaM

Here is a link to a video for Acamp2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdS9dXjfTeY

*They are in Portuguese but it will give you an idea of where I will be going :)

If home is where the heart is...

...then I have more than one home. I am currently in the Atlanta airport waiting for my next flight in my journey "home"to Brazil while earlier this morning I left my "other home" in Virginia. One "home" means family and friends who have been apart of my life for a long time, comforts and conveniences of the US and being in my culture of birth. My other "home" means another type of "family" and friends including my fellow missionaries and the Brazilians I have come to know and love, a different culture and people in which I find myself often more comfortable with than my own and the place God has called me to be to share the love and saving power of the Gospel!

I am coming back from almost 2 months of a furlough that has been such an incredible blessing in my life. I can truly say I took advantage of the time I had to reconnect with friends and family and to also make new friends. The Lord opened the doors for me to speak at a few different churches and to some different groups of people. My previous entry was about my first month of furlough so I want to catch you up briefly on the second month.

In December, I was able to make a trip to Liberty University to spend a couple of days with my sister at her apartment and get to know her school and some of her friends. I was also able to spend some precious time with so many extended family members and to reconnect with friends that I haven't seen in years.

I was blessed to be able to share at Igreja das Nações Unidas a Brazilian church in Richmond. My parents were amazed at how while speaking in English at some of the American churches I seemed a tad nervous but at the Brazilian church speaking in Portuguese for over 20 minutes I transformed into a totally different person. I think I am Brazilian at heart :). I was also able to share at Calvary Chapel in Richmond, a church my family was a part of for a few years. It was so nice to see old friends and be encouraged by the body of Christ. An old friend of mine from high school invited me to share with the youth at her church which was a surprise invitation but was proof once again of God being faithful and opening up doors.

The second half of December, I was busy spending lots of time with my family. We were able to take a family vacation to NYC and boy did we have fun. God even showed us favor with the weather. It was cold for sure but each day was sunny. We didn't have a drop of rain or snow which was such a blessing. All of the snow came after we left and just in time for us to have a "white Christmas". I am so thankful to God for my family and the time I was able to spend with them in the past couple of week. Saying goodbye was definitely hard but skype will help us get through :). Now it is their turn to visit me in Brazil (and anyone else who wants to come just let me know).

Please keep me in your prayers as I continue my journey back to Brazil and get back into the swing of things. A couple of days after I get back, I will be participating in a leadership conference for about 5 days out at our camp and then will jump into a 3 week training for deliverance.

As the new year begins, please consider how you can be a part of the work in the Amazon by supporting me with a one time gift or regular support. May God bless each of you in this new year of 2011 and may it be the best year yet for you and your loved ones.

Some pictures...

With Erin and her Christmas tree @ school

Pastor Geriel introducing me to share

With some special ladies from Calvary Chapel

In Little Italy, NYC

Lady Liberty

Helring ladies at Rockefeller Center

On the ferry from the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Sisters in Central Park

Don't see this in the Amazon ;)

With my Grandmere

Twins...we love Brazil!