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