One of the challenges this year was an answer to my prayers. God always knows it best, and He showed it again. I´ve been praying for Caleb´s education since he was very young, and last February he won a scholarship with Lighthouse Christian Academy (LCA) and we are homeschooling since April. I was the most challenged; all my “theories” about education were tested! I taught in Public and Private Schools before and always could handle the most difficult behaviors, but with my own child was SO different! I had to redefine what it is to be a Christian model and what is Discipleship in the home setting. I was very discouraged lots of times and what made me insist was the fact that I credit having this scholarship to God´s finger, because our application arrived seven days after the deadline and we still got it. If we had the means and were the ones deciding to buy the Curriculum, I would be very confused about been God´s will. I could not have done it before and God knew it (Of course!). We are finely getting a hold of it. I praise the Lord for His lovingkindness and care. He will never harm us or give us something that is not good for us. I pray that I will remember it when my prayers seem to not get an answer. He knows best!
Highlights of this year (up to now!)
Jason and God´s Team: Risa and Jessie (Christen was already here with us.)
We are always so blessed and this time couldn´t be different. In His Infinite ways, He always brings different people with different gifts, and it ALWAYS WORKS perfectly. Risa and Jessie captived the hearts of our church and impacted our lives. The youth are eager to do missions, the dance team is working harder and focusing on God´s will and pleasure.
And we could seat under “Jason´s feet and learn,’’ with good coffee and Macadamia nuts from Maui! We look forward to this time of the year; this is when we are recharged. Thank you for making it possible!!
Froese Family
Another great surprise! God blessed us through fellowship and His Own Links!! We are holding our breath to see what is next! They are coming back next year in August to build the common area of the school/retreat centre on the church property. If you would like to be a part of this Mission team, please let us know.
Below is Michael´s own words:
Friends --
Why did we come to Brazil? The reasons were varied, but I knew, simply, that it was to be a part of a great story. Little did I know that there would be a number of stories written while we were here. Some of the tales (I am sure), I will only here about in heaven. Others, I have found out about since because they happened in such a personal and clear way. Take for instance the story that we have/are creating with Paola. Paola is a 16 year old believer here. During this last year, Paola has been seeking the face of the Lord. She has been asking things like, "What am I to do with my life?" She has been thirsting for meaning, and working to understand her purpose. One evening, Paola came over to Pastor Samir's house. We got to talking. During the (limited) conversation, Paola expressed such a desire to learn more English, that Angela, Madelaine, and myself took a couple of hours to teach her conversational English. I asked Paola what she wanted to do when she was finished school. With such fervour and joy, Paola exclaimed, "I want to be a missionary and tell everyone that Jesus is my friend!" Something stirred in my heart. I felt/knew that we needed to make this happen. I talked to Angela about making it possible to fly her up to Canada. Angela believed that we needed to do more. She thought we needed to get her into a YWAM in Canada. Who am I to argue with such a cool idea? So, we approached Pastor Samir and Pastor Marcia. They agreed that this was a good idea. So, the evening of my sermon (most of you know the one), Paola came home with us. We took her aside, and explained to her that we would like to bring her to Canada. You can understand her emotion at this point. The only thing that she could say was, "I didn't think that my answer to prayer would be this fast." I thought that she was referring to the prayers that she has been praying all year with Marcia. Yes...and no. The day after we told her that we would like to sponsor her trip, she came to Pastor Samir and told him that as I was telling my story in church, she saw what was like a golden key coming down to her from the ceiling. She didn't know what to do with it. So she gave it back to God. God revealed his purpose to her that evening.
Here's another story:
On the outskirts of Bom Retiro do Sul there is a small settlement known as Cas Calheira (place of the little rocks). It is dirty, and the people have, for many years, been very depressed. Anyway, the people in this community were receptive to a church being built there, and the men of the Hope Chapel Bom Retiro decided (when the Canadian's came) to do something about it. Our family visited the church site on our second Saturday. I have never seen such poverty. We brought and delivered the building materials that day. Over the course of the next few days, it rained and progress was slow. Nonetheless, a half dozen guys showed up after work every day (for the next few days) to lay the foundation and bring a blessing to the community. Some of the people there were excited, like the two little orphan girls. Some were closed and wary. One girl in particular, Rebekah, would only give us sidelong glances. By the 2nd/3rd day, Rebekah had completely changed. Her face was opened and hopeful. Pastor Samir brought her a gift of new shoes and the promise of computer education at the local school. Yesterday, Rebekah was showing us how strong and willing she was to help. She began to pail 50 pounds of sand up the hill, and hoe the weeds out of the way of the footings. I could see a transformation of spirit -- right before my eyes. It was incredible. I tried to help a little, but I kind of just watched and stood around as the guys started the foundations and stuff. I knew that I could help out more. So, I talked to Patrick, then Angela about buying the rest of the materials for the foundation. We agreed that we should do this. This morning, Pastor Samir and I went out to buy the footings. We bought and paid for the footings. As we left the construction yard, Pastor Samir showed me the roofing material and told me the costs. I felt led to buy the roof, but I wanted to talk to Angela about this first. I knew that we needed to get this done so that the church could move forward and get built (building materials here are SOOOOOO expensive!!!!!!!!!!). We got back to Pastor Samir's house. I talked to Angela re: the roof, and she agreed that we needed to do this. Patrick also felt led to donate some money. As we sat down around the table to have a cup of coffee, Pastor Samir came into the kitchen holding his toothbrush. He exclaimed, "I believe that God wants us not only to build a church, but to make it beautiful too. We need to change their reality, and if we build it to reflect the other houses, there will not be any contrast. We should look about building the whole place out of stone!" When he said this, I couldn't have agreed with him more. You all know that I like to make a nice place, and love paint, and flowers and all that kind of stuff. But, I could see nothing wrong with the wood that we brought there last Saturday. I thought (God suggested) that all we needed was a table saw. Samir and I left to go to the store again. As we were walking, I felt/thought, then exclaimed to Pastor Samir, "There is nothing wrong with the wood. It just needs to be transformed. We need a table saw."
We drove to the store the second time. I bought the roof, and Pastor Samir asked the man at the counter about the bricks for the walls (instead of the wood). They were sooo expensive, and it was not to be. Pastor Samir then asked about the table saw. We found that Bom Retiro does not have one for sale (only in Porto Alegre), and that they will not rent out there table saw. Now it just so happened (are you surprised about this part?) that there was a widow at the counter listening to our questions. She quietly spoke to the man at the counter and told him, "I have one. My husband died 2 years ago, and it is just sitting in my garage." Then she left the store. The man at the counter then told us what she said. We chased after her in the car, picked her up, and drove to her house. We went to the back of her house, she lifted up a sheet of plywood, and lo, there was a fully functioning table saw. A table saw that she sold to us on the spot. She just asked us that we go back to pay for the saw at the hardware store. So, we drove to the store a third time. And as we were standing at the counter, I thought, "from beginning to end." I think that that I thought this thought in relation to my participation in building the church from start to finish. Also, the significance of coming back to the store 3 times was not lost on me..... ( "All the seemingly insignificant coincidences.........")
We will not be here by the time the church is built. But we will visit the site just once more. As I was writing this story, Maddy came in to tell me that she wanted to buy some food for the ladies and to bring some stickers and toys for the children. I will continue this story the next time I am in Bom Retiro and I attend a service at this church......
Mikey
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