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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!

With all that went on last week you'll note that this is two blogs. One about the pastoral retreat in Rio and the other about the visitors in my class on Sunday. First the Retreat. Davi, Claudia and boys and Samuel and Joelma LOVED their trip. It was a blessing for all concerned. None of them had ever been to Rio and so it was the trip of a lifetime. I asked David if he had ever been to the ocean before (he's 17), he said that he hadn't. It is only three hours from our house to the ocean! The Robert and Jane Kilkos, missionaries to the Jews and the Nathan and Dawn Patefields, church planters in Rio, were a real blessing to our couples. The hospitality was second to none and from what I heard the meals were lovely. Robert was the tour guide and showed the group many places of interest. Nathan and Dawn shared devotional thoughts on ministry and raising family. All in all it was great. Part Two I had two visitors in my class this morning. Again as the result of VBS. Tatiane ca...

This is another picture that I put together of the people from Hope that participated in the Mini Pan Am Games. This week has been busy with follow-up visits. We actually had four of them visit this week (one Sunday and three on Wednesday). Keep praying.

Our Mini Pan Am Games are history with Argentina winning the Gold! We had 25 kids again with several hands raised for salvation. Pray with me for tomorrow morning. I am hoping that these kids all come to Sunday School. It would be overwhelming but a lot of fun. I also want to visit all of them this coming week. We'll see how that goes.

Our Mini Pan Am Games began today and it was a real hit. We had 19 kids with 45 total present (which included two mothers some small spectators and our workers). Our day began with pouring rain and we had to play upstairs but Praise The Lord we had an upstairs to play in! Calvary began their VBS today too and Jackson had planned all of his games for outside. Marcia is telling the story with help from Mara and Felipe (who are doing puppets). They are telling the true story of a Brazilian soccer player who accepts Christ as his savior. All together it was a fun day and we hope to double our attendance tomorrow. Pray for decisions for Christ. There were many hands raised today but none came forward.