Ready for bed

Well, our furlough is winding up. I am looking at 3 bags that weight approximately 70lbs each. In the other room Jennifer is working on the last 2 bags of the same status. We are pushing the limits. Tomorrow we will leave Colorado Springs for Denver and catch the first leg of our 24+ hour journey home to Porto Alegre, Brazil.

We have been all over the place. We have visited 7 churches (3 in Colorado, 1 in Missouri and 3 in Texas) and a lot of family. Furlough has been a blessing because of all the love and encouragement our supporters have given us. We were taken care of above what we could have expected. We have a wonderful network of supporters and we thank the Lord for them.

Furlough has also been difficult because we are never settled in one place for too long. We have seen several different beds. I decided to count up the miles that we will have traveled by the time we arrive in Porto Alegre on Thursday afternoon. The total is over 16,800 miles!!! Needless to say we are a little road weary and are ready for our own beds.

We have a long journey ahead of us to get back home. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel and get back into the swing of things in Brazil. Thank you and God bless your 2008.

Overdue Update - Lots of Good Stuff!

Okay. It has been quite a while since I put an update out there for the World Wide Web. Sorry it has taken me so long. For a number of reasons (mainly Jennifer's computer giving up the ghost and we've been slammed with good work) I haven't been much of a blogger lately. So, here is a big update that I think will be worth your reading...

Furlough:

This Thursday we will start our 27 hour trip from Porto Alegre, Brazil to Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. We are planning on being in the states on furlough from November 2nd until January 2nd (2008). We will visit churches in Colorado throughout November (Eastside in Colorado Springs; Grand Junction in Grand Junction; and Meadowlark in Ft. Collins). In December we will visit churches in Joplin, Missouri; Houston, Texas; Corpus Christi, Texas; and Arlington, Texas. Needless to say, we have our work cut out for us. We also plan on seeing family in other cities in Texas and New Mexico.

We expect furlough to be full and fun. It will be really good to see our family and supporters - especially during Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Men's Retreat:

Last weekend (October 19-20) we had our 2nd Men's Retreat! This year has been so good for the men of our church family. We have gone from having a stagnate ministry to having a dynamic spirit-filled ministry! In this last retreat we concentrated on Spiritual Warfare - answering the questions "what is it?" and "how do we fight in it?". It was a great time of fellowship and bonding; a great time of learning and growing; and a great time of fun and awesome food! Here are a few pictures to show off the great time that we all had...

Sascha gave a talk explaining what Spiritual Warfare is.

Matt's shared with us different Christian attributes that we can use to fight effectively in Spiritual Warfare.

We had 20 guys attend this retreat (5 more than the last one!)
Top row (L to R): Paul, Bretton, Garigran, Roberto, Sascha, Alexandre, Cesar, Regis, Paulo Renato and Spencer. Bottom row (L to R): Tiago, Lauro, Jorge, Matt, Renato, Daniel, Rudinei, Gabriel, Cice and Rony.

New Brothers!

Two weeks ago Daniel gave his life to Christ! He and his family came over to our house where several others from our church met to witness his baptism. Daniel grew up in a Christian home but had never fully given himself to the Lord. He and his family are a part of the house church that meets in Paul and Ana Morrow's home. They have really being growing their relationships with each other and with the Lord in that house church. Last year Daniel's wife and two of his children were baptized.

Paul baptizes a very joyful Daniel!

This last Saturday Kevin Blume and I team baptized Garigran. We have both spent a lot of time with Garigran over the past year. He first met Kevin's family at a function for their kids' school a little over a year ago. Garigran and his family began coming to our church right when we began transitioning into house churches. He has turned from being a very closed and private person to being much more open and sharing. Although his journey is just beginning he has already come a very long way! A little over a week ago Gari told me that we was thinking about being baptized in December. When I asked him why we wanted to wait we replied "I don't need to! Can I be baptized at your house on Saturday!?" So, that was that! He came over with his family and renewed his life in Jesus!

Before: Garigran proclaiming Jesus as his Lord!

During...

After: a new creation in Christ!

Service:

After Garigran's baptism one of the house churches that we work with met out at the Chácara for a "service project". A lot of the guys at the Chácara don't get many visits from their families. Needless to say, they don't see too many birthday parties. So, we decided to throw a big birthday bash for them. Leni made hotdogs for all 20 guys and she bought them all new Bibles with our house church collection. Jennifer made 3 huge chocolate birthday cakes that were so good I don't know the right adjectives to describe them! We had a good time celebrating each one of the men's lives. We praise God that they have all been spared and that the Lord is working in them!

All gathered together to celebrate 20 birthdays!!!

I couldn't leave this picture out. I think it is safe to say that no one saw Jennifer coming with the camera! ;)

Spiritual Retreat

Last week our team escaped the city for a Spiritual Retreat. We have gone off to be renewed a couple of times before, but this was the first time that we did it without taking any children along. This was also the first time that we left Porto Alegre with the primary intent on reconnecting with God and each other through prayer, meditation, worship and conversation. It was such a blessing to us all. We left our retreat feeling more unified having spent time reflecting on the past year's blessings and discussing what may be in store for the ministry here in Porto Alegre. We are in the middle of difficult, but exciting times with the House Churches that the Lord is growing. We look forward to what He has planned with future Brazilian House Churches and leadership.

I hope that you enjoy these pictures that were taken by Kevin Blume. Our beautiful surroundings really brought a refreshing spirit to us.

The hill country outside of Porto Alegre has some stunning landscapes.

You could say that we were "basket cases" before the retreat...

but, time outdoors really brings you back to where you need to be.

The Porto Alegre Mission Team: Paul, Kevin, Benay, Matt, Jennifer & Sascha

Dave Meadows

Today at 8:30am (Brazilian time) we lost a friend, brother and colleague. James David Meadows passed from this life and started his journey home after losing his battle with cancer. He was a missionary in Brazil for over 30 years. Dave was an elder at the Church of Christ in Guarulhos, which is one of the larger Churches of Christ in the greater São Paulo area. He was respected and well liked by all. He will be missed.

Youth Devo

Along with the Men's study and lunch at our house last Saturday (see previous post below), Jennifer and I also hosted a Youth devotional that evening. Needless to say, it was a very busy day for us - but very rewarding too. We had a great time of fellowship and worship with the teens. After the devotional Jennifer served them roast with potatoes and carrots (American style). I guess you could say that it went over well!

Here are a few photos of our time singing praises together. Enjoy!

Wild at Heart Study

The Men's ministry closed out our "Wild at Heart" study this last weekend (Sept. 22nd). It was our 2nd 10-week study this year. There are a lot of wonderful and deeply spiritual things going on in the hearts of the men who have been participating in our studies. I am pleased and feel so blessed that the Lord has put it on my heart to work with the men in this capacity.

In the coming weeks we will have our 2nd Men's Retreat. Our focus will be on Spiritual Warfare (what it is and how to fight in it). I have high expectations that the Lord will do some amazing things for us and to us.

Please pray for this upcoming retreat (October 19-20). Pray for a good number of participants and for their hearts to be touched through the messages and activities.

Please also pray for the Lord to raise up a Brazilian to take more of an active role in the next study. I have been praying that a Brazilian would step into the role that I have had as facilitator and coordinator of the studies. I really want to work someone into this role as I work myself out of it.

I thank you in advance for your many prayers and your support of the work in Porto Alegre. I hope you enjoy these photos of the churrasco (Brazilian bbq) we had, ending this most recent study.

Renato, Lauro & Matt look on as Regis (far right) prepares the various types beef for our lunch.

Elisa was very interested in the workings of a good Brazilian churrasco.

Elisa and the guys wait for the meat!

Chácara Update - September

This video update of the Chácara (sha-ka-rra) was something that I put together with our teammate, Matt Rehbein. Matt goes out to the Chácara every Wednesday for a full day of fellowship, counsel and prayer with the men who are there recovering from various addictions. Our church family has been trying to help the men at the Chácara construct a new dormitory to live in by giving of our time, resources and finances. I have given updates on the progress of this construction in past posts, but this one is much different. I hope that through this video you will be able to get a better grasp of what is happening at this place where lives are literally being transformed!

To learn more about the Chácara and the men who live there I encourage you to check out Matt's blog "The Chácara". I know you will enjoy it! http://thechacara.blogspot.com/