Some Favorite Ministry Pics

We are quickly coming closer to the end of our 4th year of ministry in Brazil, helping & training churches to share Christ with others in their communities. To date we have had the privilege of working with nearly 60 churches in 4 years, and we have spoken in close to 80 schools. We have seen God do some amazing things in many people's hearts and lives. Here are some of our favorite photos in our 4 years of ministry.

Brazilian Hamburger

Brazilian Hamburger = hamburger, bun, ham, mozzarella cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and scrambled egg = delicioso !

Igreja Batista do Horto

On Sunday night I had the privilege to preach at Igreja Batista do Horto, which is a small church in Santos. The "bairro" that the church is located in is a mix of middle class to poor people, with a favela as part of the area. We have started working with Pastor Anderson and the church to help them to share the Good News of Jesus in their community, and we will be working with them in a school in late November. Our friend Rebeca was my interpreter. The message was well received by the church, and at the end I shared the gospel and 7 people accepted Christ and committed their lives to Him. It is always a joy and a privilege to serve God in this way. After the service we enjoyed some cake and Guarana (a popular soft drink in Brazil) with the church, and we enjoyed getting to know some of the members better.

Friday Afternoon

On Friday morning we had meetings in 2 schools in Sao Vicente, and we praise God that we were able to schedule our Quality Of Life project in one of them for April 2011. After the meetings we had to go to Igreja Batista Central to pick up more of the books "Livro Da Familia" and "Livro Da Vida" that we pass out to all of the students and teachers when we speak in the schools. This is an excellent tool to continue to help them in their lives, and to start teaching them what God's Word says about many subjects and values for our lives. Afterwards we went to a nice place for lunch called "O Terraco", which is on Ilha de Porchat in Sao Vicente. It has a great view of the ocean and beaches in Sao Vicente and Santos, and it also has very good food. We had a seafood dish that was very good. O Terraco is a little expensive, but it was worth it. After lunch we went for a walk on the beach and took some pictures ... here are some of them.

A Great Week

We had a great week this past week. We spoke in the EMEF Lourdes Ortiz municipal school in Santos on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week, and it went great. We worked with Igreja Batista Ponta da Praia in the school, which is for students in 1st grade through 8th grade. Because the school was having some remodeling work done, half of the students are temporarily attending classes in another school near downtown Santos, and the other half are at the regular school. So we went to the school near "centro" first each day to speak in some classes, and then to the other school to finish up. God worked in a mighty way in the school, and many hearts were open to hearing of God's love and many were receptive to the gospel. In 3 days 633 students and 17 teachers accepted Christ and committed their lives to Him. The school leaders were very happy with our project and with how the students responded to the message and were open to receiving help for their lives. Of course all of the honor and glory and praise goes to God.

On Friday we had a couple of good meetings in some schools in Sao Vicente, and we were able to schedule our Quality Of Life project in one of them in April 2011. We now have 4 schools scheduled in 2011 already.

Brazil Photos

Since Brazil is a tropical country, there are many exotic and tropical types of plants, animals, insects, and birds. Here are some of the many types of tropical birds found in Brazil.

Sharing Christ In A Guaruja School

This past week we spoke in the school EE Tancredo Neves. This is a state school for students in 5th grade through high school that is located in the Jardim Primavera area of Guaruja, which has a mix of middle class to poor people (the middle class here would be considered poor in many other countries). There are also adults who are continuing their education at night. We worked with Pastor Alipio and Igreja Batista Jd. Primavera, which is located close to the school, and the church participation was good. We spoke in 33 classes in 3 days, and we are in awe of how God worked in the hearts and lives of many of the students and teachers. It never ceases to amaze us what God is doing here. In 3 days 552 students (including many adults studying at night) and 12 teachers accepted Christ. We knew we were going to have a great night the final night because we had 2 near-accidents on the way to the school; many times we have alot of crazy things happen to us right before some big victories. The students and teachers enjoyed our visits in their classes, and the school leaders were very appreciative for our coming to help. This was one of the better experiences in a school that we have had, and God was greatly glorified.

Kevin & interpreter Laise sharing Jesus in a class

 leading students & teacher in prayer

 Pr. Alipio and Kevin hanging out with some students

 Nancy & interpreter Ariel & Pr. Alipio in a class

 Nancy & interpreter Rachel speaking in one of the night classes

 adults in a night class praying to receive Christ

 Kevin and his team on Thu. night (Nicole, interpr. Atani, & Ana)

our team on Thursday night

Brazil Elections

This Sunday is Election Day in Brazil. One difference between Brazil and the US is that every citizen 18 years of age and up are required by law to vote. This year's election will be for president, senators, governors, and many other federal & state & local offices. The presidency is being disputed by 3 main candidates, two of which are women: Jose Serra (ex governor of the state of Sao Paulo), the front runner Dilma Rousseff, who is a member of the same political party as the current president Lula, and Marina Silva (an evangelical).

Coastal Area Near Santos

We have lived in Santos now for nearly 1 year, and we have enjoyed living and serving here. It is a beautiful area, with many beaches, nearby mountains, beautiful scenery,... Santos is one of several cities in the coastal area known as the "Baixada Santista". The area also includes the cities of Guaruja, Cubatao, Sao Vicente, Praia Grande, and others. Below is a satellite map view of the area.

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Igreja Batista Getsemani In Guarujá

We recently have started working with Igreja Batista Getsemani in Guarujá to share Christ in their community. It is a small church led by Pastor Sisteval, and is located in a poor area of Guarujá known as Vicente de Carvalho. We will be working in a school with the church in early November. Pastor Sisteval invite me to preach in his church, and last night I had the privilege to do so. My interpreter was Alex Dias, who is a member of a nearby church, Primeira Igreja Batista Itapema. At the end of the service I shared the Gospel and we praise God that 8 people accepted Christ and committed their lives to Him.

Guaruja School Event

We did our Quality Of Life project in the state school EE Marechal do Ar in Guaruja on Monday morning and we had a great time. God did some great things when we were there. We worked with Primeira Igreja Batista Itapema, which is located near the school. This was the first school we have worked with this church, and they did a great job helping us. They had 6 people from the church to help us, including one of our interpreters Laise. Ariel was our other interpreter for the day. We were originally scheduled to speak in the school 6 days (2 days for the morning period and 2 days each for the afternoon & night periods). However the coordinator for the night period cancelled the project for some reason, and the whole thing was almost cancelled for the other periods as well. It was only after we went and spoke to all of the teachers the week before the event that the school agreed to let us speak. There was a large spiritual battle in the school, and 2 or 3 of the teachers were fighting to not let us come in and speak about Jesus. Fortunately the majority of the teachers and leaders wanted it, and because we had the authorization of the department of education for the area we were able to do the project. We were going to only speak in 8 classes on Monday morning, but when we arrived they told us we had to finish the morning period that day (14 classes), and that we would have to reschedule the afternoon period for some other day late in the year because the government school leaders made some last minute surprise schedule changes. This happens quite a bit here in state schools in Brazil, and things are not as organized as we would like. All confusion aside, we had a great time in all of the classes, and the students and teachers were very receptive to hearing the gospel. We praise God that 369 students and 5 teachers accepted Christ, as did the coordinator and vice principal also.

The Harvest

"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."  - Matthew 9:37-38

"I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields ! They are ripe for harvest."  - John 4:35

Jesus was speaking about the spiritual harvest in these verses. He spoke about a plentiful harvest, meaning that God had already done the work of touching and preparing the hearts of many people. Many people are ready to hear about Jesus, they are just waiting for someone to love them enough and care enough to share the wonderful news of Jesus with them. God is mightily at work all around us, touching and opening the hearts and minds of many people today, and He wants His church to join Him in the harvest work of sharing the Good News with those He has prepared, and helping them to have a personal relationship with Him through Christ. In John 5:17 Jesus said "My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too am working." This is still true today. God is the same God today as He was when Jesus spoke these words over 2000 years ago. We need to always be seeking where God is at work, and then be ready to join Him. In John 4:35 above, Jesus said we need to open our eyes (our spiritual eyes), and see that the harvest is ripe and ready, thanks to God and His Holy Spirit. Many Christians are living their lives with closed spiritual eyes, unaware of God's activity all around them. They are blinded by the cares of the world, or by sin, or by being self-centered, or even by religion or by being too busy "serving God" at their church. May God open our spiritual eyes so that we may see how He is mightily at work, and how we can join Him in the great harvest He has already prepared. The harvest is ready ... are we ready ?