Thursday, November 10, 2011
Heading Home
We have a had a great time with Leandro and Julie and their ministry in Brazil! We are now at the airport waiting for our first of four flights to be back in Columbia tomorrow.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Baptism and Barbecue!
Thursday night and Friday we were busy teaching; Mike taught on mentoring, counseling, preaching, and the six things a leader must forget. I (Conrad) taught on the character and skills of leader from Nehemiah: the balancing act between being and doing.
Yesterday we were invited to participate in a baptism service at the camp. Three people were baptized, and they have a practice of having the person who has been discipling the new believer present them to be baptized and escort them to the water. The water looked a little chilly, but it was exciting to be a part! Afterward we enjoyed a "churasco" Brazilian barbecue and played some futebol.
Last night I had the chance to speak with a group of youth leaders in Suzano, a nearby church plant from Igreja Biblia Brasiliera in Mogi das Cruzes. It was a great time to share principles and ideas and encourage them.
Yesterday we were invited to participate in a baptism service at the camp. Three people were baptized, and they have a practice of having the person who has been discipling the new believer present them to be baptized and escort them to the water. The water looked a little chilly, but it was exciting to be a part! Afterward we enjoyed a "churasco" Brazilian barbecue and played some futebol.
Last night I had the chance to speak with a group of youth leaders in Suzano, a nearby church plant from Igreja Biblia Brasiliera in Mogi das Cruzes. It was a great time to share principles and ideas and encourage them.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
View our seminars online!
All of our seminars are being recorded and streamed live online, so you can see for yourself what we're up to! Visit http://www.ibbmc.com.br/seminario.html to see Pastor Mike's session from tonight or the sessions coming up tomorrow.
Day 1 in Sao Paolo
Mike and I arrived early this morning (5:15am local time) and have spent the day at ABECAR camp where the Tarratacas live and work. We are preparing for the first of our sessions with church leaders tonight.
This afternoon we had the chance to learn a little more about the work at the camp and the ministry with street kids. School is only in session for 4 hours a day, so many kids have nothing to do for the afternoon, making them a target for violence and abuse. Julie has been organizing an after school program that gives them both a positive environment and the opportunity to learn more about Jesus. This video is a clip from part of the program we got to see. They run the program on a $4000/month budget, which includes busing kids to the camp, staff to lead the three hour program, and oftentimes meals for kids that won't get one at home.
This afternoon we had the chance to learn a little more about the work at the camp and the ministry with street kids. School is only in session for 4 hours a day, so many kids have nothing to do for the afternoon, making them a target for violence and abuse. Julie has been organizing an after school program that gives them both a positive environment and the opportunity to learn more about Jesus. This video is a clip from part of the program we got to see. They run the program on a $4000/month budget, which includes busing kids to the camp, staff to lead the three hour program, and oftentimes meals for kids that won't get one at home.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Summer Day Fun
Yesterday the temperature creped over 100 degrees, and so when the Lord provides warm temperatures, water, and balloons……
We had a great time with our Lakota friends cooling off with water balloons, water soaked sponges, and squirt guns. The smiles on everyone’s faces would have been great to share but no one was brave enough to bring out a camera for fear it would get soaked. We finished camp a little early and came back to the church in Sharps Corner to enjoy a movie and some popcorn in the air-conditioned sanctuary.
After supper most of our team went over to the basketball court again. Each night we go we seem to have more show up. The guys all keep enjoying a good game of basketball and everyone else is playing with the children or playing volleyball. We had thought the volleyball poles and net from last year had been stolen, only to return last night to find a family setting them up! They had been keeping them to make sure they weren’t stolen or mistreated. God continues to challenge our assumptions and expectations!
Today one of the girls we have been enjoying time with at the park came to the camp and we were able to share the gospel with her as a result. This is yet another example of our goal to not only share our lives, but the gospel as well (I Thes 2:8).
Please continue to pray for good weather, the safety of our group and the campers, and that we will be given opportunities to share the Gospel. God has been so good to us and we thank you for your prayers!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Greetings from the Bad Lands
Our entire team of 34 have arrived safely and have had two full days of ministry! Please read on and we will recap some of the highlights of our trip so far.
We had an advance team come up on Friday and set up, get supplies, and start meeting those that are already here at Pine Ridge and the Chanku Waste Ranch.
On Saturday, our second and largest wave came up, including the entire team from Hope and many of the team from Grace. The trip was going well until we got into northern Nebraska where one of the vehicles had a transmission failure. God did provide for us in that we were not on the side of the road for more than ½ hour before 2 local ranchers stopped and one had a truck big enough to take enough of our team an hour further down the road. It was a great example of God providing for us even in difficult times.
On Sunday the last team was able to arrive with no issues and we were at full strength ready for Monday and what the Lord had in store for us to being the week.
On Monday we woke, ate the first of our great meals and were off to the ranch. We had many that were not sure what to expect as this was their very first experience in South Dakota; for others it was not the first trip but a new format to deal with. We shared time with the children from about 9-4. During that time we have Bible lessons, games, missionary stories, crafts, snacks, and lunch. At the end of the day we had many great opportunities to discuss lessons learned, but also had a great deal of excitement as we were able to discuss the new relationships we had started. We had lots of time to sit, play, talk, listen, and learn from our new Lakota friends. The day ended with a trip into Sharps Corner to try and get a pick up basketball game and a chance to meet with and see again some of the children we had met at camp!
Tuesday started with our team taking on even more responsibility in running the opening assembly at camp. We started a little slow, as we had not entirely planned for the new start but took it in stride and had a much better day in the end according to everyone involved. This year we have also been able to share some time with a woman from Tennessee who has come up with three of her horses to give trail rides at the ranch. This has obviously been a big hit and two of our own have been “drafted” into service to help.
Please pray for the hearts of children we are ministering to and for the continued safety of our team. God has been very good and so far we have not had a single injury. Today it is supposed to get very warm, and we are planning on many water activities, so prayers for safety against the heat are welcomed. Please also pray for the Lakota people. We have met many great and wonderful people while we have been here and continue to strive to meet the challenge we have from 1 Thes 2:8, to love these people so much by sharing the gospel and our lives.
We had an advance team come up on Friday and set up, get supplies, and start meeting those that are already here at Pine Ridge and the Chanku Waste Ranch.
On Saturday, our second and largest wave came up, including the entire team from Hope and many of the team from Grace. The trip was going well until we got into northern Nebraska where one of the vehicles had a transmission failure. God did provide for us in that we were not on the side of the road for more than ½ hour before 2 local ranchers stopped and one had a truck big enough to take enough of our team an hour further down the road. It was a great example of God providing for us even in difficult times.
On Sunday the last team was able to arrive with no issues and we were at full strength ready for Monday and what the Lord had in store for us to being the week.
On Monday we woke, ate the first of our great meals and were off to the ranch. We had many that were not sure what to expect as this was their very first experience in South Dakota; for others it was not the first trip but a new format to deal with. We shared time with the children from about 9-4. During that time we have Bible lessons, games, missionary stories, crafts, snacks, and lunch. At the end of the day we had many great opportunities to discuss lessons learned, but also had a great deal of excitement as we were able to discuss the new relationships we had started. We had lots of time to sit, play, talk, listen, and learn from our new Lakota friends. The day ended with a trip into Sharps Corner to try and get a pick up basketball game and a chance to meet with and see again some of the children we had met at camp!
Tuesday started with our team taking on even more responsibility in running the opening assembly at camp. We started a little slow, as we had not entirely planned for the new start but took it in stride and had a much better day in the end according to everyone involved. This year we have also been able to share some time with a woman from Tennessee who has come up with three of her horses to give trail rides at the ranch. This has obviously been a big hit and two of our own have been “drafted” into service to help.
Please pray for the hearts of children we are ministering to and for the continued safety of our team. God has been very good and so far we have not had a single injury. Today it is supposed to get very warm, and we are planning on many water activities, so prayers for safety against the heat are welcomed. Please also pray for the Lakota people. We have met many great and wonderful people while we have been here and continue to strive to meet the challenge we have from 1 Thes 2:8, to love these people so much by sharing the gospel and our lives.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Lakota 2011 just days away!
Our early team takes off this Friday to pickup supplies and setup camp for the rest of team leaving for South Dakota on Saturday and Sunday! Our team includes 34 members, 7 from Hope Bible Church in O'Fallon, and 27 from Grace. A few support team shirts are still available; contact the church office to order one and show your support for our team!
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