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Abby and Monise were asked by several teens, during our recent retreat, if they were sisters. Monise is in her early 20s and attends New Life Baptist Church here in Sorocaba. She is a rare Brazilian in the sense that she was raised in a Christian home. Her parents came to know Christ as a result of Ed and Shawn`s work at New Life. Abby too was raised in a Christian home. Which sadly to say seems to be becoming a rarity in the Unites States too. Living in Brazil has enlightened us to what it means to be part of a pagan nation. A nation with no Christian roots other than those taught by the Roman Catholic church. We were again made aware of the perversity of paganism as all of the "dazzle" of carnival was splattered over every TV channel. We live in a nation in need of prayer. Abby and Monise ARE sisters! Sisters in Jesus Christ the coming King of the universe! Pray for us as we eagerly work to see Him convince others to become our brothers and sisters in the Faith. We await Hi...

The Carnaval Retreat this year was completely Brazilian run. The teens and families that participated had a great time. We had nine teen there. The theme was Be Different! and the daily devotions and nightly challenges were geared to help teens see the importance of being a Christian in a pagan world. In the pictures at (left from top to bottom) Rodolfo, Abby, Felipe, Ariel, and Paulinho share a chat time. David and Felipe dressed for costume night. Monise dressed as Fiona, David and I with our red noses (thanks photoshop elements)and like father like son hair cuts, and Joice eating a raw egg as part of a game.

In the olden days when we BMM missionaries said that we were going to camp it meant, mud, mosquitoes, mold, and mato (weeds). The camp was run down and made for a real missionary experience. Now-a-days (like my grammar?) it means a very nice hotel with a lot of neat things to do. We spent this past week at a hotel near the city of Avaré, about three hours interior from Sorocaba. Our speaker for the week was pastor Ron Wigand from Caro, Michigan. He brought timely messages from Jesus' parables. It was a great time to renew friendships with other BMM missionaries and get to know others. We were also able to take Annie and Jackson with us. They helped with the junior church during the evening sessions and with the youth during the day. It was a fun week!