Less but more...

How true that is for us in our life right now. God has given us a great year so far, even though we have had our share of lows, as many people have. 

As I am writing we have almost every fan going and all windows open. Megan playing with her toys, Logan squirming on the play mat, Bere playing with Logan, Adam at school, and my mom reading. Life here in Lagoa Santa at this exact moment is very hot. Spring is here, but it already feels like summer. We cherish the moments we get to go out with the car to take advantage of the air conditioning. 

This morning I woke up very concerned with our finances and got out of bed at 5:30 and came downstairs and stopped at the window to listen to the sounds of the morning - roosters crowing, dogs barking and the sun rising. A sense that life continues no matter what your finances look like. I know, I know, I'm a pastor and not supposed to worry about those things, but lately I have. 

On the less side - This year we (Fernando and I) had a reduction of our salaries as pastors. We have been doing well with the adjustment until recently where a lot of things seemed to pile up. That is what woke me up this morning, but I was reminded that our lives have a lot more as well right now - more smiles, more words, more profound conversations, more family, more ministry, more of almost everything. More of what matters, and I have to trust God with the less.

Family at the zoo.

On the less side - I had mentioned earlier that the church had purchased a piece of land to build on. We went through the whole legal process of the purchase taking it to our lawyers and the city offices and in May we found out that the person who sold it to us was not the owner. The city offices had two deeds to the land that they hadn't caught. We are now in a legal battle trying to get our money back. On the "more" side, the church has been growing again and more people are growing in their walk with Christ. We are meeting in the convention area of a hotel here in town. We see more and more the need for gospel-centered churches that reach people that are fed up with "religion". We started a small group in a town 2 hours away and another group in Belo Horizonte, with the idea of planting two more churches in the coming years. More Christ-followers, but less knowing what will happen with the physical aspect of the church.

On the more side - Logan is developing and growing quickly. He is our smiler. Every morning we get the biggest smiles when he opens his eyes. Megan is our little talker right now - wanting to know about everything she can. Adam is HUGE!!! He is doing well at school and has taken up playing guitar - a very talented young man. He will be traveling on his own to the US for Christmas and you can pray for us as parents...

Megan loves Logan.

Bere and I continue to wake up each morning and realize how blessed we have been with a full house right now. We have so much more than we would have ever imagined when we said "I do..." so many years ago. It's funny how you can have less of everything else that the majority of the world deems as important, but have so much more in a look, a walk, and a laugh. 

We made contact with an organization in the US called Communitas International. We have had conversations with them about being bi-vocational missionaries with them here in Brazil. This would help us in a couple ways: have an organization that is willing to help support us with training and accountability and create a way for our family and friends to support us financially. 

Right now we have a budget of US$2500.00/month. We are short by US$750.00 per month. If we could count on 10 individuals or families that could commit to $75.00 a month, that would help us out tremendously. Would you consider joining us in this ministry here in Brazil through prayer or financial support? If you would like more information on how you can help, please let me know. 

Pray for:

• Finances
• Church property
• Health
• Bere's father - going through cancer treatments

Praise for:

• Health
• Church people growing in their faith
• Provision
• Family

Thanks for reading and for being a part of our lives! 

Jeremy, Bere, Adam, Megan, and Logan

More changes...

Christmas Greetings!

Once again we come to the end of the year where we get to celebrate the coming of salvation in human form, Jesus Christ. We are celebrating our first Christmas back in Brazil with hot temperatures, fans, staying in the air conditioned car a little longer than normal, playing in the pool, and the minimum amount of clothes needed. We are truly grateful this Christmas for where we are, what we are doing and what God is going to do this coming year.

Looking at the picture on the right makes me marvel at the fact that the 3 people in the picture had no idea what God was preparing (in 2011) or what He had planned when we took the picture. Going through Experiencing God by Blackaby has reminded us that God is constantly at work. So many times we miss what He is doing because we are preoccupied with what we are working on. Once we join Him in what He is doing our life is completely changed.

The biggest change besides being in Brazil and working in church ministry again, is the news that we are expecting a baby at the end of May 2014. We want to thank everyone for their support and prayers since we announced it. We feel overwhelmed by how God uses friends and family to encourage and strengthen us through your stories, testimonies and words of affirmation. As many already know, the coming of a new little Warden is definitely a work of God. We had tried for 11 years to have another child, but after two miscarriages and many tears and questions, released our worries and cares upon Christ, to the point of getting rid of a lot of our baby stuff that we had left here in Brazil. When we found out through the tests and then through ultrasounds, tears once again streamed down our faces, but this time tears of joy!

When we look at the timing of this happening, we don’t understand why: no insurance for the delivery, starting from nothing with regards to baby things, small amount of financial resources, already being old(haha). But I have been reminded a lot these last couple months of Isaiah’s words (55:8,9 MSG) “I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.” God’s Decree. “For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think.” We are trusting that God’s timing is perfect and He is in control of what is going on.

The church continues to have new people show up every Sunday and we continue to grow. We will have another baptism this Sunday and look forward to more people taking the next step in their walk as a disciple of Christ. We see the Life Groups catching onto the idea of fellowship and living life together. After the end of the year we hope to have at least another 2 groups started.

Next year we will be having a marriage encounter (ALMA) here in Lagoa Santa in August. This ministry has had a great impact on the churches in São Paulo and we look forward to seeing how this can be used to bring more people to the realization of their need of Christ. Couples here are desperate for help in a country that cheating is normal and marriage is a temporary institution. Berenice and I will be co-leading with my parents and taking over of the ministry after my parents leave next year.

We definitely see the power of your prayers for Adam and his learning of Portuguese. In the past 2 months he has almost been a different kid interacting with people, not having to ask what is being said. Thank you for your faithfulness in this area. He is playing soccer and basketball, which we also asked prayer for.

Thank you for taking some time to read this. If you need to get away for vacation some time, we would love to have you with us for a while to see what is going on here.

Prayer	Praise:
o   Pregnancy	o   Adam’s Portuguese
o   Building project	o   Life Groups
o   ALMA	o   Church growth

With love, Jeremy, Berenice and Adam December/2013

Growth

Greetings!

This week will have been 4 months that we have been in Lagoa Santa! At times it feels like it was yesterday that we were in Clinton, SC working with a sweet group of kids and community. I think we are getting past the phase of feeling we are only on a long vacation to the realization of this being our residence and making it our home now. It has been great to see God in the little things of our life here and how we continue to be in awe of how he uses ordinary people, like us to work in the lives of people who desperately need Him.

Pastoral Team in front of property purchased.

The church continues to grow and develop into a strong group of believers who are serious about their walk with God and becoming disciples of Christ. We had a weekend retreat a couple of months ago where we defined the mission, vision and values that we wanted to be about in the church. It has been awesome to see that being implanted into the life of the church and how that translates to our walk with Christ outside of the church or church family. We had to go to two services on Sunday for lack of space in the church building on Sunday evenings(this is an answer to prayer from the last letter). We are averaging right around 130 adults and children in total on Sunday and having two services has opened up more space for new people and families that are coming to the church. Every Sunday we meet someone coming to the church for the first time and people that are returning and wanting to be involved in the life of the church.

The small groups (Life Groups) that we revamped these past months have grown and are almost ready to multiply into new groups. The mentality of many small groups in Brazil is that it is just another small church service where they come and listen to someone talk about the sermon that was delivered on Sunday. We are trying to change that mentality and make them understand that the fellowship and life lived together is what needs to happen.

We have been able to participate in two different church planting conferences this past month, one by the Presbyterian Church and one by the C&MA. It was encouraging to see old friends and church colleagues and also to be encouraged in what we are doing in Lagoa Santa and the strategy of multi-locations being used. Time with Fernando, the other Brazilian pastor, during these conferences was valuable in being able to share ideas with each other and encourage one another in what is happening here in Lagoa Santa.

I write all these praises, but don’t want you to feel that we are only having success here in Lagoa Santa. Ministry in Brazil, just like in any other country, is hard work. We have our share of people that need special care and that can be taxing on the team. Pray that we continue to grow together as a team, but also that we can know where to invest our time for the spread of the Gospel.

As a family, we see God leading us through trials in our lives and areas where we need to change. Berenice and I ask that you would continue to pray for Adam in his adapting with the culture and the language. Things are going well at school and he is going to a soccer school where he is learning the Brazilian passion of futebol! We see that he is happy, but reserved in talking with people.

Thank you for taking some time to read this. If you would like to receive our prayer letters, please let us know and we will add you to our group.


Prayer:
o Adam’s Portuguese switch to be turned on
o Building project
o Growth as a family

Praise:
o Life Groups
o Church bought property
o Two services and church growth

Arrived in Lagoa Santa

Hello from Lagoa Santa!

Lake from above.

We are waking up for the second morning in our new house that we are renting here in Lagoa Santa. As everyone knows with moving, it is a long process and we are glad to be able to get out of boxes and suitcases. The house we found is brand new and was actually for sale, but the owner agreed to rent it to us. We are making it our home. We will send pictures later. It’s hard to believe that we have been in Brazil for almost 2 months already. It has been a great adjustment and adaptation to life here in Brazil.

The church has been very welcoming and it is a good group of people. People that are hungry for the Word of God and with a desire for biblical teaching. The service on Sunday has been packed every time and members of the church initiated the idea of purchasing a piece of property and constructing our own building to meet in. The church is waiting for the finalization of the purchase of a piece of property that is very promising. They are looking at a year to a year and a half for everything to be finished to meet in. In the meantime, the church is still renting the building we are at, but realize that we have no more room for growth in the next year and a half, so are looking at the possibility of having another identical service to free up some room in the building. Please pray for the right time and day to be chosen.

We have seen God leading us in this new phase in our lives and been eager to be used by Him. Berenice and I both agree that we are coming at this time in our life with more maturity in our walk and a stronger relationship with each other and God. We are joining Fernando and Ester (the Brazilian pastor and his wife) and my parents in this church. We see that each couple has different strengths and personalities that provide an assortment of ways that God can use us in bringing glory to Himself through the Comunidade Lagoa Santa (Lagoa Santa Community). Please pray for continued unity among the team and wisdom on how to let that unity glorify God as well.

I am going to be heading up the small group training and leadership in the church and am excited about the direction that God is leading us. Pray for continued wisdom in how to show the importance of life together in the body and for leaders and host families to step up to the plate. Berenice is going to be working with the children’s ministry. It has been neat to see Adam voluntarily setting or stacking up chairs before and after the service wanting to be a part of the ministry.

We continue to ask you (people that we have connected with, lived life with, and our brothers and sisters in Christ) to join us in this ministry.  We would ask that as you remember Berenice, Adam and Jeremy that you would ask God to use us for His glory. 

Thank you for taking some time to read this.  If you would like to receive our prayer letters, please let us know and we will add you to our group. 

 

 

Prayer:	Praise:
o   Adam’s Portuguese switch to be turned on	o   Arriving in Brazil with no problems
o   Church property and weekly service	o   Provision of house and finances
o   Set up of home so can be place of ministry	o   Church growth
o   Adjustment to Brazilian school for Adam
o   Fitting in church family

 

With love,

Jeremy, Berenice and Adam

July/2013

Ch,ch,ch,changes

Changes. Hard to go through, but worth it in the end. I know that some people deal with a lot more changes than we have, but that's the only thing that comes to mind when I think of where we are and where we have been.

Ministering at Thornwell Home for Children for almost 3 years; now working in a new town, state and country. Having a Duck Dynasty party 3 weeks ago; now celebrating couples that went to a marriage encounter to learn about Biblical marriage. Having a campus deal with infestations of skunks and squirrels; now seeing monkeys run across telephone lines and toucans flying across the highway.

I'm not saying that one is worse than the other, just different. A change. One thing that hasn't changed is the call of God on our lives. Another is people's need for Christ. That was evident at Thornwell and it is evident here in Lagoa Santa. Learning about having faith and trusting in God's leading has been exciting and challenging.

Please continue to pray with us as we are looking for a house here in Lagoa Santa; look for a school for Adam; language acquisition for Adam; transitioning into the church; and openness for His leading.

(Willie is not part of the family right now.)

Oh, the mess!

Here we are, in the middle of what used to be our home. Now it's just piles upon piles and a mess that seems it'll never end! But, in the middle of this mess, we see some progress. It seems like we'll have to go through this stage to be able to start over. Isn't that just like our spiritual journey? We create piles upon piles of mess, and we need to go through a cleaning up process, where God cleans us from sin and reorganizes our hearts. We'll make it through. We've been there before and something tells me it won't be last time we'll be moving. But out of the mess will come peace and a sense of renewal. A new place awaits for us. A new beginning. Thank You, Lord for giving us new beginnings!

There and back again

So, here we go... Two weeks from today we'll be embarking on an airplane back to Brazil. We are excited for a new adventure, but sad to leave friends and family behind. It's been five years since we came back from Brazil to the US. Five years of much needed healing and renewal of our souls. We feel that God has been working in and molding us. We have learned much about His love and grace. We have learned to put in practice Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

So, we'll keep trusting, knowing that He'll show us what steps to take next. Back in Brazil, in a new adventure.