Jennifer and I have been extremely blessed by our sponsoring congregation, Eastside church of Christ (Colorado Springs, CO). Yesterday they had their annual "Missions Sunday". This is a day when the mission works that they are supporting around the globe are really promoted and given the spotlight. They usually host an auction to raise money for mission efforts on this day. They sell all kinds of different items, most of which come from the countries where they are supporting a missionary family.
For the last 2 years this has been a great way for us to stay connected with Eastside. Last year they called us in the middle of the mission's worship service! One of the elders asked us some questions about our work in Porto Alegre and then he prayed over us - through the phone! It was really encouraging to us.
In yesterday's service they called me and another missionary (medical) that they support in Guatemala. Instead of asking us questions, Eastside gave us an opportunity to help lead the service. I was asked to lead the Lord's Supper over the phone. From what I have heard it went over really well. They had a picture of me and Jennifer and Elisa on the projection screen while I was talking and leading the prayers. I hung up my cell phone feeling a lot of love. I was encouraged by the Lord's ability to keep his family connected. Our bond is stronger than good phone service. We share the same grace and are washed in the same blood. Nothing can break that bond!
I heard that a couple of suggestions were made to do a video conference next year! Each year has gotten better, so I wouldn't be surprised. We'll just have to wait and see!
I want to encourage all of you who read this to try to do something creative like this to lift spirits of the missionaries that you or your church family are supporting. Do something to stay connected. You won't regret it.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Relationships
Do you think much about the relationships that you have? If you were to list all of the relationships/friendships that you have who would you include? Would you think of the guy who bags your groceries or the gas station attendant? Would you think of the mailman or your butcher (we have local butchers in Brazil)? Who would you include in your list?
I have been learning more and more about the importance of relationships in our daily lives. Ever since I went away to college I have been able to make friends fairly easily. In Brazil, however, it has been much more difficult. I have good intentions to befriend everyone I am blessed to have a conversation with. I pray often that the Lord would bless me with opportunities to become friends with more people, in particular Brazilians. Even though I have good intentions that doesn't mean that I am successful at making friends or even see those opportunities when they come my way.
One of my hindrances in Brazil has been the language barrier. Although I speak Portuguese at a much higher level now, it is still difficult to be myself in this foreign language. I like to joke with people and it is difficult to feel comfortable being that way in Portuguese. I feel that some of my Brazilian friends, mainly those in our church family, are starting to get to know me on a deeper level. I am happy about this, I really am. It is difficult, though, not to get frustrated when my friendships with Brazilians outside of our church family are not developing as quickly as I would like or when I am being myself but am not being understood.
Sometimes my difficulties with growing and maintaining friendships here are just plain comical! Over the last 2 and a half years, Jennifer and I have been growing friendships with 3 different couples in our apartment building. We have had dinner together and have had some good times getting to know one another. Okay, here comes the comical part: all three of these families have moved or are making plans to move out of our building just when we started getting close to them (or closer to them). One of the families moved to Italy (Tanja and Stefan). They are a really cool German couple that lived below us. We miss them dearly and pray that they are doing well. We have shot a couple of emails back and forth since their move, but that is about it. The other 2 couples will remain in Porto Alegre. We will be able to continue to maintain a friendship with each of them, but it is hard to know that we will not see them as often as we used to.
I really want to be Jesus to everyone I come in contact with. I want to know people and I want them to know me. I want to be comfortable with myself in Portuguese or any other language that the Lord calls me to learn. I want to know how to maintain the relationships that I do have and not allow anyone who comes into my life to "slip through the cracks". I want to be encouraged that the Lord is giving me opportunities to meet new people each day and I want to see them for what they are!
Please pray for these things along with me. Relationship are essential. I believe that they are absolutely vital to our ministry here on Earth. I pray that we honor and glorify our Father through our relationship and that many will come to know Him all because we had the courage to say, "Hello, my name is..."
I have been learning more and more about the importance of relationships in our daily lives. Ever since I went away to college I have been able to make friends fairly easily. In Brazil, however, it has been much more difficult. I have good intentions to befriend everyone I am blessed to have a conversation with. I pray often that the Lord would bless me with opportunities to become friends with more people, in particular Brazilians. Even though I have good intentions that doesn't mean that I am successful at making friends or even see those opportunities when they come my way.
One of my hindrances in Brazil has been the language barrier. Although I speak Portuguese at a much higher level now, it is still difficult to be myself in this foreign language. I like to joke with people and it is difficult to feel comfortable being that way in Portuguese. I feel that some of my Brazilian friends, mainly those in our church family, are starting to get to know me on a deeper level. I am happy about this, I really am. It is difficult, though, not to get frustrated when my friendships with Brazilians outside of our church family are not developing as quickly as I would like or when I am being myself but am not being understood.
Sometimes my difficulties with growing and maintaining friendships here are just plain comical! Over the last 2 and a half years, Jennifer and I have been growing friendships with 3 different couples in our apartment building. We have had dinner together and have had some good times getting to know one another. Okay, here comes the comical part: all three of these families have moved or are making plans to move out of our building just when we started getting close to them (or closer to them). One of the families moved to Italy (Tanja and Stefan). They are a really cool German couple that lived below us. We miss them dearly and pray that they are doing well. We have shot a couple of emails back and forth since their move, but that is about it. The other 2 couples will remain in Porto Alegre. We will be able to continue to maintain a friendship with each of them, but it is hard to know that we will not see them as often as we used to.
I really want to be Jesus to everyone I come in contact with. I want to know people and I want them to know me. I want to be comfortable with myself in Portuguese or any other language that the Lord calls me to learn. I want to know how to maintain the relationships that I do have and not allow anyone who comes into my life to "slip through the cracks". I want to be encouraged that the Lord is giving me opportunities to meet new people each day and I want to see them for what they are!
Please pray for these things along with me. Relationship are essential. I believe that they are absolutely vital to our ministry here on Earth. I pray that we honor and glorify our Father through our relationship and that many will come to know Him all because we had the courage to say, "Hello, my name is..."
Sunday, October 22, 2006
More Baptisms!
This last week we added 2 more to our family! Marcio was baptized on Wednesday morning by Paul Morrow at the church building. His mother, Miguelina, and sister, Daniela, were baptized back in July. We are praying that the remainder of this family will make a decision to follow Jesus soon!
Also, Elizabeth, the daughter of one of our members was baptized in Canada this last week. Elizabeth left Brazil for Canada a few months ago to study English and work. She has been well cared for by Christians there. Praise God that she found a home away from home!
Paul and Marcio prepare for "the plunge"!
You can see the joy as Paul welcomes Marcio to the family!
Also, Elizabeth, the daughter of one of our members was baptized in Canada this last week. Elizabeth left Brazil for Canada a few months ago to study English and work. She has been well cared for by Christians there. Praise God that she found a home away from home!
Paul and Marcio prepare for "the plunge"!
You can see the joy as Paul welcomes Marcio to the family!Friday, October 13, 2006
Searching for Vision
Our church family here in Porto Alegre, Brazil is searching for a vision from the Lord. On September 24th we challenged the leaders and hosts of our Growth Groups to fast and pray about the future of this family for 40 days (picking specific days of the week to fast - not fasting for the entire 40 days).
We have been feeling a deep burden to change our focus and reach out to this city in a more powerful, impacting way. The American missionaries working with this church family believe that the Lord has already blessed us with a very specific vision. We are anxious about following this call of the Holy Spirit. We are praying that this 40 days of fasting and praying for a vision will call our members to the same vision we already have. We want to be a family "agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose." (Philippians 2:2, NLT)
I know that the Lord will unify us through this 40 days of vision searching. We ask you to be praying for us and our unity in the Holy Spirit. Please pray that the Lord would touch all of us and bring us to the same place in vision and hope for this church family and this city.
I have been convicted to separate myself from my computer and from tv for the next 7 days. I am excited about this fast because I know that the Lord will bless the times that I normally "surf" to grow my relationship with Him! My prayer is that this fast will be a way for me to be more productive in my searching after God and His purposes for me and this family.
I ask for prayers of strength, peace, courage, conviction and protection for our church family. We have already seen many attacks from the evil one because we are recognizing the presence and leading of the Holy Spirit. If you feel a burden upon your hearts to fast and pray with us we welcome you with open and loving arms.
Thank you in advance for your prayers and encouragement. Know that we are praying for you too!
We have been feeling a deep burden to change our focus and reach out to this city in a more powerful, impacting way. The American missionaries working with this church family believe that the Lord has already blessed us with a very specific vision. We are anxious about following this call of the Holy Spirit. We are praying that this 40 days of fasting and praying for a vision will call our members to the same vision we already have. We want to be a family "agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose." (Philippians 2:2, NLT)
I know that the Lord will unify us through this 40 days of vision searching. We ask you to be praying for us and our unity in the Holy Spirit. Please pray that the Lord would touch all of us and bring us to the same place in vision and hope for this church family and this city.
I have been convicted to separate myself from my computer and from tv for the next 7 days. I am excited about this fast because I know that the Lord will bless the times that I normally "surf" to grow my relationship with Him! My prayer is that this fast will be a way for me to be more productive in my searching after God and His purposes for me and this family.
I ask for prayers of strength, peace, courage, conviction and protection for our church family. We have already seen many attacks from the evil one because we are recognizing the presence and leading of the Holy Spirit. If you feel a burden upon your hearts to fast and pray with us we welcome you with open and loving arms.
Thank you in advance for your prayers and encouragement. Know that we are praying for you too!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Kid's Day!
October in Porto Alegre is a really great time! The weather starts warming up as we get into Spring. Flowers of purple, red, yellow and blue bloom from various trees throughout the city. It is a lovely time.
One of the things that makes October great in Brazil is Kid's Day. Children are really appreciated in Brazil. So, there is a special holiday designated to honor them. It usually falls on a Thursday in the middle of the month. On this day the children of Brazil don't go to school. They go to parties and are showered with gifts! It is like having their birthdays and Christmas all on one day! Needless to say, they really enjoy it.
It just so happens that the street that our church building is on closes down for a "block party" the Sunday before Kid's Day. This "block party" is called Criança na Avenida (literally translated: children in the street). When I say that the street is closed down I mean that no cars are allowed to drive down it. The street is full of pedestrianswalking from storefront to storefront and from activity to activity. Different groups and business owners have food stands out and games for the children to play. For the last 2 years we have made and sold Entreviero sandwiches (a mixed meat sandwich - very yummy!) and have all kinds of activities for passers-by. We sell the sandwiches to raise money for our Carnival Retreat. This helps us off-set some of the costs. Inside our building we have different games and a karaoke setup with Brazilian and American songs. The karaoke can be really funny sometimes! There is also a parade that goes down the street twice during the day. There is a small marching band and several different groups seeking exposure in the community. I think I saw the Lion's Club! We have built Noah's Ark for the last 3 years. It has been a huge way for us to be seen.
The greatest thing about the "block party" is the exposure. For the last 3 years we have had approximately 2,000 people come into or up to our building on this day. We hope and pray that our good attitudes and loving spirits touched people who came by this last Sunday.
This is me managing the selling of our sandwiches, drinks and cake. My first customer of the day!
Our member, Lauro Lima, is the master chef behind the wonderful Entreviero sandwiches.
This is our Noah's Ark float going down the street in the parade. If you look closely you can see some of our kids dressed up like animals. In this picture we have some ladybugs and a couple of lions.
This was Elisa's first parade - she was a bunny rabbit! You can see a picture of her on our other blog: www.terrysinbrazil.blogspot.com
We set tables and chairs up in front of our building for people to sit and relax and enjoy their food. Here you can see Jennifer eating a sandwich and visiting with some of our friends.
Jennifer and Elisa walked around and visited with people most of the day while I worked the cash register. It was a really fun day!
One of the things that makes October great in Brazil is Kid's Day. Children are really appreciated in Brazil. So, there is a special holiday designated to honor them. It usually falls on a Thursday in the middle of the month. On this day the children of Brazil don't go to school. They go to parties and are showered with gifts! It is like having their birthdays and Christmas all on one day! Needless to say, they really enjoy it.
It just so happens that the street that our church building is on closes down for a "block party" the Sunday before Kid's Day. This "block party" is called Criança na Avenida (literally translated: children in the street). When I say that the street is closed down I mean that no cars are allowed to drive down it. The street is full of pedestrianswalking from storefront to storefront and from activity to activity. Different groups and business owners have food stands out and games for the children to play. For the last 2 years we have made and sold Entreviero sandwiches (a mixed meat sandwich - very yummy!) and have all kinds of activities for passers-by. We sell the sandwiches to raise money for our Carnival Retreat. This helps us off-set some of the costs. Inside our building we have different games and a karaoke setup with Brazilian and American songs. The karaoke can be really funny sometimes! There is also a parade that goes down the street twice during the day. There is a small marching band and several different groups seeking exposure in the community. I think I saw the Lion's Club! We have built Noah's Ark for the last 3 years. It has been a huge way for us to be seen.
The greatest thing about the "block party" is the exposure. For the last 3 years we have had approximately 2,000 people come into or up to our building on this day. We hope and pray that our good attitudes and loving spirits touched people who came by this last Sunday.
This is me managing the selling of our sandwiches, drinks and cake. My first customer of the day!
Our member, Lauro Lima, is the master chef behind the wonderful Entreviero sandwiches.
This is our Noah's Ark float going down the street in the parade. If you look closely you can see some of our kids dressed up like animals. In this picture we have some ladybugs and a couple of lions.This was Elisa's first parade - she was a bunny rabbit! You can see a picture of her on our other blog: www.terrysinbrazil.blogspot.com
We set tables and chairs up in front of our building for people to sit and relax and enjoy their food. Here you can see Jennifer eating a sandwich and visiting with some of our friends.
Jennifer and Elisa walked around and visited with people most of the day while I worked the cash register. It was a really fun day!Monday, September 25, 2006
The Chácara
The Chácara (pronounced sha-ka-ra), or little farm, as we call it is the Center for Youth Recovery outside of Porto Alegre in the town of Lavorada. This is a small facility that has between 15 and 20 young men trying to leave their worlds of drug and alcohol abuse. The Chácara was started by an evangelical church in town, that has since left the project. It is a ministry that our church has been involved with for the last few years, primarily because of one of our members, Paulo Renato. Paulo struggled with alcohol for a long time. It had such a stronghold on his life that he found himself living on the street and isolated from his family and friends. He eventually found the Chácara, where he learned who Jesus is: his Lord and Saviour. Paulo lived at the Chácara for about a year and a half. Over time he overcame his addiction to alcohol, found Jesus and became a mentor and teacher to the younger men staying on the farm. Since that time, Paulo Renato has had a special place in his heart for the Chácara. He goes there to visit and encourage the men every Sunday and Wednesday. The men of our church try to go to the Chácara the last Sunday of each month for the same purpose. This has become a wonderful way for many of our members to learn the importance of helping and encouraging others. We have all learned a great deal of humility too.
The Chácara is a very simple place. The men sleep on little cots in one of two bunkhouses. Their showers are very basic (without hot water). They work the land, growing several different types of vegetables. They depend on donations of money and food to get by with what they cannot grow. Our church has been giving most of their food donations as of the last few months. There is one other church in town that pays their electric bill. Sometimes, they are in desparate need and will call or visit us asking for a donation. If this happens I will take money from our benevolence fund and buy enough food for a couple of weeks and deliver it to them. I am always happy to stop what I am doing to help these men. It really brightens my day. Everytime I arrive with food for them they greet me with shouts of "Glory to God!" and "Hallelujah!" It really is something!
One of our other members (who is mentioned in the last post), Moema, has a real heart for the Chácara. She, along with another member, Leni, wrote a letter to the hotel where Leni works asking for help with a food donation. This hotel, the Blue Tree Towers Hotel, has a promotion where they give you a discount on your room if you bring food items for them to give to the poor. The hotel usually looks for a different group or organization to help each month. After they read the letter that Moema and Leni sent they realized that the Chácara had a big need. They decided to put the Chácara at the top of the list of those they want to help. Today, several of us from church went to the hotel with a small trailor to load up the food to take to the young men of the Chácara. In total we took 297 kilograms, which is over 650 lbs., of food to the Chácara! It was awesome! A few employees of the hotel went with us. Due to their visit they decided that they want to continue helping the Chácara. So, we expect to make similar deliveries once every 3 weeks! We are amazed and in awe at the Lord's provision. He has shown these men that He truely cares for them and wants a relationship with them.
This kind gift does more than feed bellies. This kind of gift also feeds souls. These men are encouraged and are giving God the praise and glory. Please join us in praying for the young men of the Chácara. Please pray that they would find strength in the Lord; strength that can break the bondage of drugs and alcohol and lift them up higher than they have ever been. Please pray for their decisions to follow Christ. Please pray that we would continue to be able to give donations like we did today - feeding bellies and feeding souls!
Men of the Chácara with Blue Tree Towers Hotel employees and church members.
The Chácara is a very simple place. The men sleep on little cots in one of two bunkhouses. Their showers are very basic (without hot water). They work the land, growing several different types of vegetables. They depend on donations of money and food to get by with what they cannot grow. Our church has been giving most of their food donations as of the last few months. There is one other church in town that pays their electric bill. Sometimes, they are in desparate need and will call or visit us asking for a donation. If this happens I will take money from our benevolence fund and buy enough food for a couple of weeks and deliver it to them. I am always happy to stop what I am doing to help these men. It really brightens my day. Everytime I arrive with food for them they greet me with shouts of "Glory to God!" and "Hallelujah!" It really is something!
One of our other members (who is mentioned in the last post), Moema, has a real heart for the Chácara. She, along with another member, Leni, wrote a letter to the hotel where Leni works asking for help with a food donation. This hotel, the Blue Tree Towers Hotel, has a promotion where they give you a discount on your room if you bring food items for them to give to the poor. The hotel usually looks for a different group or organization to help each month. After they read the letter that Moema and Leni sent they realized that the Chácara had a big need. They decided to put the Chácara at the top of the list of those they want to help. Today, several of us from church went to the hotel with a small trailor to load up the food to take to the young men of the Chácara. In total we took 297 kilograms, which is over 650 lbs., of food to the Chácara! It was awesome! A few employees of the hotel went with us. Due to their visit they decided that they want to continue helping the Chácara. So, we expect to make similar deliveries once every 3 weeks! We are amazed and in awe at the Lord's provision. He has shown these men that He truely cares for them and wants a relationship with them.
This kind gift does more than feed bellies. This kind of gift also feeds souls. These men are encouraged and are giving God the praise and glory. Please join us in praying for the young men of the Chácara. Please pray that they would find strength in the Lord; strength that can break the bondage of drugs and alcohol and lift them up higher than they have ever been. Please pray for their decisions to follow Christ. Please pray that we would continue to be able to give donations like we did today - feeding bellies and feeding souls!
Men of the Chácara with Blue Tree Towers Hotel employees and church members.Friday, September 22, 2006
Growth Groups: Update #2
The following Growth Group Update was written by our teammate, Benay Blume:
Dear Loved ones,
I want to share some stories with you about how God is working in the lives of the people who come each week to our small group.
We have 4 couples coming each week, along with one teen and some children. One couple we met through Garrett's soccer class. Roberto and Moema came to us with extremely open hearts and have already given their lives to Christ. They were baptized on August 17 (you can see pictures of their baptism in a previous post on this Blog, entitled "Baptisms"). When we asked them who they wanted to be at their baptism, they said, "Well, our family, of course"; meaning, our small group. Moema is a sociologist and is already using her skills and resources to help in many areas of benevolence at the church. Roberto is professional singer and has already started leading some songs in the worship. They have a son, Kjeld, (pronounced kelgi) who is friends with Garrett and Carys. We praise God for bringing us this new family.
Another couple, Andre and Luzia, have been our friends for several years, but always resisted our invitations to church related and regular social events. Earlier this year, they came over to our house to explain the reason why. They told us that they were just so different from us, they thought of religion differently than we did, they had a different heritage than we did, etc. We talked to them about each thing and, getting to the bottom of it, discovered that they were scared of taking the risk and opening up their hearts to new relationships. Luzia had been hurt by some other friends in the past and didn't want it to happen again. She told Kevin that we could keep inviting, but she would probably still resist. He looked at her and said, "I'm going to keep on inviting you and I'm going to win." She said, through tears, "I hope you do." Well, we are seeing result. God is winning! They are a part of our group and we can see that they are opening up their eyes to what it really means to be a Christian.
Moving on to one more couple, Silvio and Miriam. Silvio has been a Christian for many years. He has been in a relationship (like common law marriage) with Miriam for many years also. He has hidden his relationship with her from his church family because he was afraid. He has led a double life, so to speak, for a long time. Last year, he began confessing to a select group of men what was going on. This year, through lots of prayer, he stood up during a worship service and confessed everything to the church. Not long ago, Miriam reluctantly agreed to start coming to our small group. In the beginning, I called her every week to encourage her to come back. Now, I don't need to call anymore. She and Silvio consistently come every week to study and fellowship with us and last weekend they hosted a wonderful churrasco (cookout) at their house for our group. Miriam has also started participating in visiting some women at a homeless shelter with our ladies' group. Please pray for her as she tries to overcome the years of being hurt from being excluded and for him as he continues to reconcile himself to her.
One last story: Diego is a remarkable teenage boy who became a Christian at a church near his home. This church has services on Sunday morning. Diego attends this service and then comes to our service on Sunday night. He participates in all the youth activities and comes each week to our small group. Diego is pretty much on his own. He has a family but they seem to only provide a place to sleep and food. Didi (as we call him) has lots of freedom, but uses this freedom to go to church events - not to get into trouble like most teenagers would do. Diego is a special guy who is a great example for all of us and has a wonderful heart for God. One day he will be a strong leader for the church here.
These are just some of the stories I could tell about our small group. There are so many great things happening and we praise God for allowing us to be a part of them. Thanks to all of you who pray for us and support us spiritually and financially. We thank you for allowing God to use you in this way. We wouldn't be here without your support. We love you all so much!
Much love in Christ,
Benay
back row- Bronwyn Blume, Roberto, Andre, Silvio, Kevin, Benay
front row-Luzia, Diego, Moema, Miriam and Anderson Blume
Dear Loved ones,
I want to share some stories with you about how God is working in the lives of the people who come each week to our small group.
We have 4 couples coming each week, along with one teen and some children. One couple we met through Garrett's soccer class. Roberto and Moema came to us with extremely open hearts and have already given their lives to Christ. They were baptized on August 17 (you can see pictures of their baptism in a previous post on this Blog, entitled "Baptisms"). When we asked them who they wanted to be at their baptism, they said, "Well, our family, of course"; meaning, our small group. Moema is a sociologist and is already using her skills and resources to help in many areas of benevolence at the church. Roberto is professional singer and has already started leading some songs in the worship. They have a son, Kjeld, (pronounced kelgi) who is friends with Garrett and Carys. We praise God for bringing us this new family.
Another couple, Andre and Luzia, have been our friends for several years, but always resisted our invitations to church related and regular social events. Earlier this year, they came over to our house to explain the reason why. They told us that they were just so different from us, they thought of religion differently than we did, they had a different heritage than we did, etc. We talked to them about each thing and, getting to the bottom of it, discovered that they were scared of taking the risk and opening up their hearts to new relationships. Luzia had been hurt by some other friends in the past and didn't want it to happen again. She told Kevin that we could keep inviting, but she would probably still resist. He looked at her and said, "I'm going to keep on inviting you and I'm going to win." She said, through tears, "I hope you do." Well, we are seeing result. God is winning! They are a part of our group and we can see that they are opening up their eyes to what it really means to be a Christian.
Moving on to one more couple, Silvio and Miriam. Silvio has been a Christian for many years. He has been in a relationship (like common law marriage) with Miriam for many years also. He has hidden his relationship with her from his church family because he was afraid. He has led a double life, so to speak, for a long time. Last year, he began confessing to a select group of men what was going on. This year, through lots of prayer, he stood up during a worship service and confessed everything to the church. Not long ago, Miriam reluctantly agreed to start coming to our small group. In the beginning, I called her every week to encourage her to come back. Now, I don't need to call anymore. She and Silvio consistently come every week to study and fellowship with us and last weekend they hosted a wonderful churrasco (cookout) at their house for our group. Miriam has also started participating in visiting some women at a homeless shelter with our ladies' group. Please pray for her as she tries to overcome the years of being hurt from being excluded and for him as he continues to reconcile himself to her.
One last story: Diego is a remarkable teenage boy who became a Christian at a church near his home. This church has services on Sunday morning. Diego attends this service and then comes to our service on Sunday night. He participates in all the youth activities and comes each week to our small group. Diego is pretty much on his own. He has a family but they seem to only provide a place to sleep and food. Didi (as we call him) has lots of freedom, but uses this freedom to go to church events - not to get into trouble like most teenagers would do. Diego is a special guy who is a great example for all of us and has a wonderful heart for God. One day he will be a strong leader for the church here.
These are just some of the stories I could tell about our small group. There are so many great things happening and we praise God for allowing us to be a part of them. Thanks to all of you who pray for us and support us spiritually and financially. We thank you for allowing God to use you in this way. We wouldn't be here without your support. We love you all so much!
Much love in Christ,
Benay
back row- Bronwyn Blume, Roberto, Andre, Silvio, Kevin, Benayfront row-Luzia, Diego, Moema, Miriam and Anderson Blume
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)