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For the second time in as many months our teens were invited to participate in a youth activity at Calvary Baptist . Mario and Juliana were there and in fact it was Mario who was coordinating the evening. It was great to see both Juliana and Mario in action serving the Lord with their varied talents. Mario had spend a lot of time during the week making up a, “Treasure-hunt, monster-chase, cops and robbers” type game that involved, a treasure map, hidden money and keys and a jail! And all of this in the dark. How much better could it get? Well how about throwing in a killer gorilla and about six policeman (one with a machinegun no less). The kids were very excited about the game as they were being divided into three teams and figuring out their strategy. The lights went out and the fun began. While all of this was going on Dawn and I chatted with Ju. She related how that she and Mario have moved seven times in the last few years since their marriage. They are back in Sorocaba and se...

Just after our five day trip to Curitiba we came back to a full day’s kid’s retreat on Wednesday. We had over 50 kids and adults from our three churches and had a blast. The kids always love the pool and even tough it was cold they spent hours swimming. Pastor Wendel from Hope Baptist brought the challenge from the Word and there was enough hamburger, French fries and beans and rice for all to fill our bellies. The retreat ended late Wednesday night and Vacation Bible School started the next day! Fun. We averaged 90 kids each of the three days. We had good singing and our theme was the Wordless book with each days story emphasizing a different color. Our games were nearly suicidal with that many kids and all of it was done in the outdoors. It made for some interesting background noise. Three boys and girls made professions of faith and we had four new visitors on Sunday because of the effort. MAN AM I POOPED!

Last week I did something that I have never done before. I went looking for support in a Brazilian church. This time, however, I was part of a Brazilian missions team. It was the handsome team on the left. Alexandre, Maicon, João, Guilherme and Graziele. Habiteto is a close community in a very different way. Many of it's inhabitants don't travel very much. One of our kid's mom hadn't left the city for twenty-five years. So when these kids were told that they had been picked to go on a five day long trip six hour from Sorocaba they were ecstatic! Each paid their own way and were required to share their testimony and play their flutes at several churches. It took a lot of work and courage but they each did a great job. While in Curitiba our kids had a rare treat. We went to the mall. Do you know a 13 year-old teen who has never been to the mall? It is rare in the States but not here. Guilherme had never been to a mall and between the others there were a total of three...

Last Tuesday evening just as our team meeting ended and everyone was leaving there was a horrible sound of someone  being eaten next door! I looked through the fence to see who it was. Just then the neighbor opened the gate and handed a puppy to Dawn. It had wandered from home and wandered into their pit bull's front yard. Being dark and cold we took it in and kept it that night. I wanted him from the get go and Dawn wanted to get rid of him. “I’m too old for a puppy” was her war cry. I too thought that he might be a bit much but… to date (July 13) he’s still here. Yesterday he was sick all day and this morning he has moped around too. I saw him getting ready to vomit and rushed to take him outside. While on the way the mess came out just missing my flip-flopped foot. Water, grass and a 4.5” round worm all came spewing out in a gush! Have you ever seen a round worm? I hadn’t until this morning. The picture doesn’t do him justice! He looked like a piece of brown spaghetti just b...

About six weeks ago there was a graduation at Bible Club. Back then Alpha kids made the huge step up to Delta. Tension was thick as the kids waited to cite Ephesians 6.10-17 . At that time there was one table with two judges who listened to each of the 20 clubbers recited their passage. The whole process took over an hour to complete. This time the tension was still high but we solved the waiting problem by having helpers from our other churches come to listen to the citations from Psalm 1 and 23 . Luciano from Calvary Baptist and Felipe and Joice from Hope made the agony of the wait go quickly. We also added another rank to the list. Omega joined Alpha and Delta to complete the Company C sectors. After the memory work Alexandre had us divide into four teams. Each team had list of challenges. We had four digital cameras and a list of pictures to take. We also had a list of names to match with people of the neighborhood. It was fun to be a part of a group of kid attacking the...

I was reading a prayer sheet from our home church this morning and I noticed the following, Pray for Mike & Dawn Jewell in Brazil. Continue to pray for the land deal There have been some interesting developments lately on that deal. I have already mentioned two important documents that the Lord has helped us to attain. Our CNPJ number which recognizes Faith Baptist Church as a governmentally approved organization. The other document came from City Hall recognizing our status as a “religious” organization which will exempt us from certain taxes. These were two important steps that God allowed us to accomplish with the help of a good friend and brother in Christ from Calvary Baptist Church. With these documents in hand we can proceed with government’s and God’s blessing. When Alexandre visited Curitiba back in January the challenge he took was, “ 10 months for Faith ”. The plan was that one-hundred people (or giving units) contributing R$50 per month for ten months would...