Prayer for the Weary

In a world full of muck, it is my prayer and hope to use the internet to share the prayer that is on my heart for my brother in Jesus Christ, Claudio. I haven't planned this prayer. I am simply allowing the Spirit to open my heart as I share his struggles on this post. Please join with me in lifting Claudio and his family up to the Father...

O Holy Father,
Almighty Giver of all things. I thank you for the avenue of prayer. I thank you for the opportunity that you give your children to come to you with praise and request. My heart is heavy for my brother Claudio, Father. I see how weary he has become. I see how exhausted he is: physically, mentally and spiritually. I ask you Lord, in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, to release Claudio from his burdens. I know that as people pray this prayer that most will not know or understand Claudio's situation. They won't understand that he needs to be fired from his job. They may not understand that he will benefit, his family will benefit, from his being fired. Regardless of understanding or lack of understanding I ask you, Father, to hear the cries on Claudio's behalf. Hear the cry of your people on behalf of your struggling son. He loves you, Lord. He wants to honor and glorify you with all he has. He wants to give his home that he is working so hard to keep for the growth of your Kingdom. He wants to raise his daughters to be strong, productive, Christian women. He wants to honor and cherish his wife. He wants to see your Family grow in and around Porto Alegre and throughout the world. Please lift this man up from his despair. Please raise him up to be a mighty warrior in your Kingdom. May he not be a victim of Satan's schemes. Instead, let him bring light to the darkness. I ask you to bind those who persecute Claudio and his family. Don't allow them to open their mouths if they wish to speak evil and bring him down. Fill him with joy and comfort and peace in knowing that he will overcome with you leading the way. I ask you to reveal whatever lesson you may want to teach him through this difficult time. I pray that he would be submissive to whatever you may be trying to tell him or teach him. I pray that he would be led by your Spirit in all things.

Father, I ask you in faith to fire him from his job and put him in a much better situation. You have power of all people and all things. You can fire him as I write this. I beg you to fire him! Father, I ask you to surround your servant Claudio with people who love him. Encourage him with visits from his brothers and sisters in Christ. Lift him up and keep and protect him from any excuse that Satan can put in his heart to be angry and dejected. Fill him with joy. Give him the strength to share the joy of Christ with those who are persecuting him. I ask you to bless your servant and honor his requests.

I ask you to hear and bless this prayer in the power name of Jesus Christ. Thank you, Abba Father. Thank you. Amen.

The Cold

Unless you have been to Porto Alegre during the winter months (June through early September) you really can't imagine the cold of South Brazil. It can snow in the mountains just a couple of hours away, but it rarely does (and it never sticks!). That may seem normal and not that big of a deal to folks from the northern United States where it gets to sub-zero temperatures during the winter.

Well, we aren't exactly tropical here! As I write this it is 52 degrees outside, but it feels like it is 45. The humidity is 76% which makes it feel much colder since your clothes hold in the dampness. The main cold factor comes from the way buildings and houses are constructed here. Everything is solid concrete with no insulation. The lack of insulation means that when it gets cold outside it slowly gets cold inside, then it stays cold. The weather channel might say that it is 52 degrees outside, but it is more than likely that or cooler inside! We usually keep an oven thermometer around the house just to keep tabs on how cold it gets.

We have some good gas space heaters and a fire place that do a good job of keeping us warm. We use the oven more often and leave the door open when we are done in order to not waste any heat. We also have learned to adapt by wearing extra layers of clothing. It is funny how it works sometimes; you may wake up in the morning, see your breath and think "it is going to be a cold one today." But, once you are outside and in the sun it is completely different. It really makes me wish that Southern Brazil would find a way to introduce central heat and air. A lot of folks could really use it. I went to bed 2 nights ago with a ski cap on and I wore it the whole night. You do what is necessary to stay warm I guess.

Unfortunately, not everyone can stay warm. Last week 2 homeless people died due to the cold night temperatures in this region. One person was here in Porto Alegre. Last winter was the coldest in this area in over 40 years and they are predicting that this year will be about the same. In fact, they are saying that this winter should last until October for us. October should be mid-Spring!

It is hard not to think about and complain about the cold when it is a constant - inside and out. It is even harder to manage when you know that so many people are suffering and dying because of the elements. I pray that the Lord would show us ways to be helpful in times like these - ways to show the warmth and love of Jesus. Thankfully, it looks like we are in store for a little warmer weather soon.

Water? What water?

It is really easy to take something like running water for granted. You might think that missionaries like our friends Kemmel and Lisa in Guatemala would have problems with running water, but not missionaries in a city of approximately 3 million people!

On Thursday of this week most of the city of Porto Alegre was without water! In fact, we read in the newspaper on Friday that 38 neighborhoods were lacking water. We didn't find out that there was a water problem in our house until late Thursday night when the toilet wouldn't flush. What a great way to find out that you are out of water! I went out to the street to see if it was our problem or a neighborhood problem. Our meter was on, but it wasn't running. I then went up into our attic to check our water reserve "caixa" or box. It was practically empty.

Most folks have a "caixa" or water reserve on the roof of their house like the one in the picture above. Our "caixa" is in the small attic of our house (pictured below).

Friday afternoon the water finally came back on, but we are still having problems. There is only enough pressure to wash our hands and brush our teeth. Our water reserve needs to fill back up so that we can have water pressure to take baths, flush toilets, do the dishes, etc. It is quite the problem to have.



We have been able to handle the situation by using the extra shower (with an electric shower head) in the garage and by trying to be extra conservative with the water that we do have. Hopefully, by the end of today or tomorrow morning we will be back in good order with the water situation.

This is our extra shower that
doesn't get used often!

Bost Seminar II: Marriages, Families & Kingdom Workers

This weekend we had Bryan and Jacqueline Bost back for another seminar. Last year they came and blessed our church family with a seminar on house churches. This couple is full of wisdom and grace and are wonderful workers for the Kingdom.

This particular seminar was on marriages, families and working in the Kingdom of God. On Friday and Saturday they had some very insightful things to share about Christian marriages (how to communicate, how to deal with differences, how to manage finances, etc) as well as raising children in a Christian home (being in control, setting boundaries, helping your children grow as individuals, etc). Today (Sunday) they spoke about being Kingdom workers (opening up your home to others, putting the Kingdom of God #1 in your life, etc).

The entire weekend was a great benefit to the growth and maturity of God's family here in Porto Alegre. We appreciate Bryan and Jacqueline and the work that they do in São Paulo, Porto Alegre and throughout Brazil.

Here are a few pictures of the seminar and some fellowship time...

So Long...

Today we said "so long" to some pretty good friends. Tiago and Lili have been a part of our house church for a little over a year. Today they embarked on a great adventure to study English and work in Sydney, Australia. Tiago became a Christian just a month and a half ago. He is a very mature individual, but will need the support of a church family while he is away. We will be praying that the Lord bless their journey to Australia and that he provide for their every need (physically and spiritually) while they are there. They are good friends and we will miss them dearly until they return around December.


We also said good-bye to our friend Sheryl Ramsey. Sheryl is on the missions committee of our sponsoring congregation, Eastside church of Christ, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She was able to spend a few days with us; meeting the Brazilian church members, strengthening relationships and encouraging us. Sheryl was able to visit us with her son, Luke, back in July of 2005. We are so grateful for her sacrifice to be here. Our time together was a real blessing.

Super Saturday

Our teammate, Benay Blume, started a ministry that we call "Super Saturday". It is held on the 1st Saturday of every month. Super Saturday is centered around teaching the Bible to the children of our house church network and community with fun activities, skits, etc. This ministry has really taken off and is making an impact. I encourage you to take a look here to see how this last Saturday went. Please keep this ministry and the many children involved in your prayers.

Prayer Groups

Jennifer and I are involved in 3 different Bible studies during the week. Two of the groups are house churches on Sunday (1 meets in our home) and the third is a small group that meets on Thursday nights. We always have great study, worship and prayer time in these groups. The individuals involved have become a part of our extended family and we care for them deeply.

If you have ever been in a Bible study group you know that there can be times of transition. At times there is a season of change. I wanted to introduce our groups to you and ask you to keep them in prayer when you remember. As I introduce each group I will outline some prayer requests. Thank you in advance for your support through praying for us and these groups.

Salgado House Church

From left to right standing: Claudio, Rute, Jennifer, Ezekias & Keity.
From left to right sitting: Paulo Renato, Lhaumar, Sascha, Jennifer & Elisa.

We meet at the Salgado's house on Sunday mornings for house church. They are a very special family who have dedicated their home to the Lord as a place of worship. They need prayers for peace and strength during a difficult trial in their life. Claudio is an incredible worker (for his family and for the Kingdom). His job situation has become increasingly difficult over the last year and a half. He has had 2 jobs; one as a maintenance man in an apartment building for 10 years and one as a night security guard for 7 years.

His situation is one that is a little difficult to explain. He needs to be fired from his maintenance job to receive a much needed severance package that would be paid to him. The apartment where he works wants him to quite, which would hurt the amount that they would pay him. Since the people in the apartment building do not treat Claudio with respect and kindness it has been a struggle for him to be patient and wait on the Lord. Please pray that (as strange as it sounds) that he would be fired, would receive his severance package and that the Lord would have another job ready for him.

The night security job is for only one night a week (Saturday). It is not an easy job, but Claudio takes it seriously and does it well. This is a job that he needs to keep, but it looks like he and the other night security guards will be without soon. The people who live in the apartment are realizing that it is getting more and more difficult to pay the security guard salaries and transportation (employers pay for employee transportation in Brazil). So, they are forced to cut back their spending. Unfortunately, it is possible that Claudio could lose and important source of income for his family. Please pray that he will be able to keep this job - that the money will be there!

Terry House Church

From left to right: Cesar, Gustavo (visitor), Rosana (visitor), Leni, Jorge, Gabriela (visitor), Jennifer & Lindsey.

The group that meets in our home on Sunday afternoons for worship has been going through some transitions for a couple of months now. For the last month or so we have had just one person in regular attendance outside of Jennifer and me. The picture above was taken last night when we had 9 people in attendance (one being our friend Lindsey from the U.S.). Sadly, we didn't expect to see that many people. However, it really blessed us to see folks that have not been able to worship with us in a while. Work and travel have really kept a lot of our normal folks away from a normal routine.

On June 1oth our good friends Tiago and Lili plan to travel to Australia where they will work and study until December. One lady in this group, Leni, has a desire to start a new house church in her home with her son, Jorge and some of her friends. Another young man, Cesar, sometimes is unable to come for different reasons. When you take out these people our group consists of just our family. We occasionally have visitors from other house churches, but nothing consistent. We have begun to think that it is possible that God is calling us to start a new group in our home with fresh faces.

Please pray that the Lord would bless all the individuals in this group. That they would grow and mature in Jesus and that their walk with him would bring his name honor and glory. Please pray for us all to have wisdom in following the Lord's guiding; that we would do his will and not our own. Please pray for us to stay focused on the Father and growing his kingdom.

Thursday Night Bible Study

From left to right: Alexandre, Dani, Ana Luisa, Luzia, Mateus, Jennifer & Sascha.

This is the small group that we started in the South Zone a couple of months ago. Although this group is small, it is fun and dynamic! We have seen some incredible prayers answered in this group (including Dani's decision to follow Jesus and her baptism). This last week Alexandre was able to participate in the study for the first time. We ask you to pray that he would be able to participate more consistently and that the Lord would touch his heart and call him to serve. We ask you to pray for each of the adults in this group to have wisdom and patience. All of us are parents of children between the ages of 2 and 3. We also ask you to pray for Luzia's mother. She has been fighting cancer for a long time and is nearing the end of her battle. Please pray for her comfort and for her peace. We also ask you to pray for this small group to grow - that we would be reaching out to the not-yet Christians that we know in the South Zone of Porto Alegre, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.