Humbled by all God is doing…

Time with our young people at the coldwater creek

Time with Old Friends…
We’ve just come off of several busy weeks and we’re about to dive into more busy weeks ahead. But praise God He has shown up in all we’ve done for Him and has taken care of us in ways only He can. In the middle of missions trips, meetings, discipleships, and services, we were able to set aside a day to have much-needed fellowship with our group of young people from Santarem. They are all doing well, stuff suffering a little from the change, so we try to have a time with them and their families every so often to keep our friendship alive and make sure they’re being taken care of by their new disciplers. We had a lot of fun visiting a coldwater creek close to our house (the freezing cold water is very soothing on these hot summer days).

In the Communities…
We’ve been visiting the communities under our supervision and realizing it would be nice if God could multiply us into more than one person so we could be in many different places at once! In one community, it had been 7 days since we last visited and they were already saying we’d disappeared and wondering where we’d been for so long! It’s nice to know that they are hungry for more visits from other Christians and hungry for God to move in their village. In some communities, they reject our visits and reject the Gospel, so we can’t complain about being wanted. In the community of Piquiatuba, this weekend a group is going to finish the flooring in the new church building. It is the largest church building in all that region, and the most beautiful. We also hope to build church buildings soon in the communities of Pindobal and São Raimundo. God is truly at work!

From the boat - Santarem and the wedding of the waters of the Amazon and Tapajos Rivers

MDA Conference and River Trip…

Last week our church held its annual MDA Conference where people come from all over Brazil, and the world, to learn about one-on-one discipleship and cell groups. On Sunday, we took several visiting pastors on a river trip to see the true heart of all we do – missions. On this trip, Becky Hrubik, Beth Hrubik and Josiah and I all told stories about growing up in the Amazon andabout adventures in missions. Several times we were all moved to tears, and many people came to us afterward telling how they’d been challenged to truly serve God with everything. It was amazing how God moved!

 

During the evangelistic skit

Young and Loving It…

Saturday night was the last nightof a “holy competition” we’d been having with our church’s youth group. There were funny tests like “how many people can you fit in a Ford Escort Hobby?” and edifying tests like memorization of verses from the book of Proverbs. (Just for the record, both teams were able to fit 22 people into a small Ford Escort!) We held the last night of the competition in a large park area in Alter do Chão on Saturday, strategically evangelistic with great worship, an incredible skit and Gospel message, so that all the Saturday-night partiers could hear about Jesus. We believe the impact was great on the kingdom of darkness that night, and that it will produce lasting fruit that will be well taken care of in our Alter do Chão church, in Jesus’ name! This Saturday night is “fellowship night” where the competing teams will all fellowship together in unity. These excited youth make me feel like I’m not really turning 30-years-old this week!

 

Prayer for Upcoming Events…
November 6-8 we will have the encounter with God weekend. We are believing to take many people from Alter do Chão and from the communities to have their lives changed when they encounter God face to face. We count on your prayers for God’s hand of protection and that everyone who is supposed to go will go and will be drastically transformed. November 23-25 we will hold our 4th Young Missionaries Conference in the community of Jamaraquá, so we also count on your prayers for that conference. There are many other smaller events and missions trips in between these big events, so we covet your prayers for all of it. Know that you are with us in this battle through your prayers and monetary support, and that our victories are also your victories! Hallelujah!

Thank you for your prayers!!

Fighting Against the Powers of Darkness

Free car wash Saturday

The Sairé festival originally began when the Portuguese Catholics came to Brazil to evangelize the Brazilian Indians. Because they could not communicate with them, they created objects to represent their beliefs in God, etc.  Sairé actually means “God is welcome.” It began as a celebration of Brazilian culture and the entrance of the Catholics several hundred years ago. However, since then, Brazilian legends and witchcraft have taken over the festival and the primary focus is now the legend of a porpoise that during the full moon turns into a man, and seduces the prettiest Indian girl in the tribe.  In this seduction, he would slowly begin to suck the life out of the girl. After several nights of these visits, she would become pale and eventually die. What was originally a religious celebration became a celebration of a porpoise that turns into a man to seduce women. Regardless of the tricks of the enemy to blind these people, God has been at work over the years and the attendance to Sairé has dropped drastically. However, many are still lost and look forward to a weekend filled with drunkenness and prostitution. This year, we held an event we called “Projeto Uma Alternativa” (Project: An Alternative). We gave the people an alternative option, a better place to celebrate than in the world.

Josiah praying with a family at the car wash

Our church is only a block away from where the festival is held, so many people pass in front of our church on the way there. Friday and Saturday night, we held a praise and worship service in front of our church and evangelized the passersby. We handed out evangelistic bracelets, tracks, and even held a free raffle in which many non-Christians won baseball caps, soccer balls, sandwiches from a restaurant in Santarém, and hats. Saturday during the day, we held a free carwash and evangelized the people while they waited. A total of 10 official decisions were made to follow Christ, but many other seeds were planted, God’s Word went forth and it will not return void! Thank you all for your prayers, and we ask that you would continue to pray for all of the lost who received tracks and bracelets, that they would come to know Jesus right away and that we would hear of their testimonies. Ten precious souls were saved this weekend, and one soul is worth more than the entire world, so we definitely consider this weekend a success, all glory be to God! In addition, our plan is to hold the Alternative event every year until Sairé is completely closed down and our event takes its place! Hallelujah!  Later on this week, we hope to post a short video about this weekend’s events, so be on the lookout!

On to the next…

This Friday through Sunday is our 3rd Young Missionaries Conference here in the community of Iruçanga. We’ve already confirmed 3 doctors and at least 1 dentist, and we will also present a water filter to the community and take orders for all the people who would like a filter in their home. Josiah and I will be speaking to the youth about sex before marriage and courtship, and there will be many other presentations, skits and messages geared toward the people in this community. Thanks to your prayers, we know this conference will be a success as well!  Next Saturday we will begin a 4-week tournament with the youth on Saturday nights, which will end with a big event and many souls being saved, in Jesus’ name!  We are counting on you to stand with us in faith for success and victory in all God’s wonderful plans!

Praise Reports and a BIG Prayer Request…

YOUTH

We have recently focused our efforts on growing the youth group in Alter do Chão.  When we took on the position of youth pastors, there were about 12 in the youth group.  Now between 80-100 youth come every Saturday night!   Our new way of presenting the Word of God in a trendy, youthy, “crazy” way (i.e., “square-dancing night” – see picture) has become the talk of the town. The youth have truly been attracted to the Lord, and our leadership team is growing in unity more and more as the days pass. Next weekend we will host the 3rd Young Missionaries Conference in the community of Iruçanga, where we live. We plan to bring doctors, dentists and filters to this area, along with preaching and evangelism that will shake this community into serving Jesus. Please pray for the preparations, that the conference would be led by the Holy Spirit and that all the people in this community would turn to Jesus.

MISSIONS

Beyond the preparations for the Iruçanga conference, we are also entering into new communities, such as Anjirobalzinho, Laranjal and Ponta de Pedras, to win the lost and start small Bible study groups that will eventually become churches. We have a total of 11 river/jungle works going, and our goal by the end of the year is to have 21! Please agree in faith with us to reach and surpass this goal! A few weeks ago we visited the Sunday service in the community of Caranazal. As you will see from the pictures, praise the Lord what was once a thatch covering is now a beautiful church building! The church in Caranazal is growing and blessed beyond measure! Last week we visited the community of Jamaraquá and sat with our local worker, Conceição. We are planning our next young missionaries conference in Jamaraquá in the next few months, and they are really excited about it! Sunday evening we visited the community of Nova União and encouraged one of the believers to help with the work, and maybe eventually become the local worker/pastor of the church in that community. It is so obvious that the Lord is at work in all of these communities, all glory be to Him!

HUGE PRAYER REQUEST

This weekend is the worldly festival Sairé in our community of Alter do Chão. Sairé is famous for promoting child prostitution, and sadly many 13-15 year old girls are pregnant after the festival. Accidents, drownings, gang fights and deaths have been very common during this festival weekend. This week, Monday through Wednesday, our church is praying until midnight and at midnight walking around the village anointing the roads, parks and beaches declaring there will be no deaths or injuries, and claiming all the lost souls for Jesus. Josiah and I drove to Santarém Monday night at midnight anointing the road the whole way, especially at the dangerous curves. Our youth group is planning two large events Friday night and Saturday night in front of our church to attract people away from the festival. In addition, Saturday during the day we will have a free car wash, and we will tell the people about Jesus while they wait. Please pray for God’s perfect will, direction and protection, for an awesome turnout of people, and an incredible number of decisions for Jesus. Also pray for the protection of the unsaved so they may come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

SLEEP?  WHO NEEDS SLEEP??

With all the conferences, missions supervision, visits, meetings, event planning and discipleships, we’ve missed out on many hours of sleep. Just when I was ready to throw a temper-tantrum wanting my rest, I heard a pastor talk about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was in more turmoil than I could ever imagine, submitting to the will of His Father which would mean a more painful death than anyone has ever experienced. In aguish, sweating drops of blood, He would pray and then go back to where He’d left His disciples to keep watch. Three times He encountered them sleeping. The only people on earth He could count on and trust, the disciples He’d poured His life into for 3 years, the men He’d told so many times about this very hour, were sleeping! Then it hit me how many lessons I still have yet to learn. I certainly don’t want my Savior to find me sleeping just when He needs me most. I know He will give us the rest we need.

Praying you will also find rest in our glorious Savior,

Jennifer, also for Josiah

Praise Reports, Prayer Requests, and Lots of Fun!

Community of São Raimundo

Thatch house of João and Rosa in the community of São Raimundo

The Lord tremendously used the conference we held in the community of São Raimundo to bring Himself glory and attract the lost to Him! Since that conference, almost the entire community has given their lives to the Lord! However, there are two families who still have not made decisions, and they are possibly the two hardest families to reach.  Our prayer request is for God to break down the division in this community and turn it into a family of brothers and sisters in Christ.  Right now, there is a lot of spiritual warfare and confusion, and although we know we already have the victory, we need much prayer to bring that victory to pass.  Our God is the God of the impossible!  Please cover these families and this community in prayer. Praise the Lord we will see them won for Jesus!

Other Incredible Testimonies

Luiz Alberto at his baptism

Luiz Alberto, member of the community of Caranazal, was “head honcho” of the extremely worldly festival called Sairé, held annually in the neighboring community of Alter do Chão (where our current home church is located). As a musician, he composed and sang songs for the festival and was very well-known and respected. His life was full of fortune and fame, women and drinking. Everything the world has to offer. His wife gave her life to the Lord a while back, and recently he finally came to know Jesus as well. His conversion has turned many heads, and he has now forbidden the Sairé coordinators to use his songs for the festival, meaning they have to find new musicians and singers, and write all new songs, in order to ensure the festival still happens this year. In addition, the head coordinator of Sairé, Ricardo, is now attending our church and has told the rest of the coordinators that he doesn’t want to have any part in the festival from now on!  Although he has not made his decision yet, obviously he is on the road to salvation! Luiz Alberto is now dedicated to serving the Lord and doing His work, and is using his testimony to bring God glory and win souls for Him! We know that Ricardo, and many others, are not far behind!

God Gives “Life”

Our new puppy Zoe

After the very sad loss of our Dalmatian Pepper, a friend of ours from church blessed us with a new puppy! She is absolutely adorable, obedient and loving, so she stole our hearts from the beginning. Our friend had been calling her “Blackie” in Portuguese, but we felt like we should give her a more fitting name (if it is possible to find a more fitting name for a black dog).    When we saw her for the first time, the name that came to mind was Zoe. Because of losing Pepper, we wanted to name the new puppy something symbolic of life and new beginnings. Zoe is a Greek word from the New Testament that means life – not just normal or physical life, but spiritual life like only God can give.  Isn’t she adorable? 

The Young and the Missions-Minded

Powerful skit presentation at our Youth Missions Conference in the community of Piquiatuba earlier this year

The head pastors of our church asked if we could, in addition to being the missions supervisors, also consider being the youth pastors. The youth group did not have the direct covering or support they needed to really grow and see God move, and they had been praying for a young couple who could be that covering.  We prayed about it and had an exciting confirmation in our spirit, so we accepted! We are not only participating and helping with the Saturday night youth services, but we are also meeting weekly with the youth leaders to create new strategies to win the youth of Alter do Chão. What’s incredible is that not only do the youth make up the vast majority of the church, but they also make up the vast majority of the missions workers in our area! So our two positions in the church go hand-in-hand – we will be building up and encouraging youth leaders who are excited about and willing to go to great lengths to do the Lord’s work! The first Saturday night meetings since we’ve taken the position of youth pastors have already attracted lots of new visitors.  With God’s help, we want to offer something new that will keep the youth hungry for more of the Lord so that nothing the world uses to tempt them can lure them back.  We’re implementing the same idea of “Crazy Por Cristo” to show that we are not ashamed of the Gospel and that God is more fun and more exciting that anything they’ve ever known in the world!  Please cover us in prayer as we take on this new and exciting endeavor.

We ask for your prayers for these areas, and in general for our health, protection, for God’s favor in all we do, and most importantly that He receive all the glory! Praise the Lord for all He is doing here, and praise Him for using you to make it possible!

Incredible Weekend at São Raimundo!

Thank you all SO much for your prayers for the conference in São Raimundo this past weekend.  It was more than a success, it was a life-changing experience for everyone involved.  The Spirit of God showed up in a mighty way, lives were transformed and 4 precious souls from the community were won for the Lord!!!  Not only was it a time of restoration in the community, but it was a time of growth and spiritual blessing for us who worked and ministered there.  We grew even closer as the Holy Spirit united us to do His work.  There was so much attack, which proved the enemy was afraid of the awesome effect God’s Word would have on the division he’d caused and the bad seeds he’d planted in the community.  On Saturday, there was a car/motorcycle accident between two families involved in the conference, but praise the Lord the young man on the motorcycle walked away with only a cut on his hand.  The car and motorcyle were badly damaged, but the cost to fix them is nothing compared to the value of a life.  There were other almost-accidents and attacks from the enemy, but no one let it get them down and we only pressed in further!  God showed up and proved that all of the attack is worthwhile when we can enjoy His presence and watch in awe as He works in people’s hearts and lives.

Here are some pictures of this weekend’s conference.  They say much more than I could ever write…

Jennifer and the worship team

Everyone dancing during worship

Malachi 3:2 "... and who can stand when He appears?" Powerful worship ushered in the presence of God in a mighty way...

Celebrating a girl that gave her life to the Lord Friday night...

Youth surrendering their lives completely to the Lord...

On Saturday, we gave medical assistance...

Friday and Saturday, we offered dental assistance...

We distributed water filters throughout the community...

The church's drama team performed several skits that changed lives...

Josiah ministering... Hearts were transformed by God's Word and prayer

Thank you again for your prayers!  God is truly moving!

Blessings,

Jennifer, also for Josiah