Day 2 of the BRCC Mission Trip

Missionary of the Day: Brittney Sweet

This is Brittney’s first mission trip. Today she spent a full day at the Alcance and got to bond with her friends while she worked on sorting and organizing the things we brought from USA. When asked about the highlight of her day she replied, “We started a devotional and had an amazing worship service to finish our day. I also enjoyed learning a little bit more about the culture when we went to visit the flip flop factory. The colors and multiple patterns were really cool.”   


Day 2 Activities


Our day began with a hearty breakfast of fruits, meat, cheese, bread, pastries and eggs. Following breakfast, one of our major tasks for the day was to organize and sort the materials we brought in trunks so they can be distributed throughout the School.  We also prepared for the upcoming English camp with direction from our friends from the Alcance by distributing the work and what will be taught as well as dividing up activities of the day.   Mike Mills and crew worked on construction projects while others cleaned up around the Alcance.   Amy, Pastor Jay, David Moraes and Roberto began preparing the backdrops and translations for Shout!  

Of course, no day would be complete without a little soccer (football) followed by dinner, devotionals and some worship time. We finished off our day with singing a rousing version of Happy Birthday to Sarah Wells who turned 16 enjoying some cake and a nice swim in the pool! (see photos..)

Please pray for the team as they encourage the Brazilian English campers with the love of Christ. Also pray as we prepare and adapt the translation of Shout so it will be understood and received by the Brazilian people.

Enjoy a few pictures of the day.

Blessings to you all!

38 arrive safely to Carpina, Brasil!

What an exciting (and thankfully uneventful) day of traveling for the BRCC Mission team. Although there's not much to report on the misson trip itself, I thought you might enjoy some candid shots of us along the way.

Saying good bye....

Waiting for the plane in Atlanta (after being delayed for 2.5 hours... they were troopers)

We made it to Brasil!! (we're in Rio!)

The race is on! "Moving" from Delta to TAM in Rio.

Cramming us and the luggage on the bus.

We made it!

Keep watching for updates! May God bless you as you pray for us!!

Medical Team has left

The medical team left really early this morning to go back to the USA. The team was able to help about 1,000 people. After Cha de Alegria they went to Pauldalo then to the Dump in Carpina. Here are some pictures from the Dump.

The medical teams started seeing people at the Dump in 2006. Before they helped out there, the local medical clinics wouldn't go there. But now since this ministry took the step to help this community the local medical clinic sends people there each month.

Dr. Taylor was able to sit down and talk with the local medical clinic staff after the Dump clinic. The staff usually only stays an hour and a half and sees 200 people. They said it was very good and amazing to see the US team take their time with each person and the love that the team showed toward the people.

Prayer request

Frank Penna's father passed away and Frank had to leave Brazil early. Please pray for his family during this time. Frank Senior's funeral is Wed. 2 pm at the First Friends Church, Denver CO. The below mortuary is handling the service. WRI will send flowers.

Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary
7777 W 29TH Ave Ste A
Denver, CO 80033-8129
Phone: (303) 233-4611

Medical Clinics Starts

First medical clinic was in Amexias. It is a town about an hour and a half away from where the group is staying. They got a slow start because of the rain and not a lot of people knew about the clinic, but as soon as word got out it was very busy. They saw just under 300 people. Click on the pictures or the Picasa link to the left for more pictures of the clinic.

Today the medical team is at a town called Cha de Alegria. The community church of Paudalho has an outreach in that town.

Medical group arrives safely

All 8 people on the medical short-term trip have arrived safely and are already hard at work sorting medicine for tomorrow's clinic in Amexias.

Emily's Impressions

Jeff has decided that it's high-time I write a blog. I don't like writing. We fought. He won. So, with a black eye and a bloody nose, I am writing this blog.

The past 3 months have been full of new experiences. Moving to Brazil brought new people, new opportunities, and a new culture. My experience here is beginning to become a little more "normal" but the first few months here wasn't quite that. While most people come here after months of prayer and preparation, I came after 2 weeks of prayer and preparation. While most people come after preparing so much that they just want to get on with it and get down here, I came trusting the Lord but not quite sure what I thought about the whole idea of being in Brazil for an extended period of time. Over the past 3 months I have learned a lot about the ministry here. I have become excited about the work that God is doing. I have made new friends. And the Lord has taught me a lot about trusting in him even when my mind calls it contradictory. God has provided me with everything I need. He has given me purpose and a reason to be here. He has given me good friends. He has given me joy and he will give me a future.

Just to give you a little idea of what I've been up to down here, I've been teaching Kindergarten, 1^st, and 2^nd grade at the International School, 2 classes for children in nearby towns, and 1 class for the teachers at the school. I've kept busy but not too busy to neglect the playground. Over the past few weeks, Lindsay and I have designed a new English program for the school. We are very excited about the possibilities that it brings for next semester. We are praying that the Lord will use it to his glory and that the English program will grow with the school. The next month brings forty-some Americans. This is gonna be a crazy place. But it's going to be a lot of fun, especially considering that part of the group is my family.

~Emily Taylor

Safe & Sound

The first of the short-term trips have arrived. Kenny Smith, Frank Penna, and Steve Turner are safely in Brazil enjoying guaraná and fresh fruit.

Kenny is here to build several bookshelves and other wood working needs. Frank is here to assist Kenny and also lend his voice talent to several of the Churches. Steve is here to coordinate the trips and be the go to guy for everyone.

The Medical Team comes next! July 2nd.

Intl School Program

School is almost done. Just one more week.

Right before Easter, the International school kids went on a field trip to Olinda and other historical sites. This program last Friday was to show off what they learned from the trip. Some of the kids had special projects they did on the field trip. This was a good way to present to the parents what their kids did and what the school is about. Now we just have one more program to do this Friday. It will be a world culture program.

No Camera No Service

I (Jeff) have been without a memory card for me camera for 3 weeks or so. I just recently was able to borrow a memory card but I have yet to be able to get good pictures for the things that have happened. So no pictures until I get another chance to go to the locations.

The Community Church of Lagoa de Itaenga was in trouble this month, because they found out that the place they were renting was going to be sold. They were being kicked out and in this small town there wasn't any other place to rent. But, God is good! Through one of Pastor Ricardo's relatives they were able to purchase land for cheap in a good area close to downtown. They had R$3,000 saved up already for this land and only needed R$2000 more. For a while they thought there was some money with the World Renewal Headquarters for Lagoa de Itaenga, but there wasn't any. They only had 3 weeks to raise this money or they would not be able to purchase this land.
While Pastor Zecarlos (a retired pastor that helps with this church) was on a trip to his home town of Sao Paulo, he received a gift of R$2000 for the new Church building. Well the money is going to buying the land which needs to be paid for before the Church can be build. God provided!

Don't forget that we need your help with building the new Church in Tracunhanhém.

A little way to say Thank you to people in Ministry

This summer there are over 40 people coming to visit WRBrazil on short-term trips. Each of those people will be allowed one personal bag and one bag of ministry items.
This is a great opportunity to supply the ministry with things that are difficult to get here in Brazil and also bless the people in ministry here.

The devaluing dollar has made travel more expensive than ever and the short-term missionaries (many of which are teens) are struggling to meet their expenses.

And so, we still need help purchasing and gathering many of those items.

Here is a list of families in ministry here in Brazil and some items they might enjoy. Everything on the list is just a suggestion, please feel free to personalize.

Please pray and consider picking one or more of the families listed. We have never done this big of a list before and we really want to show the people in ministry here that we appreciate their lives in Christ. We are praying that we will be able to give a gift to every family on the list.

Please contact Steve Turner at (317)840-1270 if you decide to participate in fulfilling part of this list.

P.S. I believe the Pen Drives have already been purchased for these families.

Moraes Family (Tele, Heather, Karine, David, Alyssa, Johnny, Christopher) Special Teas, Bath & Body Works stuff/ Victoria's Secret - smelly-good stuff Marshmallows, Folgers coffee Fig Newtons, Whoppers, Twix, Sour Skittles, Jelly Belly Jelly Beans, Dove Dark Chocolate, Crunchy JIF peanut butter , Cool Ranch Doritos (or any other flavor other than cheddar), Maple Syrup and/or Maple Extract, Mugs (Heather has a mug collection), Dr Pepper & Diet Dr. Pepper , BBQ sauce, Chile Powder, large sized cinnamon container, cream of tarter, chocolate chips, Poptarts (not strawberry), Cheese & peanut butter crackers, Stickers, Taco Shells (hard or soft), Pepperoni	Ricardo Silva & Family (Kattia, Rebeca -2) Baby clothes/Shoes (2T-3T) Toddler toys Mountain Dew Body spray, lotions, etc. Chocolate Pop Tarts Cool Ranch Doritos Peanut Butter Jewelry Sour candy & other unique candy English kid’s CDs & DVDs Non-English games Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.)	Dona Lucia & Family (Roberto, Roberta, Roberto Jr, Renata) – Principal of the International School & teachers, graphic design shop Cool Ranch Doritos Birds of prey books & stuff (English or Portuguese) Peanut Butter Body spray, lotions (Bath & Body Works) Candy Jalapenos Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.)
Assuero Naque & Family (Mariam, Lorena -13, Tiago -15) Ameixas’ Pastor Body spray, lotions, etc. Pop Tarts, Mt Dew, Dr. Pepper, candy Play Station 2 games Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.)	Arthur & Fiancée (Jaciara) – Guadalajara’s Pastor Sour candy & other unique candy Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.) Chocolate	Carlos Antonio– Guadalajara’s Pastor Sour candy & other unique candy Chocolate Pen Drive Christian music CDs Laptop
Jorge & Family (wife, Debora -13, Jorge Jr-15)– Timbauba’s Pastor Sour candy & other unique candy Music items (CDs, sheet music, etc) Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.) Chocolate Lotion & smelly-good stuff	Anselmo & Family (Carmem, Livia-5, Neto-8) – Tracunhaem’s Pastor Sour candy & other unique candy Toys – Barbies & Hot Wheels Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.) Chocolate	Augustino & Family (Nadja, Milena-5) - Seminary Director Sour candy & other unique candy Toys – Barbies Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.) Chocolate
Daniel Junior & Family (Sisters – Aninha, Patricia, Cacau)– Paudalho’s Pastor & Living Stones program there Jewish heritage items Haircutting scissors Lotion & smelly-good stuff Tea, candy Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.)	Silvio & Fiancée (Rafaela) – works at Carpina’s church Sour candy & other unique candy Non-English games Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.) Chocolate	Valmir & Wife – part-time pastor Sour candy & other unique candy Non-English games Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.) Chocolate
Josemar & Wife (Marcia)– Carpina’s Pastor Sour candy & other unique candy Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.) Chocolate, candy, etc.	Gilson & Fiancée (Valdilene) – Acacias’ Pastor Sour candy & other unique candy Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.) Chocolate, candy, etc.	Orlando & Family (Flavia & baby)– Acacias’ Pastor Baby Girl clothes (1 year old) Sour candy & other unique candy Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.) Chocolate, candy, etc.
Paulo & Family (Eline, Raquel – 14, Rebeca – 9, Daniel -8, Davi -5) – missionary family at the International School Sour candy & other unique candy Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.) Chocolate, candy, etc. Jewelry Body lotion & spray(Bath &Body Works)	Pastor Jose Carlos & Family (Eunice, Fernanda) – missionaries & teachers Sour candy & other unique candy Non-English games Nice household items (placemats, table clothes, home décor items, etc) Chocolate Body lotion & spray (Bath & Body Works)	Ivana –Bible teacher & Vice-Principal of the International School Jelly Belly Jelly Beans Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.) Dove Dark Chocolate, Peanut butter Body lotion & spray Christian music –Michael W Smith, DC Talk, 4HIM Portable CD drive
Edjane – Seminary receptionist & community outreach Sour candy & other unique candy Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.) Crunchy Peanut butter Mountain Dew Body lotion & spray (Bath & Body Works), chocolate, candy, etc.	Geselia & Family (Laurindo & Daniel-9)– Receptionist & teacher at the International School English games Computer games Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.) Craft supplies: sewing supplies, ribbons, beads, etc. Legos, candy, chocolate	Duda & Family (Karina & Gabriel-7) – Maintenance Man for Alcance, seminary student, & irreplaceable! Sour candy & chocolate Body lotion & spray (Bath&Body wks) nice pair of boy’s shoes – size 6 1/2 -7 Clothing items (men’s small, woman’s medium, child’s medium/large) legos, Hot Wheels, candy, chocolate Pen Drive, Notebooks, pencils, pens Home décor items (wall hangings, placemats, coasters, etc.)
Carlão – Carpina’s Pastor Sour candy & other unique candy Non-English games Chocolate Pen Drive Notebooks, pencils, pens	Airton & Family (Silvana & Joyce –age 3) – Teacher & guard at the International School & seminary student Sour candy & other unique candy Body lotion & spray (Bath & Body Works) Clothing items (men’s large, woman’s medium, toddler) Toys Pen Drive Toddler shoes Notebooks, pencils, pens Nice household items (placemats, table clothes, home décor items, etc) Chocolate	Silvia & Lenilson – Cook at the International School Sour candy & other unique candy Nice household items (placemats, table clothes, home décor items, etc) Chocolate Body lotion & spray (Bath & Body Works) Purses
Edmilson & Natali – Acacias’ Pastor & worship leader Body lotion & spray (Bath & Body Works) Pen Drive Christian Soundtracks Sour candy & other unique candy Nice household items (placemats, table clothes, home décor items, etc) Chocolate Peanut Butter	Edilene & Ci – Cleaning ladies at the International School / Alcance Sour candy & other unique candy Nice household items (placemats, table clothes, home décor items, etc) Clothing Items (women’s medium & large) Chocolate Body lotion & spray (Bath & Body Works)	Jose Carlos & Family (Mana, Lucas -15, Jonatas -13) Sour candy & other unique candy Clothing Items (men’s small & medium, women’s medium) Nice household items (placemats, table clothes, home décor items, etc) Chocolate English books – easy chapter books Video games Body lotion & spray (Bath & Body Works)
Rachel Winzeler- Teacher at the International School Games: Connect 4, Candyland, Sorry, UNO, Shoots & Ladders, Clue, Gestures, Twister, Mancala, Haircutting scissors (3 pairs), Horseradish sauce (Arby's), Maple syrup, BBQ sauce, Taco sauce (Taco Bell), Whip cream packets, Cream of tarter , Ranch sauce Books that have changed your life! Projector (for Paudalho) Good magazines	Celso & Family (wife & toddler -3) – Paudalho’s Pastor Sour candy & other unique candy Nice household items (placemats, table clothes, home décor items, etc) Chocolate Body lotion & spray (Bath & Body Works)	Israel & Family (Andrea, Tiago -14, Carla – 11) – Teacher at the International School & Word of Life missionary Sour candy & Chocolate Clothing Items Nice household items (placemats, table clothes, home décor items, etc) Body lotion & spray (Bath & Body Works), Pen Drive
Emily Taylor – Teacher at the International School Contact solution Borax Orbit Sweetmint gum Peanut Butter Smooth JIF peanut butter Milk chocolate chips Gummy bears	Lindsay & Jeff Turner – Teacher at the School & IT/Communication- Othello (game), 2-3 cute Hand Puppets, ESL Survival Kit # 1 by Elizabeth Claire ESL Smart by Margaret Bouchard Children's board books/baby books Toddler toys (2-4yrs old) Plain tortilla chips, Taco seasoning, Peanut Butter Dr. Pepper, Pop Tarts, Gummy worms, Mint Chocolate Oreos, Jelly Belly JellyBeans,

Karine Gone

Karine Moraes has left Brazil to go to England. She will be staying with family there until August. Then she will be going to Hungary where she will study at Word of Life for a year. Please pray for her time abroad.

Spotlight: The Community Church of Tracunhanhém

The Community Church of Tracunhanhém has been around for 7 years. It has been a very prosperous Church in attendance and raising God loving people. They have been meeting in a rented building this whole time, which is located on the 2nd floor of a Business. The building only holds about 110 seating people and there is no room for the youth group or a nursery. The Church has only standing room every Sunday and sometimes there isn’t even that room left.

Knowing all of these limitations and understanding that this could harm the work there, the Church decided to search for a land in the city to build a Church to assist their needs, however they didn’t have all of the financial resources for this and in spite of this, they believed that God would supply their needs. In that search they found many places but they always had a negative answer about them. It was very difficult to hear “no” after “no”! They almost lost all hope. It seemed that they never would find the land. It seemed that they should adjust to the limited structure of the building where they were having their meetings. However, to the eyes of God it was not the end and in the year of 2006, when the Municipal City hall of Tracunhanhém, in the Mayoress of the municipal district, knowing their need and recognizing the importance and influence of their Church in the local community, she made a donation of a land of 894 m², downtown – it was a better location than all the lands that they had already consulted. In the donation term there is a clause that determines that the church would have to begin the construction project within two years, in other words, until the end of 2008.

Recently their Council board of elders decided to choose a multifunctional structure for their church building, where they will have a sportive space which will be available to the community and to preach the Gospel for a large number of people. And they will be able to meet for Bible School and each class will have its own space. They hope to give a more comfortable and enjoyable atmosphere for their members and visitors.

However, it still remains the challenge of the construction, because they only have this year for it or otherwise they may lose their land. The project they dream of is about 80.000 reais($47,000), which is much more than they are able to rise. And there is still the fact that the initial cost for the acquisition of the prefabricated concrete block structure is of approximately 25.000 reais($15,000), however they have faith that the same God who made great things in the History of His people (Ex. 36.4-7), is the same who is able to make the same today among them.

Will you Join the Community Church of Tracunhanhém in faith by praying for and if God leads, to donate to the Construction of the Church building. They need to Build the prefabricated concrete block structure by December 08, which is about US$15,000 or they will lose the land.
To Donate send a Check made out to World Renewal Intl and Earmarked Brazil Tracunhanhém Building project.
P.O. Box 399
Greenfield, IN 46140
Or
You can Donate online. (under Description write Brazil Tracunhanhém Building project.)
Click on the Link HERE to Donate online

Giving Opportunity

What is Living Stones? What do they really do?

The purpose of Living Stones is to provide the poorest children with a safe place to keep them off the streets. Some of the activities they aspire to offer are tutoring, specialized classes (cooking, music, etc.), a Bible study, fun games, and a hot meal. It is the goal of the ministry for every church to have a successful Living Stones program and for the new church plants to incorporate the program as a main part of their outreaches. This, unfortunately, is rarely the case. Few churches have the resources or manpower to maintain the programs. The programs start well, but the funds run dry. Many times they are even unable to scrap together enough money for food for the children. Church volunteers help greatly, but most communities need an all day program - requiring a fulltime staff.

Despite these obstacles, the Community Church of Pauldalho has been able to keep its doors open to children. In Pauldalho, the project receives government aid and there are some workers who are paid by the government as well. It’s so exciting that the government is actually paying the church to reach out to children, but it’s not perfect. The government here doesn’t always pay the bill. There are many times that the government money won’t come and suddenly there is no money for food. The government doesn’t pay for any books, games, classes, or any other activities. If there is any need other than food the staff pays for it out of their own pockets.

The three women who run the project (and are sometimes paid by the government to do so) are members of the Community Church of Pauldalho - Cacau, Mamau, and Patricia. They act as social workers for the children under their care as well. They do house visitation and if a child is being abused or neglected it is their job to be an advocate on the child’s behalf. That is all that is done by the government. If it wasn’t for their visiting the parents (or grandparents) and asking for the abuse to stop nothing would be done. Children here are not protected from abusive parents.

Rachel Winzler has been helping out at the Pauldalho Living Stones project on Thursday afternoons for the past 3 months. She invited Emily Taylor and me along a couple of times to help teach some basic English words to the kids. This last Thursday we went to visit some of the homes with Patricia and Cacau. They were all tiny, home to very large families, and very dirty. The last one was the most difficult. It was home to a family of 12 - a small two room house that had no electricity, no plumbing, and no running water. The walls were splotchy brown from years of human touch and dirt. Filthy mattresses, piles of grimy clothes, and an old van seat served as the furniture. When we arrived the whole place was filled with smoke from someone cooking in the back. The shy children sat watching us as the 60-year-old lady of the house talked about her troubles through her blackened teeth. She told us how her grown children and grandchildren depend upon her begging for their daily bread. They often had to forgo purchases of “luxury items” like soap, conditioner, or shampoo in favor of rice. The adult children could help, could get menial jobs, but don’t.

There are currently 60 children being served at the Living Stones of Pauldalho, but the need is so much greater in that community alone. The Living Stones program is an ever-changing organism, as soon as the ministry attempts to define the project there is some variation, but as long as there are children with needs, the churches will be looking for ways to help them.

Visit: http://www.xanga.com/rwinzeler for Rachel’s take on our visit and for more pictures click on either picture here

Anselmo was ordained as a Pastor this last Sunday. Congradulations to him for finishing Seminary.

The World Renewal Brazil Website is coming along nicely. Most of the headers are finished and the content just needs to be proof read a bit more. Check out the site at WRIBrazil.com.


Lindsay and Emily have started to teach an English class in the newest Church plant of Lagoa De Itaenga. It will be ever other Saturday. The first class had about 7 youth attending. The youth really enjoyed it and we expect twice the number for next class. The same day the English class is there is also youth group. Jeff helped out with the youth group and the kids played the Nintendo Wii after a short Bible study. It was a lot of fun to see the kids faces when they were playing Wii Sports Tennis.

We got to visit the Community Church of Ameixas this Saturday and you can see pictures here.

New Teacher

Emily Taylor has arrived safely from Africa.

Emily had been ministering in Namibia at the Children of Zion Village (an orphanage). Now, She will be spending 3 months here at the International school of Carpina. When Emily gets settled in here I will have her write a post about her impressions about the Brazil ministry.

Church Spotlight

Post from an Interview with Pastor Assuerio

Community Church of Ameixas

The Community Church of Ameixas is the furthest inland Church plant for World Renewal Brazil. It is a good three hours away from the ministry headquarters (Alcance Brasil). This Church was originally started from outreaches by the Community Church of Carpina and the Community Church of Guadalajara.

The Town of Ameixas is a very poor place that is dominated mostly by the Catholic Church that emphasizes Mary worship. This has made it extremely difficult to reach the people of Ameixas with God’s love and they have a difficult time understanding a “personal” relationship with Christ.

Since Assuerio has come back from Africa about a year and a half ago, he has been ministering in this small town along with his wife, Miriam and two kids, Loriana and Tiago. This Church a few years back received a generous donation and they were able to purchase land for a permanent Church location. But, it wasn’t until this January that the dream of building the church was fulfilled, when a group of 50 Baptists from Rio de Janeiro drove up to help build the Church. With the financial help from the Community Churches in the US and from individuals the dream of a Church building became a reality.

There are a lot more Picture Here

The Church is still fairly small with about 30 people attending the main service, but the impact that Assuerio is having in the community is growing. Assuerio has 5 house Bile studies that lets him teach the gospel on a more one on one basis. The Churches main service is Saturday night and then on Sunday night they hold a Bible study. That study is split into two groups that meet every other Sunday. It is setup this way in order that the whole family can come study God’s word. One week the wife will come while the husband watches the kids and then the next week the husband will come. This works out really well in this poor community where they can’t pay someone to look after their young kids and the Church doesn’t have enough people to help watch the kids yet. Along with this Bible study there is small group Bible studies on Wednesday night and then a prayer meeting on Thursday night.

Last week Assuerio was talking about a young couple that was at one of the house bible studies when Assuerio was talking about creation and the beginning of sin. He also went into how Jesus paid the price for our sin. After the study was over the girl of 17 said with tears in her eyes that before this study she had never believed that God even existed. When Assuerio asked her what changed she responded by saying that something inside of her changed and she can see the truth now.

God is working in this community and has Assuerio here for a special purpose even though Assuerio’s heart is still yearning for Africa. He has expressed that no matter what he wants to do the will of God. He has prayed that if he isn’t suppose to go back to Africa that God take away the desire that is in his heart for that country. Assuerio still has that passion and desire in his heart for Africa and would like to head back there in 2010 Lord willing.

Quick summary of Assuerio’s Africa desire

In Mozambique Africa they speak Portuguese along with several tribal languages. Assuerio has always had a heart for these people and when he went to South Africa he made several really good contacts of strong Christians serving in Mozambique. His desire is to go to Mozambique and start a Community Church and also raise up leaders to start other Community Churches in that country.

If you feel lead to start supporting Assuerio and his family as they guide the town of Ameixas to the Lord and start to transition toward heading back to Africa near 2010 please send a check earmarked Assuerio-Brazil and make out to:

WORLD RENEWAL
P.O. Box 399
Greenfield, IN 46140

Happy Easter

It is Easter time and for Brazil that means a week off of school. The International School of Carpina had school on Monday and Tuesday but it really was one big Easter celebration. You can see all the fun here.
Also, Rachel Winzeler got a chance to sit down with the people involved with the Living Stones project at the Paudalho church. You can head over to her blog site and read about the needs of that ministry.

Trip Information

It’s that time again time to think and pray about summer mission trips to Brazil.
This year the medical/construction trip is July 3-11 cost of trip will be airline ticket plus $1300.

Come join us of the great adventure to Brazil.

Come to Brookville Road Community Church at:

12:15 PM March 16, 2008
for information and to sign up.

Need direction call Steven Turner at 317 840 1270

Tele & Christopher

Everybody likes cute baby pictures!

Gilson working on building the Scaffolding


Pastor Ricardo Silva received a generous donation of $500 and he is using that money to make scaffolding to rent out. Construction is all over the place in this region of Brazil and Ricardo has taken the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30) and is putting it into practice by stretching that $500 to eventually bring in a lot more money. Since the US dollar is dropping in value things like this need to happen to stay at full support. Ricardo's goal is to make 100 scaffolding units. He is really close to his goal and is only lacking a bit more money.

If you would like to help with the purchase of the scaffolding material
please send a check earmarked Ricardo Silva scaffolding project to:
World Renewal Intl. PO BOX 399 Greenfield, IN 46140

Here is Ricardo's baby girl being cute Ricardo's wife Kattia is the one passing her

Ever expanding

The new school year has kicked off and the Alcance is full of young children and new teachers. There are 57 students this year with more to come in the next month. The International school has been a huge success these past 3 years and it just keeps getting bigger. With the popularity of the school, the ministry has been able to reach a whole new group of people. God's Word is truly being spread in creative ways.
Speaking of creative evangelism the Community Church of Acacias is starting a youth group program tonight and the main draw is going to be the Nintendo Wii video game system brought here by Jeff & Lindsay Turner. (This most likely is the only Nintendo Wii in northeast Brazil) Pray that God uses this as a great tool to bring young people to Christ. We have high hopes for this. David Moraes will be a big part of the youth group leadership. He was going to ask his father, Tele if they could start one and before he could ask, Tele came to him asking if he could help start a youth group program. Praise God!
Jeff & Lindsay Turner have arrive in Brazil safely and are starting to get more acclimated to begin back. Lindsay has already started teaching at the International school and Jeff is helping out at the school this year also. Jeff is also busy finishing the networking at the Alcance and getting better communication setup for a new website. Also, more blog posts should be coming a lot more frequently. (Maybe I should stop talking about myself in 3rd person too)
I will try to update the Google Map of the Churches with more up to date Prayer requests.

Post By Jeff Turner

Dear Friends and Supporters of World Renewal Brazil,

What a crazy, but awesome year of watching God work saving lives, growing disciples, teaching truth, restoring relationships, building trust and serving the communities of Northeast Brazil. More specifically, four areas can be highlighted to demonstrate a little of what He has allowed us to be a part of through your prayers, service in short term missions trips and financial support.

The International School has successfully completed its second full year of service to the upper middle class families of Carpina. The ministry headquarters called Alcance Brazil houses the school as well as the Bible Seminary. In 2007 thirty-nine students were enrolled in Kindergarten through fifth grade in beautifully remodeled and decorated classrooms. Parents of the students even donated materials and labor to upgrade the common areas and bathrooms to make it safer and more attractive and Americans, British missionaries, and Brazilians worked hard to create a fun, attractive and safer playground.

Two new church plants have grown in amazing ways. Ricardo da Silva and his team of young people from his church in Guadalajara traveled to Ameixas every week to go door to door, hold home Bible studies, and meet in the street for worship until they were able to find facilities to rent. The congregation has grown to about 30 people and they now have a new pastor, Pastor Assuerio Naque, who moved there with his family recently. Land was purchased and their new church building is being finished this month due to the generous gifts from central Indiana Community churches and the labor provided by 65 Brazilian believers from Rio de Janeiro who have taken off the month of January to build this church using their own brick masons, electricians, painters, plumbers, cooks and clean-up people. The whole community is seeing this cooperative effort and love demonstrated and we expect to see the building packed out January 26^th at the dedication service. (Pictures are in the last post)

Meanwhile, Ricardo and his team began knocking on doors, holding Bible studies and worship services in the streets of Lagoa de Itaenga. When the American medical team held a medical clinic there two summers ago they were able to expand their outreach and win the hearts of the people. A small house downtown was rented and recently Ricardo and his family moved to the town. His team from Guadalajara still comes to help disciple new believers and lead worship music for about 25 attendees.

Praise God! Tele and his family have a new house. By the end of this month they will be in it. For two years they have been living in three small hotel rooms at the Alcance, sharing a small makeshift kitchen with other ministry partners that live there. Even in their new house, though, ministry will be happening. Tele and Heather plan to host a neighborhood Bible study starting with two families that have expressed an interest already.

Last summer both short-term mission trips were a huge success. The medical team led by Dr. Santos from Recife, Brazil, and Drs. Chuck Taylor and Steve Flink held clinics at Carpina’s Big Dump and at the Community Church of Carpina. About 800 people received a medical exam, worm medicine, a months worth of multi-vitamins, and Tylenol plus medicine for their specific ailments. Forrest Craig, Josie Potter and Paul Taylor assisted by taking blood pressure and weighing each patient. Many others helped with crowd control, registration, entertainment, and passing out medications.

The construction team from Brookville Road Community Church consisted of Pastor Greg Ruble and his son, Garrett, Jesse Schwedler, Forrest Craig, and Steve Turner. Together with some of the Brazilians they installed a wireless internet system, built a lower cabinet for the reception desk area, stripped paint from a large iron gate, mixed and laid asphalt paving across the front of the Alcance property, broke up old bricks in Tele’s new neighborhood and used the pieces to fill potholes, and demolished a hallway wall to provide access to the new Print Shop office. On the weekends they visited churches, shared testimonies and fellowshipped. Of course, they also got to go shopping for souvenirs, go to the beach and eat at a Brazilian steak house.

I want to thank everyone for not only praying for and supporting the ministry in Brazil, but for praying for and supporting me in this endeavor. It has been a privilege and honor to represent the Brazil ministry to the Community Churches since 1999, making the needs and vision of the ministry known.

It is my desire that as you read of all these activities and achievement that God has allowed us to be a part of, you will be compelled to participate. Come join us. The water is great! Please take the time to look over the following suggested ways you can help.

Perhaps you would like to help raise money by sending me your used ink jet cartridges for recycling or donate gently used stuff that can be sold on E-Bay. Contact me at 317 840-1270.

To receive weekly prayer updates or information about the summer Mission Trip, July 3-11, please send your e-mail address to wrbrazil@gmail.com.

Sincerely, Steve Turner, Brazil Field Representative

The Church from Southern Brazil has arrived

They are very busy building the Church in Ameixas and spreading the good news of Christ in that town.