Day 13 - April 30

Day 13 (Wednesday, April 30th)

Hello Everyone,

Tonight, Christen had the opportunity to preach the gospel over the one radio station in town. Each Wednesday from 8-10 pm the church pays for air-time, and tonight that included an interview and teaching from her! After sharing her testimony, she talked about the pit of sin, and how to get out – adapting a teaching she once heard by Beth Moore. Whether it be the effects of sexuality immorality, or Drug/Alcohol addiction, or physical abuse – there are MANY residents in this city that are currently living in a pit and need the deliverance that only Jesus Christ can bring!

As Christen was in the broadcast studio, Jason, Sammy and a couple of his disciples (Alison & Valdemir) traveled to a city about 1.5 hours away called Vera Cruz (pop. 8,000). It is a four year old church plant of about 150 people. These independent churches are predominately called Cell Churches whereby most evangelism, discipleship and equipping are organized around small groups. They have 25 cell groups and Pastor Marques (31yrs old) invited me to speak to his cell group leaders.

What a blessing to meet with these 45+ leaders who bring oversight to the church.

Afterwards, at about 10:30pm, we went to get Pizza and had a great question/answer time with the leadership and another pastor who attended the meeting. One of the interesting challenges for Pastors in Brazil is the expectations of church members – who show up unannounced in their homes day or night – with counseling and prayer needs. I asked about this at the table and one of the pastors who lives at the church property says he has pretty much solved the problem by expecting the people to meet with their 40 cell leaders first. He tells them that it is disrespectful to by-pass their direct cell leader, so in this way he has mitigated much of the impact. Sounds like the advice Jethro, Moses` father-in-law, shared with him to prevent burn out (Exodus 18:13-27).

`Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain, and you shall place at these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.´(Ex 18:21)

This is my primary objective in Brazil- to strengthen their leadership base to include others, and thus spread the joy of kingdom service. In raising up other leaders, the pastors will be able to avoid burnout. I fulfill this objective through my gifting and passion- teaching the Word of God and drinking late night cappuccino with pastoral leadership.

Please pray for…

· Marcia & Christen regarding the “Women’s Encounter” with others from the church this weekend and that she may continue to minister to girls and young women here.

· Luana, whom I nicknamed Luana 1, in my 1st trip here in 2004. She is 15 yrs old now and is facing unmentionable challenges as she is becoming a young woman.

On behalf of the team,

Jason

Day 12 - April 29

Day 12 (Tuesday)

Hello Everyone,

As Jason mentioned in his Day 11 update, I spent the night at the Guzzo’s house. After taking the bus by myself – Vini’s sister and mom picked me up from the bus terminal and we went for coffee and snacks…However, even more delightful than my hot chocolate was the great conversation that we shared as sisters in Christ.

We walked home and a short while later a lot of Vini’s friends arrived – apparently invited over just to meet the American Something I’m slowly learning about the Brazilian culture is the value placed on relationships. Rather than have something planned to do, they just want to spend time with other people. So we pulled out the Chimarrão (An herbal tea – very common here in the South) and as you say in Hawaii “talked story.” There were LOTS of questions about American culture, including the all time famous: “What do you eat?”

Here in Rio Grande do Sul, they eat lots of Barbecue, and that night at the Guzzo’s was no exception. After the conversation wound down and the dishes were cleaned up, it was nearly 2 am when I climbed in to bed. I was pretty certain that I was not going to make it to school with Fernanda in the morning as I had promised.

When her alarm went off at 6:45, I realized that sleeping in would mean missing out on a perhaps once-in-a-life-time opportunity. So, on a little more than four hours of sleep, I too started getting ready for a day in Brazilian high school. While I could go on and on, about the many differences between the American education system and this one, I’ll simply say that it experience I’m glad I didn’t miss out on.

Fernanda’s class had 29 girls, all aged 14-15, and all very curious about this foreign visitor who spoke Portuguese. The second period teacher, after asking me a few questions, invited me up to the front to share a Bible verse. I don’t know anything about the spiritual background of this teacher, but she opened the door wide for me to share the gospel in a public school! So, instead of just sharing a verse, I went to the front, and in Portuguese, gave a testimony of the Lord’s work in my life and a basic presentation of the gospel – incorporating it into how I have arrived here in Brazil. What was so special to me is that I was in their shoes when I chose to follow Christ: nine years and a day ago!

After lunch at the Guzzo’s house, I spent the afternoon in Fernanda’s English class and then caught the bus back to Bom Retiro where I had company waiting for me. I took three young girls from the church out for ice-cream, but made sure not to spoil the yummy dinner to come – as we were invited over to Kiko and Jacque’s house. (Just a note on this couple – their house has tripled in size since they have become followers of Christ. As the Lord continues to bless them, they continue to share their blessings with others!)

I’m still squeezing every little bit of Brazil possible into each day!

Please pray for the following requests:

• Thank God for the openness of the Brazilian school system and for the opportunity to share the gospel. Pray that the young girls in that room would desire a relationship with Christ and that I will continue to be used in their lives through the technology of the internet.
• Pray for me as I share on the radio of Bom Retiro tonight. Marcia will be helping me to translate a message on the blessings of obedience and the results of disobedience. Pray that many will desire to bring their lives under the Lordship of Christ!

With much love

On behalf of the team,

Christen

Day 11- April 27

Day 11 (Monday)

Hello Everyone,

When your time on earth is completed, what evaluation will God have of your life and ministry? What is the essence of success in God’s eyes?

Three Important Questions

1. Are you being faithful? Matthew 25:21-23; 1 Corinthians 4:1, 2

Are doing what God has called you to do, utilizing all that which God has given you to do it?

2. Are you bearing Fruit? God wants us to bear much fruit. John 15:1-8

*Christ-like Character. As seen in the fruit of the Spirit” Gal 5:22, 23

This is fruit he wants to express in you.

*Christ-like Influence. As exemplified by Jesus in Acts 10:38.

This is fruit…he wants to manifest through you.

3. Are you making God famous? True success brings God glory.

Matt 5:16 “When people see our good deeds they will glorify God in heaven”

That is why we are to fully exercise our spiritual gifts… so that God is glorified. 1 Peter 4:10, 11

With the remaining days we each have on earth we are called to be successful by being faithful, fruitful and making God famous.

Our friend Kit Lauer went to heaven on Friday, April 24^th….in Gods eyes…he was a success.

Tonight, I did a teaching on this subject (Success in God’s eyes) to about 40 leaders who provide oversight of the church in Bom Retiro do Sul.

Throughout the evening we paused and wrote our personal reflections as to what degree are we being faithful in our gifting, resources and our experiences? What fruit is evident in you and is manifesting through you and what ways is God becoming famous through our life?

These are important questions for each of you reading this update as well.

After the leadership workshop, at 10:00 pm, Sammy and I drove to 30 minutes away to Lajeado and had churrasco (barbecue) dinner with Vinicius Guzzo´s parents and his 15year old sister, Fernanda.

Vinicius (21yr old Brazilian), as most of you know, is a current intern in the Hope Chapel worship department. The bonus and surprise in all this was that Vinicius´ mother, who has a catholic background as well as the dad, began asking assurance of salvation questions. Wow! Did Sammy get excited and for one hour began sharing the gospel amidst her questions.

Christen spent the night there. Sammy and I came home and talked about Romans 5 in preparation for my last upcoming Sunday teaching till 4:30am.

What a glorious evening!

So many spontaneous things happen, not only because we are in Brazil where flexibility and unpredictability is a way of life….but also due to the Holy Spirit’s orchestration. Therefore, I’m convinced that your prayers are a big part of it.

“Pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel”

On behalf on the team,

Jason

Day 10 - April 26

Day 10 (Sunday)

Hello Everyone,

This Sunday, the church met at 10:30am on the river and Sammy and Marcia baptized by immersion 20+ followers of Jesus in a cold and not so clean river. We followed up the celebration with sausage sandwiches an the special guarana beverage till 2:00pm.

What a blessing to be in a church that is like spiritual maternity ward. Spiritual babies are such a joy to watch and be around.

The rest of the afternoon we spent time resting and with sermon translation reveiw for tonight.

In Brazil, Christians do not meet on Sunday morning but on Sunday evenings. They are really nocturnal which fortunately fits my body clock perfectly. Tonights service started at 7:00pm and formally got over at 10:00pm not including 40 minutes of decision time & personal prayer needs. Brazil churches are not for the casual spectator!

The big part of the service was comissioning and passing out diplomas to 27
people in the church who have completed “School of Leadership”. These are faithful brothers/sisters who completed a 9 month course. The objective of equipping these saints is to form 10 new cell groups (Leader & Co-leader).

Sammy/Marcia are living out 2 Timothy 2:2. They heard and learned a lot from their time in Maui (1994-1998) in School of Discipleship, School of the Bible, School of Apologetics, School of Marriage/Family. Now they have entrusted the same things to faithful ones, who in turn as cell group leaders will teach others also.

`And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also` 2 Timothy 2:2

On behalf of the team,

Jason

Day 9 - April 25

4.25.09 (Saturday)

Hello Everyone,

Today, Jason spent the day in a contemplative and reflective mood over Kit Lauer’s graduation to glory.

In contrast, Christen didn’t stop! Oversleeping after a long night of final preparations for the purity retreat, she woke up at 8 am and was at the church by 8:30. The morning kicked off with the video interviews she had conducted, and her first two teaching sessions. (In total, there were five different teaching sessions followed by times of journaling and a small group.) When Jason showed up around 4:00, she was finishing up an explanation of prayers to God in regards to a future spouse. The event closed around 5:30 pm – closing with a presentation of the gospel and an invitation to pursue purity through a relationship with Christ. Between leaders and participants, we had just over forty in attendance (including 6 boys aged 12-14 under Joel’s leadership).

As we’ve heard from multiple participants, the topic was very relevant (and challenging) and many have decided to make changes in regards to the ways they conduct themselves in relation to purity.

After dismissing the participants and sticking around to chat a bit, Christen arrived back home around 6:00, grabbed a quick cup of tea, and headed to her room to prepare for the evening message. While a nap was most needed, she settled for a shower instead and then headed back to church for the youth service which began at 8:00 pm.

Noting the need for independence (and still wishing Sammy would translate for her) she debated up until the last minute as to what language she would be sharing in. However, when Sammy didn’t even show up, Portuguese was the only option. While it wasn’t her proudest moment, she shared the Word of God and is content that HE was at work!

The evening closed out with dinner at a luncheonette. It still amazes me that we can take 17 people to dinner (at 10 pm nonetheless) and expect to all be seated together!

Please pray for us in the following ways:

- Pray for those who participated in the purity retreat and who have made decisions to pursue Christ more deeply in this area.

- Pray for Christen as she gets some much needed rest and continues to minister in Bom Retiro. She will be sharing on the radio Wednesday and meeting with several young girls throughout the week. Pray that she remains in good health as she tries to enjoy every minute of her time here!

On behalf of the team,

Christen

Day 8 - April 24

Day 8

Hello Everyone,

Christen spent the day/night finalizing the men's journal in Portuguese and video taping different Christian guys answers about purity questions for the conference tomorrow.

Jason and Sammy left at 5pm to Montenegro (pop.70,000) one hour away. We took along with us a couple of Sammy's disciples, Jaison & Itamar (see photo with sunset).

The church in Montenegro was planted by Sammy in 2005. Sammy traveled there each week for 1 year to establish the Church and it has grown from a living room to meeting in a public gym of about 100 believers.

Over the many years of teaching in this church, I have nick named the Pastor's family the "Von Trapp" family because the Pastor, wife and 4 children all sing, dance and play musical instruments.

Upon our arrival we went to the new site of the building they are constructing which when finished will hold 400+ people. What a marvelous work of God to see what began in a living room is soon to be on this new site.

This Church plant is like the young boy who gave what little he had to Jesus and he multiplied it beyond what could have been imagined.

Later we took a drive to a farm house which they are remodeling for a future drug rehabilitation center which in America is called Teen Challenge.

At 8:30pm I shared a teaching to about 30 of the leadership and we closed our time there with a wonderful dinner.

We got home at midnight and Christen and Marcia were still hard at work preparing there messages and assorted details for their conference. Jason and Sammy felt moved with compassion so we chipped in by photo copying and stapling their materials.

In the last six trips here. this was the best day of weather that I can remember. We drove out of town at 5:00pm at the temperature was 28Cdegrees which is 82Fdegrees. With no humidly it was perfect.

"I have other sheep that are not of this fold." John 10:16

On behalf of the team,

Jason

Day 7 - April 23

Day 7 (Thursday)

Oi,

When Christen went for her walk today, she couldn’t figure out why everything (even the grocery store) was closed… Her suspicions were confirmed when she asked about a lunch hour – sure enough, the time she had chosen for her walk just happened to be during the 90minute break when everyone goes home to eat (and likely nap as well).

After her afternoon, Christen could certainly have used a nap. She worked alongside Marcia to counsel two young women in regards to baptism and family issues, before helping Joel to translate the schedule for the purity retreat. Then, she conducted a final meeting for the female leaders – discussing such details as registration procedures, small group meeting locations, and food. Whew! In contrast to Christen’s full day, Jason cruised. (Or in other words, just read his Bible and relaxed.) Thankfully, he waited for Christen before leaving for the evening activities!

Within minutes of Christen´s return home, she piled in the car with Sammy and Jason to go to nearby Estrela. This city, with a population of 60,000, is located about fifteen minutes away and is where our current intern, Vinicius (Vini) Guzzo attends “Cristo Vive” church. Jason met with about 40 of their small group / cell group leaders – and shared a powerful word on the kingdom, power, and glory belonging to God. We’ve grown quite accustomed to dinners at 10 pm, and after the meeting, we shared in a huge barbeque dinner in their fellowship hall. One of the highlights of the evening was meeting Vini’s fifteen year old sister named Fernanda!

Prayer Requests:

Please continue to pray for Christen and Joel as they prepare materials for Saturday’s purity retreat. Christen will be sharing at one or more of the sessions and will also be teaching for the co-ed youth service later in the evening. There are still many details to come together on Friday!

Pray for those who have come to receive counseling this week – specifically those with families that have been destroyed by the works of Satan.

Pray that the perfect weather will continue on – at least through the weekend – as there is a river baptism on Sunday morning.

On behalf of the team,

Jason

Day 6 - April 22

Day 6

Hello Everyone,

After a few afternoon days in Sammy's home & office and a stream of delightful visitors, Christen more than welcomed the opportunity to go to Lajeado with Jason and Sammy. After a stop at the bank, we tried out a new restaurant – sharing dessert and coffee. Jason used the opportunity for som

e “Cappuccino ministry” chatting with a cell group leader and another member of Sammy’s church. While it IS a small geographical area, Christen is still shocked at how many people just “happen” to be in the neighborhood and stop by! She was grateful for the opportunity to invite a young girl to the purity retreat after Sammy got her attention from the window and she came in to say hello.

Preparations are coming together for the big event this Saturday. Christen finalized some of the content and was able to meet with two of the female leaders to continue filming the introductory video. After multiple takes (including multiple pauses for laughter), it appears to be ready for editing!

From 8:00pm-10:00pm Jason did a live radio broadcast teaching on “The Seven ‘I Am’s’ of Jesus”. Along with getting the opportunity to proclaim Jesus to the town, it was a blessing for him to work alongside the radio anchorman, Jaison Junqueria. The 2007 mission team from Hope Chapel, and in particular Adam Gribas, was instrumental in the salvation of Jaison. Jaison, who is fruit from this former team is as well bearing fruit by doing Christian broadcasting each week and weekly columns in the local newspaper.

Please continue to pray that each of us will abide in Jesus and bear much fruit.

“he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing“ John 15: 5

On behalf of the team,

Jason

Day 5- April 21

Day 5
April 21, 2009

Today, April 21st is the “Tiradentes” holiday in Brazil. Jason decided to pursue an explanation of the holiday and surveyed the various guests coming over to see who could explain the reason they were off work. Out of the four he surveyed, only one knew the history, but for now, we’ll resign to Christen’s joke that it’s a day for going to the dentist – as the literal translation for “Tiradentes“ is “take-teeth.”


This afternoon, each of us was involved in our own preparations for upcoming ministry – Jason occupied himself with books on the gospel of John and online research for tomorrow’s radio broadcast. Meanwhile, Christen met with two main-session speakers for Saturday’s purity retreat and finished the first segment of filming for a video that will be used to kick off the seminar.

Not shortly afterwards, there was a new string of visitors and Christen enjoyed showing off photos of Hawaii before dinner. She couldn’t help but smile as she took photos of Pastor Sammy, who manned the grill – knowing that Churrasco (Brazilian BBQ) originated in this state and would certainly be delicious!



Two of Sammy and Marcia’s disciples (Eder & Louvane) joined us for the meal which provided an opportunity to fellowship with them and deepen relationships. With full bellies, we felt like we had just finished Thanksgiving dinner… and Christen can testify that it tasted just as good!





One of the closing highlights of the evening was having a Skype conversation with Christen’s family back in Kentucky. While everyone took turns saying hello, the technology required two headsets/microphone – one to hear and the other to speak. You can see the attached photo to get the full effect of this arrangement.

Please continue to pray for us. Jason will be broadcasting a sermon on the radio tomorrow. Pray that hearts will be opened to the message of Christ and His love.

On behalf of the team,

Christen

Day 4- April 20

Day 4

April 20, 2009

Hello Everyone,

When we finally made it out of the house today, it was 73 degrees and Jason went back in for sunglasses. Christen is adapting to the weather slowly but surely. She’s resorted to a space-heater and gloves, even though it was 64 degrees at 6:30 pm!

The big event of the day was a quick trip in the car to nearby Lajeado – the “big” city and hometown of Vinicius (Vini) Guzzo, one of this years’ Hope Chapel`s interns with the worship department).

After visiting with his father at the carpet store we then went to the “Swiss Bakery” where Christen enjoyed the Brazilian version of a Jamba Juice. A fun time was enjoyed by all as we tried to translate little used phrases so that everyone could understand!

The evening ended with a surprise for Christen –With little preparation, Marcia left her alone to conduct the women’s leadership meeting for the Purity Retreat she’ll be helping to lead this weekend. Then she worked together with Joel (Pastor Sammy`s right hand man) to prepare materials for the men’s version of the retreat.

Please continue to pray for the purity retreat this weekend. TV soap operas & Brazilian (Carnival) Carnaval type influences are really destroying the purity of the mind and the body of the youth over here.

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. Brothers, pray for us` 1 Thess 5:23-25

The team,

Christen